Fourth of July

Long time, no talk - we had a great time out in California last week and made it home just in time to try to catch up on sleep and prep for our July 4th BBQ, which for the last few years, we've loved hosting!

I can't wait to share about our trip next week; we had a great time and are thinking of maybe going back sooner rather than later but for today I'm easing back in - luckily the week is already half over and sharing a few photos from our holiday celebration.

After a lazy Sunday, trying to beat the jet lag and doing some unpacking, we had a lazy morning on the fourth before hosting some family to grill for the afternoon - just beating out the rain!  We tried out some new appetizers (will be sharing soon...) and the traditional classics - burgers, dogs, pasta/potato/broccoli salad and fruit with some festive fruit and such for dessert.

similar rompers here & here

Have a great day - thanks for stopping by! xx

Looks & Life Lately {22}

Taking in some sun on the dock with perfect, breezy lake weather.

The perfect summer treat to cool off.  (shirt)

Shirt  | Crops | Sandals

Dress | Sandals 

Grilling a variety of things to taste test for dinner.

Girls night with wine, couch time and Stella (wine glasses)

Dinners on the deck before it gets too hot are a regular occurrence around here.

Shirt | Necklace 

Enjoying lunch at my favorite lunch spot with my favorite lunch date.

Stella girl got her summer cut to stay cool for the season.  Even though the bow only lasts a day or so, I love when she comes home with it.

Dining Under the Stars

If you've been reading around here for a while than hearing me talk about Dining Under the Stars is no new topic.  For years and years our extended family has gathered on Wednesday nights for weekly summer dinners dining al fresco.

Our town shuts town the main street and side streets, sets up tables and the restaurants serve dinner al fresco.  When we started going years ago it was easy to get in and a simple setting - now a days, the streets are always packed and you need a reservation well in advance.

This event runs from the start of May through the end of September and while we used to go every week, we've decided to just make it out a few times a month now - in fact, we started a month late this year!

Couldn't quite fit the whole "cheers" into the photo

top | necklace 

Due to some storms that blew in yesterday afternoon - we were actually chilly at dinner last night - something I didn't think I'd say.  The temperature took a huge drop into the low 60's and as the night went on into the 50's so we were bundled up.

We went to a favorite of everyone's - a small Italian place, Ariano, down one of the side streets.  I went for my favorite - clams in a bread bowl - so delicious!

If you're local - check out the information for DUTS (here).

Cheers to a great season of al fresco dining & many weekly family dinners ahead! xx

This & That: Start of Summer

square pillows | flamingo pillow | wine glass |

 shorts (similar & 40% off!) | t-shirt ($10 off & many colors still available!) 

It took a while for the summer weather to hit our area, but now that it's here, we are loving it and now that Memorial Day weekend has hit and much of the area is on a "summer hours" schedule so we are trying to eliminate house work/to do lists after work and enjoy the season.

A few happenings from the start of the season...

We've really been working on our landscaping.  Derek pulled up a bunch of the plain, old bushes out front and we went to a couple local nurseries to get some flowers to plant along our walkway as well as some potted items for out front, the deck and our lower patio area.  We got most of the walkway area done over the weekend (we finished mulching last night), got the new potted plants setup on the deck and are working on the lower area this week.

Before, during and almost finished (we're finishing mulching tonight) photos below... 

front door wreath

Our deck area is our favorite place to be once the summer months hit - we've had it uncovered since early spring but just recently got around to getting the cushions/pillows out, the flowers mentioned above and our table setup.  The table is perfect for us because it's setup for us to eat outside each night but if we have people over we can quickly get it folded up and put away for more space.

square pillows | flamingo pillow | wine glass

To kick off the new season we wanted to have a nice deck night for just the two of us and now that we've done that we are hooked - I see many more nights "in" on the deck this year as opposed to going out as much.  We opted for a shrimp broil - new to both of us and it was delicious - definitely a new favorite around here and we're already hoping to do it again soon.  At Wegman's we picked up a pre packaged set with shrimp, sausage, corn and mini potatoes - we opted to save the potatoes for another dinner this week and splurged on some potato skins.

plates & runner are Sur La Table summer '15 - they're new styles here | chargers 

Summer Bucket List

Even though the official start to summer isn't for a couple more weeks, once MDW and the start of June hit, that pretty much does it for me.  I always love picking out a few fun things to do at the start of a month or season but summer always has the most to offer and I'm quite looking forward to the next three months. {last year's list - here and how I did on it - here}

Travels

• Take our annual trip to California 
• Adventure somewhere new
• Weekends at the lake - it's sadly the last year of our lease so we have a couple big weekend gatherings planned up there as well as a few smaller ones

Special Events

• Celebrate our anniversary somewhere special - it will be two years come the end of the summer
• Have a Christmas in July gathering 
• Do something fun for our half birthdays (I've always wanted to!) - Derek's was a few weeks ago and mine is in a few weeks

Around the House

• Landscape around our front walkway
• Grow one item - last year I did zucchini, cherry tomatoes and mint which took up too much space on our deck so this year I'll keep it to just one
• Finish off our lower deck area and add rocking chairs & such 

Locally

• Attend a local polo match
• Go on a picnic
• Ice Cream Night(s) - we never go "just because"!

In the City

• Spirit of Philadelphia - a boat cruise around the city 
• Baseball games - go Phillies! We've actually got one tonight... 
• Enjoy a rooftop & somewhere new 

Just for Fun

• Enjoy a nice BBQ at home for just the two of us
• Play some golf - either on the course with Derek (no more than 9 holes this year!) or the driving range
• Go wine tasting - somewhere new

And of course the usuals... Pool days, happy hours, dining al fresco, host grill nights.  I'd also love to have a few nights with no plans to do some nice things on a whim.

The next three months will fly by, I'm sure - hoping for a great season! 

Memorial Day

Happy Tuesday - wouldn't it be great if all work weeks started on Tuesdays?  I feel like (am hopeful that) this week will fly by with the late start.  Summer arrived in PA just in time for this kickoff weekend and we had the best weather all weekend long - finally.  We spent the weekend with friends at The Hotel Hershey and took in lots of pool time which I'll share all about tomorrow.

In an effort to ease into the week, today I'm giving a quick share of our annual summer kickoff BBQ - my parents had us all at their house last night to grill out - my favorite way to start off this fun season.

The weather was great - not too hot and we had a great cocktail hour with feta cheese dip, guac, a cheese platter and some others.  For the main course we had all the classics - burgers, sausages, pasta salad, asian coleslaw and fruit salad and we finished things off with some sweet treats from the chocolate capital.

doggie ice cream for the spoiled pups... 

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Looking forward to all that this summer has in store! xx