Hotter than the 4th of July

Yeah, so that's what I have to look forward to over the next few days. Good times. Anyway, if we haven't all melted or spontaneously combusted by next week, I am looking forward to the Fourth of July activities in my neighborhood.

We usually have a little bike parade, in which all the kiddos from the street decorate their bikes, trikes, strollers, wagons, and whathaveyou, and march around.

 
Usually, I invite the family over to watch from our front yard. Last year I thought I might give them some snacks to enjoy while they watched (and waited for us to make it to our end of the street).

Mostly I just scrounged up anything in my house that was red, white or blue, and threw it in the front yard. The only things I made were red velvet whoopie pies and some strawberry lemonade.

Whoopie pies will almost certainly not withstand a 100+ degree afternoon, so I'm trying to think of other options for this year. Can we have the parade inside? Or in Maine? Graham did attempt to watch fireworks from inside last year.

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Party Planning: Little Golden Books Shower

We are right in the thick of our hot, brief summer (my oldest starts kindergarten on August 1st!), and when I am not working, I have kept busy trying to cram every bit of fun into our last little bit of time at home. I have had a party-free June (and unfortunately, a June free of progress on the remodel), but I have several upcoming events that I am excitedly planning, like Stephanie's baby shower! Stephanie and I have been friends since we were eight years old! That is a LONG TIME, people.

I co-hosted the Luau Shower celebrating her marriage to Eddie two years ago, and now I get to help celebrate the impending arrival of their first baby! (Whom I'm sure will be named Emily, no pressure.)

Stephanie had mentioned liking the idea of a Little Golden Books-themed shower a while back. When we found out she was having a girl, I tried to take the ideas I had found online and feminize them a little bit. Here are my thoughts so far.

Don't mind my rambly theme food ideas at the top--those are a work in progress. I had seen Little Golden Books fabrics before, but many of them were in brighter, primary colors. Finding the same print in a aqua and rose colorway, and pairing it with the pink "Poky Little Puppy" print (both found here) helped to make the palette a little more girly, which Stephanie liked. I like it, too, because I have two boys and don't get to do many frilly, feminine parties.

Anyway, aqua, rose, some gold to bring in the golden spines of the books. I'll be making decorations and food based on the more classic LGBs: The Poky Little Puppy, Scuffy the Tugboat, The Little Red Hen, etc.

Feel free to weigh in with any suggestions for the party, and make sure to check back in August to see how everything turns out! Pin It

Seth for President! A Surprise 35th Birthday Party

My sweet husband has a May birthday that often gets overlooked in the hustle and bustle of such a busy month--weddings, graduations, and Mother's Day don't leave a lot of free weekend time for celebrating much else. This year looked to be even busier than ever with our remodel, our older son "graduating" from preschool, a new nephew on the way, and our younger son starting to walk.

I really didn't want Seth's 35th birthday to get lost in the shuffle (I figure, when you get past 21, the birthdays ending in fives and zeros seem like the only milestones left). A friend of mine mentioned that at 35, Seth would be legally eligible to be President of the United States, which made me giggle at first, and then made me hop on the ol' theme train.

 

I based the invitation (loosely, ha) on a vintage JFK campaign poster. My sweet friends Frank and Brandon very graciously offered up their house. We couldn't really decorate the outside for fear of giving the surprise away. I think all the planning and secrecy worked, at least judging by this photo. If he is not surprised here, he is at least very frightened.

You guys! What in the?

I set up a simple dessert table of some of Seth's favorite treats, keeping the red, white and blue color scheme in mind: red velvet whoopie pies, cherry cream pie parfaits, cherry sour candies, and berries with fruit dip. My mom made an INSANE cake: chocolate cake with peanut butter cream cheese filling and white chocolate buttercream frosting. I still dream about that cake . . . Sorry, what was I talking about? Oh!

Pardon all the shadows here--it was a very bright/shadowy time of day.

He really is, y'all.

We kept the food kind of all-American--hot dogs, veggie dogs, potato salad, that kind of stuff.

I made some SETH buttons for guests to wear in support of our candidate.

Happy birthday, hon! I hope you enjoyed it.

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