Party on the 4th!

Can you believe that it’s almost the 4th of July! Let’s party on the 4th!

Sweet Shark and I love to host parties; I love the preparation, designing an invitation, visualizing how I want our table to look, what flowers to buy, and of course, what food I want to prepare for our guests. We’ve had Christmas parties, Memorial Day, and Labor Day parties. Our favorite event is our bi-annual Kentucky Derby Party. But we’ve never had a 4th of July party, so we thought, let’s do it this year. As soon as our invitations went out (thanks to Paperless Post), I started searching for great decorations. Stops at Pier 1, Hobby Lobby, Swoozie’s, and Ballard & Blakely (one of my very favorite local design shops) netted me these goodies.

I’ll use most of these decorations for center pieces for our two tables (to be revealed later).  I’m going to use the blue metal containers that I’ve had forever to hold the center pieces.  I already had the blue pitcher, the burlap ribbon and the twine. We also already had large red napkins,  1 tablecloth, and I’m going to use my large white World Market plates (always good to have on hand).  Another DIY will serve as my second tablecloth.

Today is grocery shopping, setting the tables, gathering serving dishes, and doing my mise en place for cooking. Sweet Shark is making his father’s brisket which has to be marinated overnight. The big question is whether to set the tables up outside or inside. Not because it might rain, but because it’s so darn hot. Time will tell!

I’ll share our menu and the complete decorations in my next post. So please come back.

I hope you and your family have a safe and Happy 4th of July. We are so blessed to live in such an exceptional and wonderful country. Let’s never forget why and how our country was founded and honor those who sacrifice to keep us free. God Bless America.