favorites for the fourth...

Good morning, if you're like me you have your eyes set on the upcoming long weekend and

 are gearing up for some fun 4th of July festivities! I'll be taking off for a few days, but in the

meantime I thought I'd leave you with a few inspiring patriotic ideas to get you in the spirit! 

American Flag Mason Jars

this would be such an easy, inexpensive diy centerpiece! 

maisondepas.com

Firecracker Sugar Cookies
that pop in your mouth! A guaranteed hit at a BBQ, star shaped would be cute, too!

momdot.com

Mason Jar Lanterns

another simple DIY, and a tea light and you're set!  

addicted 2 DIY

Festive Flag Decor
I take 5 minutes and pop these dollar store flags in my window boxes and flower pots.

Red Vines for All 
Anyone share my addiction to red licorice (and black)? These could easily be my favorite
patriotic thing in this post! 

Room to Inspire 

Have a wonderful week friends and I'll see you on Friday!

Best of the Nest June Link Party

I'm always anxious to see what you've been working on around your nests!

The ingenuity and inspiration you all come up with never disappoints!

Here is what my lovely co-hosts and I have been up to this month...

Pam @ Simple Details

Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram | Bloglovin' | Twitter 

In lieu of working on something for my nest this month a pretty peach wedding
topped my priority list. I loved helping with all the special touches and decor for
 my nephew and his new bride.  

Lisa @ Shine your Light 

Blog | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram | Bloglovin' | Twitter

Lisa's refreshing Red, White & Blue Sangria is sure to be a hit when they spend
 a day at the beach with friends this week! Toes in the sand and sangria in hand,
 life doesn't get much better!

Kris @ Driven by Décor

Blog | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram | Bloglovin' | Twitter | Google+

Kris shared these fun Watermelon Slice Rice Krispies Treats, they're almost too cute to eat!
Absolutely perfect for a summer party or BBQ when you're trying to think of
 something different to serve or take?

Jennifer @ Dimples & Tangles

Blog | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram | Bloglovin' | Twitter

Jennifer came up with a super fun series while she was on vacation. 
My Favorite 5, featured guest bloggers and their 5 Favorite posts.
 I always love finding new-to-me blogs and the inspiration was nonstop!  

Now it's your turn:

Four Blogs - Link up to one and it will show up on all four

Bring your Best of June - Anything from your nest aka home - DIY, craft, room design, recipe, etc.

Anyone can enter - not just bloggers!

Can enter through Instagram by using hashtag #bestofthenestparty and tagging at least one of your hosts.

Can also enter through Pinterest - follow the simple instructions here.

The party ends on Tuesday at midnight.

Party Rules:

Only one link per person to show your best work from June 2014

Spread some comment love - visit and comment on at least two other links in the party.

If you're linking up with a blog, link back with a text link or grab the party button.

We'd love you stop back next Friday when Lisa, Kris, Jennifer and I will feature our favorite links.

 For those linking from blogs only those with a link back will be considered.

Let's get this party started!

I got out of my recipe rut...

What a girl to do when she's in a recipe rut, the same old boring dinners, on

auto repeat. I decided to check my Pinterest Food Board and actually try the 

recipes instead of just pin them! Interesting concept, no?

 These are the recipes we loved that I will most definitely make again... 

   

 Grilled Lemon Chicken Skewers
I made these for a BBQ last Sunday, delicious, fresh, lemony, perfect for summer and super easy.  

 Slow Cooker Carnitas
Yum, yum and yum!
Again, super easy - you may notice this is a theme. :) I followed the updated version of the recipe,
 with a couple changes, I added all of the onion and no milk when I baked them at the end of the recipe.

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad 
If you love pasta salad and Caesar salad this is for you! Super easy, and the romaine gives it a nice crunch. 

Garlic Mushroom Bruschetta
Bruschetta is one of our faves. Super easy, fresh tomatoes, basil and romano cheese on grilled bread.
 (I posted the pic below on Instagram the evening I made it) We loved the addition of garlic mushroom topping! 

Grilled Pizza
This is fun for the entire family, everyone gets to prepare their own personal pizza from a bar of toppings. 
We finish it off with hot off the grill dough drizzled with honey for dessert.

Strawberry Shortcake in a Jar

A huge hit at the BBQ! What is it about individual servings in a little mason jar?
I used pound cake from Costco bakery, cut into chunks and fresh whipped cream. This topping presentation
 is beyond fun, but I went for super easy :) and put the lids back on the jars. 
Btw, the leftovers kept in the fridge nicely for another day before they disappeared.  

All recipes can be found here on my Pinterest Food Board.

Do you have any new recipes we should know about?

next project...client f

These sweet clients have been waiting so long to get to the top of my list, 

they are the thoughtful, understanding, patient type that always said, 'No problem, we

 can wait till after your trip to Europe, and then after your One Room Challenge

  kitchen makeover, and then after end of school activities, and then after the wedding,

 and...you get the picture I have strung them out foreveeeeeeeeeer.

 No more!!! Last Friday two bathrooms and a dressing room were gutted, and the

 remodel is underway. If you follow me on Pinterest you may have noticed a lot of pretty

 bathroom pins lately under 'Client F' - I always refer to my client's boards by initials.

 This one is different F = Favorite, and Favorite refers to my parents. :) 

They live in a 1980's custom built home (not by them) much of it has been updated

 but never the baths - big time yikes!! Creamy neutrals and a pretty serene design is

 what we're going for, with some unique hardware and lighting for a custom look.

Inspiration - Bathroom #1 Hall

 Jennifer Schoenberger

They have several bathrooms and this one rarely gets used, allowing us to hang

 artwork on the back wall. We loved the sheer linen panel and the rod extending from

the ceiling. We're using a free standing traditional piece of furniture for the vanity,

 and haven't decided yet if we're keeping it wood tone or painting it a light color.   

BEFORE:

 

Inspiration - Bathroom #2  - In the Master Bedroom 

mariakillam.com

We've decided on a half wall at the end of the vanity with frameless shower door

 to give the illusion of a larger open room. A white vanity with oversize decorative

 mirror above helps to accomplish the same.  

mariakillam.com

BEFORE:

Inspiration - Dressing Room - In the Master Bedroom

We have a white vanity that matches the one in the adjacent bathroom, but are still

 deciding on lighting and some special touches. Maybe a chinoiserie style wallpaper

 or a mural.

    

My mom is going to die when she sees this picture I took, she is super neat and

 clean and was getting everything out of the bedroom and bathroom.

BEFORE:

All of the doors and woodwork will be painted white, tile floors installed in all of

 these rooms and new carpet in the adjoining bedroom.

This week we're finishing up choosing tile, lighting, and fixtures

 and having a blast spending my dad's $$! :)  

simple summer styling...

 Never underestimate the impact of a vase of over sized foliage.

Fresh, simple, unexpected,

 and you can probably find something similar in your yard (or a neighbors)!

homedecorators.com

 blog.justinablakeney.com

 houzz.com

 cottageandvine.blogspot.com

 greenlikebathwater.tumblr.com

 5photos-a.xx.fbcdn.net

 Happy weekend friends!!

Stop by on Monday I'll be sharing my latest project, demo starts tomorrow!  

black deck...we're going for it

It's been over three weeks since I mentioned we were almost finished prepping our

deck and we'd decided on a new look, a solid stain.  Well, several rainy days delayed 

the start of our makeover and gave us a little more time to ponder our decision. You

 won't be surprised, we changed our mind and are going in a different direction and

 I'm so excited!!!!

We're going with black. And, yes we've considered: It may retain heat and be hot,

it will most likely fade with the intense Colorado sun, it will take extra care because it's

 going to show doggy footprints and debris and we're still going for it. First we tried a

 light gray sample and it didn't do it for us. I was drawn to black from day one and we

 painted a small sample and knew the second we saw it.  

Take a look at some of our inspiration... 

 houzz.com

 justagirlblog.com

 House & Home

 roomzaar.com

 juliawylie.com

 
 Jason Colon

We've decided on a semi transparent stain, here's a sample on our deck. We
were ready to start this afternoon as another rain shower put a damper on our project
 but the forecast is looking good for the next couple of days!

Black stain - would you, could you?
Or do you think we're crazy? :)

a pretty peach wedding...

Hey everyone, I'm sorry for the sporadic posting lately, life has been extra busy.

If you remember I helped with the decor for my nephew's wedding this past Sunday,

 and I have a few wedding photos for you, although not as many as  I was hoping for. :( 

When I wasn't busy decorating and taking care of inevitable little details, I was eating,

 drinking, dancing, crying at the toasts, waving sparklers and enjoying the special day

 with our families...getting caught up in all the fun and not focusing on taking blog photos.

 I'm so sorry, but I promise to share some of the pretty professional photos with you.

Until then...

It was beautiful setting with an open pasture just beyond this gazebo

where the ceremony took place.

The bride chose varying colors of peach and coral, with black and white.

I did lots of simple diy decor to help them keep it budget friendly. I used black

Ikea lanterns I had at the end of the rows. The baby's breath was ordered in bulk from

 Costco. (They offer several varieties of flowers). Down the center aisle we did bundles 

tied onto the chairs with long peach ribbons. Here is a close up of the lanterns when I

 was putting them together.

 

If you're a long time reader you may recognize those columns and urns from my dining

 room a few years ago. More recently they were outside in our garden.  

The waterworks are about to begin...again. :)

 The reception....we had a florist do the large spheres of baby's breath on the

oversized gold and silver candlesticks and I did the black and white stripe runners

 with Ikea fabric. We borrowed several of the glass hurricanes from a friend of mine. 

 The bride liked the watercolor table numbers, a super easy diy. I used watercolor

paper and watered down acrylic craft paint. 

     

We kept the theme and used the watercolors for a few other signs as well.

A large canvas on an easel directed guests when they arrived. 

This framed sign at the Memory table, along with a collection of 

special photos. 

And, outside on a table with sparklers.

I found these cute patterned boxes a year ago on a clearance rack at Michael's 

and thought they'd be perfect for favors, but we didn't decide what to put in them

until about a week before the wedding. It ended up being a pretty addition to the

table setting and so cost effective, around .65 for each favor. I bought the flowers

 in four packs from Home Depot and planted them in the boxes the day before. We

also painted the white plastic handles gold to make them look more high end. 

The photographer was taking a fun shot of the wedding party and I was watching

from behind.  

They were blessed with a gorgeous day, and an intimate group of family

and friends who love them and the opportunity to share in such a special day!

Congratulations Dustin & Megan!