My Patriotic Porch

Our wrap-around porch is our favorite "room" at our house in the warmer months.  It's where we eat, read, play and relax.  I love sprucing it up for the season and this year I went with a full patriotic theme.

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I picked up this rug for our front door and it adds such a fun touch.

Inexpensive flags add some flare to my flowerpots.

A dear friend made us this bench as a wedding gift.  Reversible flag pillows add a pop of summer color.

I added these pillows to our Cracker Barrel rocking chairs.

Our side porch is my personal favorite.  This is where I read (and sometimes nap) while my kids play outside.  A couple of the reversible pillows and a star pillow make it festive for the fourth.

I shared our outdoor table as part of my Three Patriotic Tablescapes for Summer.   We eat out here whenever possible.

Lastly, a few more flags bring cheer to my window boxes.

Thank you for stopping by my porch today!

Father’s Day Brownie Sundae Bar

On the evening of Father's Day my parents and my sister and her family came over for a little dessert celebration.  We set up a brownie sundae bar and it was a hit!  I bought a "scrap" of AstroTurf at Lowe's, baked some brownies, and put out fun toppings.  My sister brought ice cream and whipped cream and we were all set.

I found the golf napkins at a local party store and the theme snowballed from there.  The men in our family like to golf together on our beach trips so it seemed fitting.

It was a fun night to be together and the easy set-up was the cherry on top!

Movie Night: Paddington 2

This movie has it all... laughs, action and excitement, family-friendly content... AND British accents!  We highly recommend Paddington 2.  (For more on our family's approach to movie night, check out my Movie Night Basics.)

A lovely summer evening offered the perfect opportunity to grill and eat on our porch.  My kids jumped in to help make our cute place settings for this adorable movie.  My son folded paper napkins into hats and my daughter created the little tags.

We used extra large napkins for the hats so that our plates could "wear" them.

I had some Union Jack cups leftover from my Royal Wedding Pajama Watch Party which added a nod to the London setting.

Paddington Bear loves marmalade, so delicious orange balsamic chicken was on the menu for dinner.

We served the chicken alongside chopped salad and grilled corn.

For dessert, brownie bears!  All these require are a box of brownie mix and a cookie cutter.

Sure, you could use icing to put little hats and coats on them... but you don't have to.  They were darling and delicious.

It's always a great sign when our whole family is laughing out loud during a movie.  Paddington 2 is too cute!