An alternate title for this post could be "Lizzie Discovers Washi Tape and Proceeds to Put it On Everything".
The weekend after the Fourth of July, I had our family and neighborhood friends over for a little Independence Day BBQ. We noshed on my in-laws amazing BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, my mom's awesome German Potato salad, blue berry cobbler and other picnic-type foods.
In my mind, I would have beautiful red flowers overflowing my pots and in my planting beds. However, we've had SO MUCH rain this season, I am having a hell of a time keeping anything from not drowning. So to make up for my lack of flora, I stuck flags I snagged from Target's Dollar Spot in each pot.
In the mudroom, I created a drink station. I had bottles of water, Capri Sun and beer in the cooler, iced tea in a pitcher and I made Skinny Dragonberry Rum Twist in my drink dispenser.
I had been eyeing up Pottery Barn's Rhodes Dispenser Stand- and was totally willing to pay full price for it- until I realized it would be too small for my nearly-nine-inch container. So you know how I roll-- I do it my damn self. I snagged a pot and base from Lowe's, sprayed them a glossy red, and glued them together.
I was inspired by Kim's fence planters, and sprayed a couple leftover cans the same glossy red, trimmed it in washi tape I picked up at Lowe's for about $2.50 and added some patriotic flowers from Trader Joe's.
The bulk of the party was meant to be held in the backyard, so I opened the fence gate and decorated them with a fabric banner I made from scraps I had leftover from a Halloween costume gone wrong.
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| I probably should have ironed it before I hung it. Whoops. |
On the day of the party, it was projected to be 97* , so I left sunscreen both inside and out in the back yard as well as bug spray (just in case). I had snagged a little tray at a yard sale for $.50, sprayed it the same glossy red and trimmed it in the same washi tape.
I was going to have about 10 kids at the party, so I wanted to make sure there were plenty of activities to keep them occupied. We set up an inflatable pool, along with a water table to help keep them cool. I set a basket of goodies outside for them including sidewalk chalk, pool toys, water guns and DIY ribbon wands I made out of ribbon, dowel rods and, you guessed it, washi tape.
Another thing that kept the kids attention was the Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker. My sister-in-law, Angie, brought it with her to pair with the blueberry cobbler, and the kids sat outside rolling it back and forth to each other.
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| Abby gives it a roll |
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| Owen intercepts and sends it to Bridget across from him |
Of course, I think it only kept their attention for about half the time needed. I am pretty sure my mom and Angie finished making the ice cream.
I love hosting family gatherings. My family lives about 45 minutes away from me, and while that isn't a ridiculous amount of time, I don't get to see them as much as I'd like to. I especially don't get to see enough of these sweet faces:
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| my nephew Hayes. |
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| His sassy sister, Skylar |
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| my niece and goddaughter, Abigail. |
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| Our friend's daughter, McKayla |
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| our handsome neighbor, Townes |
This is one of my favorite group of pictures from the day; my 21-month-old son pushing his nearly 8-year-old cousin on his Mater toy.
This kid is a beast.
It was such a great afternoon, and I got the best compliment from my niece Abigail-- she said Aunt Lizzie throws the best parties.
Seriously the best words ever spoken about me.
I hope to make this a yearly event, so next year you'll see a recap about my 2nd Annual Falconhead Independence BBQ!
Always & Forever,
ME
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