4th of July Decor

I think this is the first holiday other than Christmas that I have decorated our mantle. My mom was always great at decorating for every season, so I feel like I need to step it up.

I found this super easy project on Pinterest and I love the outcome. It was also super cheap since I already had everything in my house.

 

Put a soda can in the middle of the hurricane lamp so you don't have to use a ton of beans.

Filled the lamp with alternating red and white beans to make the stripes and then cover the top with the black beans.

Now you have a pretty, cheap, and patriotic display. 

July 4th Recap

Wow time has just flown by! I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe 4th of July. Here is what I've been up too lately.

 

Andy and I went to Myrtle Beach with a bunch of friends for the July 4th weekend. I totally forgot to take pictures with all the relaxing we were doing. We walked down to the beach, we had plenty of pool time, and ate so much I could have popped!

 

I couldn't help myself and had to try the Blue Bell Red, White, and Blue ice cream. It was vanilla, strawberry, and blueberry ice cream. Think of it as a summer version of Neapolitan. 

We played many rounds of Cards Against Humanity. If you've never played, think of Apples to Apples, but with hilarious cards that make you kind of feel like a terrible person. It's great! Definitely only play with people who have a sense of humor and know you aren't serious. You can buy the game or you can download it for free here and then have them printed on card stock for $5. Have you every played?

I'll leave you with the super cute background I created for free on the Marley Lilly app.

Getting Ready for the 4th of July

This is really the first year in a long time that we have fun plans for the 4th. I love the patriotic feel that comes with the holiday and I want to go all out. Because of this I may have been a little crazy with the Pinterest ideas. Not sure how many will get done, but here are some of the projects on my list.

 

Flag Topiary

 

Flag Initial

 

Super easy decor

 

Patriotic snack tray

 

Cute salad

Patriotic Trifle

 

Pioneer Woman's Lemonade

These are always fun and easy

Do you have 4th of July plans?

Leftover Easter Ham Recipe

I don't know about you, but we still have a staggering amount of Easter leftovers in the refrigerator. And that's after we sent a ton home with the family.

I had my monthly girls night of wine and appetizers last night and I needed to make something quickly after work. I looked in the fridge and saw leftover Easter ham, extra cheddar cheese (which was shredded by hand for the potatoes au gratin), and Pillsbury crescent rolls. Bingo! Ham and cheese pinwheels it is.

This was super easy to make and I even made Andy a homemade hotpocket kind of thing with the extra ingredients for dinner. We are terrible at eating leftovers, so if we can repurpose food it works better.

Ham and Cheese Pinwheels

1-2 cups cubed ham

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mustard (I used plain yellow with a squeeze of honey)

Mayo

If you are starting with leftover ham, dice it up as small as your patience will allow.

Unroll the crescent rolls and pinch the edges together. I cut mine in half so the pinwheels would be small.

Mix the mayo and mustard together and spread on the dough. Then top with cheese and diced ham.

Start rolling it up and pinch the seam and ends together. Cut into slices as big or as little as you like.

Bake on a greased baking sheet at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Serve with a little extra mustard.

 

*P.S. The leftover pinwheels were great for breakfast this morning as well.*

Happy St. Patrick's Day

For a girl who doesn't have a drop of Irish blood in her, I sure do love Ireland, St. Patrick's Day, and anything green.

I went to Ireland when I was 18 years old and I still think it's one of my favorite places on earth. The people are laid back and friendly, the culture is based around eating and drinking, and the landscapes are breathtaking. Truly forty shades of green.

Easter Candy

Why can I stop myself from buying Halloween candy, Christmas candy, and Valentine's Day candy, but I CANNOT control myself around Easter candy?

This was my fuel for the 6 hour drive from Columbia, SC to Orlando, FL on Friday afternoon. The little bags make it better, right?

Then this bag of Starburst jellybeans (tropical flavors) just jumped in my basket the last time I was in Target. It wasn't my fault!

Okay so I'm hoping those will be my only candy purchases this season. Do you have an Easter candy obsession too?

Valentine's Day

I hope everyone had a fabulous Valentine's Day!

Andy and I had our second annual Valentine's Day date at home this year. We went to Fresh Market (which we love, but can't afford on a regular basis) and picked up steaks, potatoes, asparagus, and fancy desserts. A friend told us about having a great date at home last year and we instantly loved the idea. We went all out at the grocery store and still didn't spend as much as we would have at a restaurant, plus no wait or reservations required.

The Coolest Cake You Have Ever Seen

My baby brother turned 21 this past weekend. We got together as a family to celebrate and my gift was the cake. My brother said he wanted an ice cream cake but I wanted to do something different than white icing with Happy Birthday on it. After talking with my local Baskin Robbins we were able to come up with the beauty below. I highly recommend them if you want to make a statement with a cake. They were so easy to work with and my brother loved the cake. He sent pictures to all his friends and all our pictures have been very popular on social media.

The Best 21st Birthday Cake

 

 

 

Happy Mother's Day!

I wish all my friends and family who are moms a very Happy Mother's Day! A special shout out to my wonderful mother. She is my best friend, after my husband, and knows me so well it's scary sometimes. She was the absolute best during wedding planning and I couldn't have done it without her. Today your children celebrate you Mom. Love you bunches!

Valentine's Day Recap

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

Honestly I feel very weird about Valentine’s Day overall. If you are single you hate it, if you have someone special people either go way too lovey-dovey or you dismiss it. I’m somewhere in between. I don’t support the over the top gifts, plans, gestures, but I think people can get stuck in the everyday grind and it’s nice to remind each other how much you appreciate and love your partner. Plus date night, whether it’s reservations at a restaurant or cooking together at home, is always a great thing.

The boy and I had a great Valentine’s Day. We didn’t go crazy but we did some special things for each other. Andy planned dinner and dropped off some beautiful flowers and chocolate cover peanut butter filled pretzels. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do for him since you can’t really send guys flowers at the office. So I heard somewhere, I can’t remember if it was the radio or saw it on pinterest, about sending guys food. So I talked to a local pizza place and got them to make a heart shaped pizza which I dropped off to him for lunch. Andy was probably crazy embarrassed but he said the office thought it was pretty clever and lots of people benefitted from it since it was so big.

Villa Francesca in Charlotte is awesome!

I hope everyone felted very loved and happy this Valentine’s Day!