I hope everyone had a nice Fourth of July! Ours was relaxing. We didn’t do much since we were still exhausted from parties on Saturday and Sunday night, but we did manage to see some of our local fireworks from our front yard (after Nick played a round of golf with his friends). We also hung out with my parents for a while and did a lot of wedding talk. I’m already stressed, but also extremely excited.
Check out our garden! That’s a lot of butternut squash, cantaloupe and spinach. I hope it all turns out. It’s definitely thriving in this hot and rainy summer weather.
I really think the true reason Nick and I have parties is so we have an excuse to get our house and yard in tip-top shape.
These pictures don’t do our yard much justice, but it looked amazing, and I have to give Nick all the credit! He kicked butt getting the yard together.
And of course there is no party in Columbus without an OSU cornhole set. Is cornhole a mid-western thing? It may be, but look it up, it’s fun.
If you’ve ever thrown a party before, you know that it’s always better to have too much food and drinks, as apposed to not enough. Just like last year, we were way overstocked, but this will definitely not go to waste…..
MARGARITA!!
Our friend is a bartender and he created this by mixing a standard margarita mix (which already included tequila…) with more tequila and about a half liter of Sprite. It was a huge hit, FYI.
I stuck to my new favorite beer; Bud Light Golden Wheat. Of course, after Saturday night I think I’ll be taking a break from this drink for a while. Ugh.
We had the food catered, and many of my friends and family also brought some sides. We had pulled pork, roasted chicken, coleslaw, watermelon salad, pasta salad, and a relish tray with hummus. I made baked beans and brownies (no, not bean brownies, although those taste really good too!).
Like the big loser I am, I went around and took pictures of people’s plates that were loaded with half veggies/fruit like the new USDA guidelines suggest. Here are some examples in case you were wondering how it’s done during a summertime cookout (I was very lenient, obviously);
Half plate with beans and raw veggies.
Half plate with beans, coleslaw, and zucchini (in the pasta salad).
Half plate with raw veggies, coleslaw, zucchini and beans.
And what about Nick’s plate? He looks guilty….
Well, he may not have had half of his plate filled with veggies/fruit, but his sandwich was a classic summertime creation; whole wheat bun, pulled pork and coleslaw. Now that’s how it’s done!
Random picture of my cousin and me.
And evidence that I am truly a “green” girl, I made everyone put their name on their cups so they would only use one. This worked well.
The party went on pretty late as we sat by the fire in our new fire pit. This fire pit was perfect and we are hoping to use it more throughout the year. I roasted about four marshmallows….so tasty.
QUESTION: Did everyone have a nice Fourth??
