Patriotic Food & Fashion

I hope you all have fun plans this 4th of July!

We have a fun long weekend planned with lots to do. On Thursday, we are hosting a 4th of July beach day and cookout with my parents.  We also have friends visiting from out of town  for Thursday and Friday. Then Saturday night is the wedding of a childhood friend. 

Luckily, our beach cottage is the perfect location for catching multiple firework shows at night. I am looking forward to catching some rays during the day and lots of fireworks and sparklers st night. Since we will be outside most of the day enjoying company, we wanted to keep everything simple so we will be having a cookout.  I made sure to include several  patriotic themed side dishes and drinks!

Flag inspired fruit and cheese plate

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How cute is this tray? I am sucker for fresh, seasonal fruit and make it patriotic themed on top of it and I just swoon.  Some people love a perfectly grilled steak, I love a nice fruit tray.. what can I say?

Berry Crumble Ice Cream

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I whipped this ice cream up this weekend so I would not have to worrk about it and have snuck a few bites and it is delicious. I sure hope my guests love it as much as I do!

Blueberry Smash

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Gosh, I just love the name of the drink Blueberry Smash! I have seen several drinks recently with St. Germain in it and can't wait to give it a try. 

Below is a little outfit inspiration for the fourth for you all. :) I will be wearing something very similar at our cookout. 

4th of July by sweetcarolinabelle featuring rachel pally

Happy Independence Day!

Ashley

Weekend Recap

Ah, the first weekend of the summer! It truly came and went so quickly. This weekend we headed to Fayetteville to visit Joe's family. We spent Friday catching up with his sister and nieces.  On Saturday we adventured out to Fuquay Varina. We took my mother in law thrift shopping and explored the local markets. There were some great finds on furniture that would have been perfect in our home. Unfortunately, we had no way of fitting it into Joe's tiny Honda. Now I am determined to find some great deals in town. If there is an antique store or estate sale nearby you better believe I will be there! Sunday we headed home and spent the day catching up on home projects. We planted a vegetable garden and are starting to see produce!

The start of our vegetable adventure

 Last week, we had home grown lettuce and kale. This week I am hoping to have vine ripened tomatoes! The night was spent watching the passing summer showers and catching up on Mad Men. We are still a few seasons behind so please no spoilers! 

Just a side note to end... this is my current view while writing this post:

Sleepy Charlie

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! 

Best Wishes,

Ashley

Five on Friday

One of the huge benefits of working for a school system is the summer break. This past week has been my first full week off of work for the summer. I have to admit I have been working hard for this break for the past month. I have spent my days week catching up on cleaning that had taken the backseat, soaked up some sun and spent quality time with our new pup Charlie. It has been so nice to just relax with no real schedule or pressing deadline. I also have been thinking about what I want to accomplish this summer during the break. For today's 5 on Friday I came up with 5 things I want to accomplish off my summer bucket list.

1. Stand Up Paddle Boarding- This sport is becoming extremely popular in my little beach town and I think it sounds like a blast!  I think the best way to describe it is a combination of kayaking on a surfboard or paddle board. There are several companies nearby that offer lessons by the hour or half-day tours.

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2. Make home made ice cream. - I am a sucker for homemade ice cream. The more unique the flavor the better. I have an ice cream maker that has been gathering dust all winter. I truly need to break it out and try out new and exciting flavors!

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3. Build my own planters for the porch. - Starting from scratch has been very hard with knowing what to plant and where. Our patio is a work in progress, we have made a lot of changes but there is still a long way to go!  I think these planters would bring a lot of structure and color to our bare patio.

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4. Take a road trip.- I am itching for us to go on vacation. The location does not matter as much to me as the chance to get away for a long weekend with Joe. We have been throwing around heading to Charleston, Raleigh, Atlanta or Savannah in August before school starts back. I am so ready to start planning!

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5. Host a cookout. - I would love to have all of our friends over this summer for a cookout. We can hang out by the neighborhood pool with drinks and grill out. No worries, just catching up and enjoying summer! 

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What's on your summer bucket list?

Best wishes,

Ashley