Happy 4th of July

Just wanted to pop in and wish everyone a Happy 4th of July!

 

I’m planning to grill out tonight with some friends and hopefully catch our local fireworks show.

Do you have big plans for today? Hope you get to enjoy some time with your friends and family today!

 

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4th of July Weekend- Boston

I spent the long 4th of July weekend in Boston visiting with my old college roommate.
I have visited her up in MA once before while still in school, but got to see a different side of Boston than my previous trip.
The trip and weather were wonderful. We had no agenda each day and just slept in and played the day by ear. Love being spontaneous!
On Friday we took a tour of Fenway. I didn’t get to see Fenway the last time I came, so I was excited to see it for the first time. We didn’t get to see a game because they were playing away.
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I saw this Walgreens the last time I was in Boston, but isn’t this the coolest Walgreens you’ve ever seen?Image and video hosting by TinyPic

On Saturday, we had brunch at this super cute bookstore and then walked and shopped along Newbury Street.Image and video hosting by TinyPic

We also spontaneously took a peticab down to the North End.Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Stopped and got some yummy pastries from Mike’s Pastry.Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Then walked through the Farmer’s Market for a bit.Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Sunday we drove down to her sister’s place in Marshfield. She lives near the beach so we spent Sunday at the beach. We stopped at Plymouth Rock on the way there. In case you were wondering, it literally is just a rock :) Image and video hosting by TinyPic

It wasn’t too sunny, but was nice to lay on the beach for a bit.Image and video hosting by TinyPic

We grilled out Sunday night and then returned to the beach to watch fireworks. They aren’t organized fireworks, it’s just a bunch of people shooing off their own. But, they were huge fireworks and every direction you looked you saw a great show.
My friend told me that they have bonfire competitions. People pile a bunch of wood into a huge pile and light it on fire. This person used a huge stack of palates.Image and video hosting by TinyPic

I secretly wanted to steal a palate to decorate with. If only I could transport it on the plane :)
Here’s a picture of the bonfires lit up down the beach. They were huge. I’ve never seen anything like it.Image and video hosting by TinyPic

We had our own little bonfire and roasted some s’mores and sat on the beach for several hours enjoying the night.Image and video hosting by TinyPic

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I had a great time and didn’t want to leave! Definitely hoping to make my way up there again soon.
What did you do for the 4th of July weekend?

With Love,

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Happy 4th of July!

I’m still up in Boston visiting with an old friend today, but wanted to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July!
I’ll post pictures of the trip later in the week, but hope everyone is enjoying some fireworks and fun with friends and family today.

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With Love,

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Styling Bookcases

I love built-in bookshelves and just bookshelves in general. They are a great way to add storage but also add character to the overall room.
Despite the fact that I love them, my problem has always been how to display objects and books on them well. Currently in my apartment, I have two built-in bookshelves. I love that the apartment came with these, but I’m not fully utilizing them for their potential.
I know for me when we moved in, I just wanted to get everyting out of boxes and up on shelves/walls as quickly as possible so that it felt like home. As a result, these two shelves in particular have an assortment of books and accessories thrown on them.

{via Little Green Notebook}

I’ve seen lots of styled bookshelves and tips on how to style them around blog land so I thought I would compile them for you and for me.

Cristin from Simplified Bee says the first step is to begin with a clean start. Take everything off your shelves and essentially start over. House Beautiful also suggests backing the shelves with colored paper or painting the back a contrasting color which will help your books and objects stand out.

{via Vogue}

Sherry from Young House Love suggests to begin by adding your biggest items first. If you have books,  group them together and stack them in varying patterns. You can also group them by color or size and stack them both horizontally and vertically. If you don’t already have a ton of books, you can find lots of old vintage books at thrift stores.

Another cute idea for big items is to add empty frames like the below. I love how they have layered items in front of the frames and also layered the frames themselves.

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{via Real Simple}

Continue adding the rest of your objects like vases, candles, picture frames, mementos, etc and add your smallest objects last. Always keep in mind, it is more visually appealing to group things together in odd numbers.

I think I have a tendency to focus too much on things matching. Everything doesn’t have to match. The key is for everything to feel cohesive in some way and have the same essence. Take for example these letters on this bookcase.

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{via Real Simple}

They are all different, but fit together very beautifully.

If you’re daring, instead of just styling the inside of the shelves, hang things on the outside as well.

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{via House Beautiful}

Once you’ve put everything together, take a step back and see if you like how everything looks.

I love the recent interview with Emily Henderson that was featured on Censational Girl. Emily won HGTV’s Design Star recently and now has her own show called Secret’s of a Stylist. When Emily is trying to edit the styling she’s done, she takes a picture with her phone and then stares at the picture. She looks at the image as if it’s a magazine page and trys to determine what might need editing. Such a good idea! Be sure to check out the full interview for other design tips.

This bookshelf is definitely magazine worthy.

Hopefully some of this was helpful to you. These images inspire me to tackle my own bookshelves.

Do you have any tips for styling bookshelves or any experience of your own? Would love to hear from you!

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Also, don’t forget to enter to win these 4th of July pinwheels. Contest ends tomorrow at 6pm CST. I’ll announce the winner on Friday.

With Love,

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4th of July Giveaway!

Tomorrow is the first official day of summer and the 4th of July is right around the corner! I’m going to visit an old college roommate in Boston over the 4th of July weekend. I’m excited to go to the beach for a day, watch some fireworks and catch up with an old friend!
I love the 4th of July because it’s a chance to get together with friends and family and throw a little outdoor bbq or party. There are a lot of fun ideas and party decorations for the 4th floating around blog land.
How cute are these 4th of July cupcakes? In years past, I’ve made the traditional flag cake with strawberries and blueberries. This is a great alternative for guests.
I’m on a recent s’mores kick since it’s the quintessential summertime treat. This is a great idea for the 4th. Create a s’mores station. Fun for kids and adults!
You can also make some fun festive party decorations. Like these star medallians. These would be super cute to hang from your trees or deck.
And I’m sure you’ve seen these paper pinwheels all over the blogisphere.
These would be super cute as cupcake toppers or as centerpieces.
And in honor of the 4th, I have a little giveaway for you guys!
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One lucky person will win 6 of these 4th of July inspired pinwheels to use for their 4th of July bash!
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To enter to win, all you have to do is follow my blog publicly (located on the left) and leave me a comment telling me you’ve done so. If you already follow it publicly just leave me a comment telling me that you already do. That’s it!
You have until 6pm CST on Thursday to enter. I’ll announce the winner on Friday!
Good luck!

With Love,

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