Here’s a little 4th of July weekend inspiration!
These porches are beautifully decked out in red, white, and blue. I just want to relax with a giant glass of lemonade and a good book! That sounds like freedom to me!
Via Pinterest, No Original Source
Via Creative Cabin
Via Flickr
Tutorial Via Centsational Girl
No Original Source
Via Inspiration Lane
Via Eleven-O-One
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I had my own independence day of sorts when I was about eleven or twelve. My friends and I walked to McDonald’s and I ordered a Big Mac. I was raised as a pretty strict vegetarian (mostly vegan) for most of my life. My grandparents would feed me things like tuna patties and open-faced roast beef sandwiches when I was at their house because “vegans are hippies” and “you’ll eat what we make“, but for the most part — no meat. But that day…that day I chose for myself. And it was tasty. Oh, my goodness it was tasty!
Via Always Perfect Catering
These days we eat a little meat, though not much, and opt for more traditional celebrations of our American Independence. I have a complete fondness for red, white, and blue. I get a little teary when I see buntings on Colonial houses and never miss the fireworks.
And this year we’re decorating our new place for a big family gathering on the fourth. I can’t wait! Here are a few of the more “practical”, doable 4th of July crafts, decor, and outfits I’m loving.
Rustic Pallet Flag I’m not normally a flag person, but I really love this rustic flag made from an old pallet. And this would be really great on the side of the shed year round!
Via planitDIY
Hand Sewn Flags These primitive hand sewn flags scream Americana to me. Don’t you love them?
Via Missouri Star Quilt Company
Stars Lawn Decoration I’ve been crazy about this one since I first saw it on Pinterest last year. This year we’re really doing it! Would be fun for an outdoor movie or birthday party, too.
Decoupaged Trays Use your favorite fabrics to create the perfect serving trays to use all year long!
Via Martha Stewart
Simple Ribbon Banners Have 5 minutes? Then you can decorate your 4th of July BBQ with these simple, but striking, ribbon wind socks.
Scrappy Flag Tshirt Raid your fabric stash, or tshirt yarn, to create these adorable 4th of July tshirts for girls and boys. How adorable would these be for a family photo??
Vintage 4th All Planned Out! Want to hire a party planner to get it all ready for you? You’ll feel like you did if you use this collection of 10 vintage 4th of July printables. Adorable, completely adorable. And so easy!
Via Lia Griffith
Layered Family-friendly Drinks These are so pretty! Almost too pretty to drink! But I’ll bet the kids will love them.
Stick Flag All you need are some sticks and paint for this patriotic decor. Love it!
No original source, but easily replicated
Don’t these just make you want to deck everything out in stars and stripes?! You might also check out our Perfect Summer BBQ post for some great crossover ideas for recipes, decor, and outdoor games!
So, what about you? Do you have a moment that marks your independence? We’d love to hear about it!
Have you noticed that most Father’s Day gifts tend to stick to a few themes: ties, golf, and beer…right? And while those are all pretty great things, we decided to change it up this year.
Does he love cheese? Snowboarding? Maybe really does love ties, golf, and beer! You can use the crest creator from Gallo Family Vineyards to create a completely custom “family crest” that is as unique as he is. Check out this video tutorial to make these family crest crafts for Father’s Day or any day!
You’ll have a blast making these! And the best part is that the kids can help!
We even made one for ourselves sharing our love of kittens & yarn!
For more diys for dad, follow our Father’s Day Pinterest board. There might even be a few tie, golf, and beer ideas in the mix!
My family has been completely matriarchal for as long as I can remember. All hail, Queen Rose! Most things we did, we did for my grandmother – and not in that begrudging, we have to sort of way. But because she was the glue that kept it all together and we love her. Now that she’s gone we’re having to find our ways.
My children and I always ventured home to St. Louis from wherever we were living with our Easter baskets and dessert in tow. But this year is different, the family is still gathering but I’m opting to stay home. We’re going to work on building holiday rituals in our own home, with our own rules and less travel. [And we’ve plans to start meeting half way for family dinners in Columbia, MO every other month. So I’ll still see everyone, and maybe even more than before.]
How do you do that? Most often it’s recreating the food and experience that you know. But we eat mostly vegetarian and ham is gross. And Lola would be the only little kid for an Easter egg hunt (which she wouldn’t mind because she’d get all the eggs!). So I’ve been scouring Pinterest, like we all do, in search of the new normal. I’ve been hoarding some Easter/spring pins here if you’re interested, too.
Pinterest never lets me down with a million options to make all things perfect and right! I found this blog with 14 Easter traditions shared by other mom bloggers. I like peeking in on what other people are doing and being inspired (read stealing) by them.
I really like #2 visiting a farm and #5 a big brunch because we love to eat. A lot. And we always dye eggs, so we’ll be doing that for sure. Here’s a video I did showing you how to quickly dye eggs with frozen fruit.
I also found this post for egg wars where you try to crack the other person’s egg. That sounds pretty fun and might need to be incorporated!
We’ve a community that we’re part of here that is hosting a pot luck with some activities for the kids, so that’s on the list. And the Easter dress for Lola – always the dress! I still remember shopping for a dress with my mom (often the day before) and sometimes being able to get a bonnet to match. There was an Easter where we went to a friend of my mom’s for Easter brunch where they had a ton of vintage hats for the kids to choose from – I still remember it and still love that day.
Oh, and black jelly beans are a must. No one likes them so I get to have them all!
That’s all I’ve got – hats, food, and jelly beans. Maybe it’s less about the ritual and more about just being together? I’ll keep you posted.
xo, Jennifer
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