Celebrate National Ice Tea Day

June 10, 2016

Today is National Ice Tea Day so I thought I’d get you in the mood to enjoy a glass of tea southern style by sharing some beautiful southern porch inspiration.

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No southern porch is compete without classic rocking chairs. No matter what type of seating you have on your porch, patio or deck, add decorative pillows for color and comfort and lots of potted plants and flowers for southern charm.

Country Living

I dream of having a daybed or porch swing one day. This porch has all the elements that create a cozy spot to enjoy a lazy summer afternoon–wispy drapes to shield the sun, a painted ceiling to add a sense of coolness and loads of pillows to add a welcoming touch.

Country Living

Just like you do with your indoor decor, develop a color story for your porch decor. This is the perfect time of year to showcase your American pride using red, white and blue decor.

HomeGoods

A chic sun umbrella and a stylish chair is all it takes to create a relaxing spot on the porch or deck. If your umbrella doesn’t have trim, you can easily add your own outdoor trim and waterproof glue.

Country Style

Keep the heat down by hanging a ceiling fan on your porch and using an outdoor rug to keep your feet cool.

BHG

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Here in the South, National Ice Tea day is something we celebrate every day of the year and our pantries are stocked with all the essentials to make the perfect glass of southern ice tea.

SOUTHERN ICE TEA ESSENTIALS

Original Mason Jar $4.99 // Decorative Paper Straws $4.99 set/25 // Paper Cocktail Napkins $5.00 set/20

Melamine Ice Tea Spoons $12 set/6 // Wood Serving Tray $19.97-$44.95 // Luzianne Ice Tea {the best tea to cold tea}

Shop my favorite ice tea pitchers here

Favorite Posts, Pins and Products of The Week

May 28, 2016

Anyone else excited about the long weekend ahead? We’ve got a jammed packed weekend with a road trip to Kentucky to see my nephew graduate from college and a party to celebrate this milestone. I can’t believe how fast time as flown, how grown up he is and how old I’m feeling. It seems like yesterday that he was in grade school looking forward to his high-school years. Now he’s heading out into the big world, starting his own business and making his mark in the world.

I hope you enjoy your weekend and this weeks favorite posts, pins and products.

FAVORITE POSTS

As a child I spent just about every summer on the road with my parents and my brother exploring the country. Traveling by car was the best and we got to see and experience so many amazing places. My love to car travel has continues as an adult and given the time, we’d pick a car over a plane any time. Late spring and summer is the best time for scenic car travel and it’s been fun following Emily and her family on their 3-month summer road trip and get a peek inside their Airstream camper.

FAVORITE PINS

I’m so glad that colorful rooms are making a comeback and love it when someone is fearless with color in their own home. Bold colors really do make a statement and you just can’t help but smile when you look at this kitchen.

Better Homes and Gardens

The start of summer is just around the corner and nothing says a leisurely summer afternoon like a porch swing. If this image doesn’t get you in the mood for summer, check out the full house tour which is guaranteed to have you craving sweet tea and sunshine.

My Domaine

FAVORITE PRODUCTS

Several times a week we’ll have cheese and crackers to snack on and I think I need this cheese board in my life. And since it’s wedding season, I think it would make a pretty fabulous gift too!

I just picked up the set of dishtowels and love them. Grab a set and take advantage of the add’l 30% off sale price.

Outdoor Entertaining (plus some tips)

June 23, 2015

My nephew was in town over the weekend which meant I spent a lot time with him and my brother. Since I knew I was going to be hanging out at my brother’s new place I decided to decorated his balcony for a little impromptu entertaining.

My brother lives in the city and has an extremely large balcony. When you’re out on the balcony you have a great view of high-rise buildings and lush landscape.

The decorating has just begun for this space and so far they (hey Mary) have added plants and purchased a small table and chair set, and an umbrella.

I carried a few items with me and set up this simple table setting which played off the colors in seat cushions and umbrella.

Dynamic table settings are all about the layers and as you can see I used several.

I started with the linen placement and then layered on top of that with a wood charger, square white plate and decorative salad plate.

The colors in the salad plate, place mat and napkin all pick up on the colors in the cushion.

Pattern mixing can really energize your table setting do don’ be afraid to combined different pattern styles. As long as there are common colors that run through all of the elements you use the combo will work.

It’s always fun to through in a pop color which is what that flowers provided.

Since the table was small, I placed the flowers in a decorative wood box and displayed them along side the table.

If surface space doesn’t allow, don’t be afraid to decorate around the space inside of on top of it.

Setting up an entertaining environment doesn’t have to be lots of work. Combine elements you already own, in a fresh new way and in a flash you’ll have created a beautiful setting.