{'merica}n

my husband came home last night telling me about this sweet tank top and how he wished he could have it for the 4th. this post is dedicated to him for helping me remember the great day we are celebrating next week!

next week is the week to celebrate the land of the free and the home of the brave. we all get to take some time off of work to enjoy some good ol' american treats: barbeques, fireworks, yard games, and hopefully some beautiful for spacious skies.

with all that has been going on lately, I haven't had much time to think of ways to decorate our new house for this holiday. i don't intend on going crazy, but a little patriotism is probably needed. so I hit the 'net to try to get inspired for my home, and any party I may get invited to - hint, hint - or host (who would come?) I found some gems, and so I thought I would share for the hope that you get inspired too!

let's start with food - yum!



this cake looks absolutely delicious, and most importantly EASY to make.

these candy coated marshmallows are simple to create and look like they taste great too!

this cake is so simple, yet looks so nice! find the printables here to embellish your cake





 who doesn't love a cupcake? simply adding a few decorations to a cupcake tower can make quite a statement. i know that i have a cupcake display that is waiting for me to do something like this.

let's decorate!

these gems can be made or bought. i persoanlly like to re-create things that I see, and these look like something that is simple enough to do! a trip to Michael's and these could be yours!

another gem from Landee See, Landee Do - print this out, and place in the perfect spot for all to see.
this is available to print in 5x7 and 8x10!

for something with a more vintage feel, you could print this out.

The Creative Cubby offers several 4th of July printables for you to enjoy

I saw this felt wreath on a few sites, and I liked how fluffy it looks. this wreath is create with felt. looks like it's easy, but could take some time. either way, i am sure it will look great!

i love a good printable! this chalkboard style print would look nice as a decoration inside or out.

So it looks like we now have enough ideas get us going on creating something special for the 4th of July! I may or may not use any of these ideas, but I at least have some inspiration to send me to the craft store and grocery store, and I hope you do too! I'm also hoping that everyone has a safe and fun holiday!

{mantel}piece

it's Saturday night, and what am I doing on this wonderful evening?! Nothing

My husband is out celebrating the {soon to be} birth of one of his friend's babies at a diaper party. This is a party where the men bring diapers and the {soon to be} dad provides the beer and food. So while he celebrates, I've been home thinking of things to fill my night. 

I woke up today knowing that I wanted to do some serious decorating. We have a giant mantel and to be honest, it's very intimidating to decorate. 

This picture is from over a month ago, but as you can see its very long. 

I've been struggling all week to figure out what I wanted to do. I searched Pinterest and other blogs for inspiration, but nothing seemed to fit what I was looking for. I struggle with letting go of my OCD that wants everything to be symmetrical and even. I've also been having a hard time finding pieces that match the colors in the room. I recently purchased a great rug that I love, but it's a unique blue that doesn't seem to be all over the place. 

Our couch is grey, and we have tan walls. My OCD tells me that brown and grey doesn't go together, but again, I must quiet that voice, and move forward. I have seen many examples of these together, and it looks beautiful. I also realized today that the grey and blue colors are the same colors I chose for our wedding. Subconsciously, I must really love this color combination. 

So this morning I ventured out to all of my favorite places (TJ Maxx, Marshall's, Homegoods, Pier 1) on try to find some pieces to adorn the mantle. I ended up picking up many things knowing that I would have to get it all up there and start working with it to figure out what I wanted. I had come home with 2 pieces of art, 3 gallery frames, 2 glass pieces, 4 picture frames, 2 candle sticks, and  blue & gray spheres. Ahhh! 

When Nick saw all of this stuff, I know he was scared. I know he was even more scared when I started putting all of this stuff on the mantle. I think for a moment he might have thought that I was going to use it all. I played with the setup. Took stuff down, added it, took it down again, moved things from one side to the other and back again. 

I finally game up with a combination that quieted my OCD, but wasn't matched perfectly. I added some wedding pictures to the gallery frames and other frames and my mission was complete! 

TA-DA!