4th of July 2017
For this year’s Independence Day, my family decided to go for a laid-back BBQ at home with just the immediate family and our sweet neighbors. (We also wanted to stay away from all of the craziness of Fireworks, as our dogs are TERRIFIED of them!) So, we spent the day in my parents’ beautiful backyard living space (designed by my dad!). I swear, my parents were built for hosting. My dad makes the food and my mom makes the drinks. And by food, I mean AMAZING Cooking-Show-Worthy homemade grub… and by drinks, I mean Over-The-Top, Picturesque cocktails garnished with fruit, decorations, and more.
It was a hot day, but we cooled off with some Pinterest-inspired Sangria. I got this adorable “Sparkling Red, White and Blue Sangria” recipe from Ali at Gimme Some Oven and it definitely did not disappoint! So easy, refreshing, and festive! I love shooting lifestyle photos like these, but I’m new to blogging and always end up forgetting something! I spent so much time photographing the drinks, that I didn’t even think about capturing my Dad cooking! (FAIL #1) He made bratwurst sausage hotdogs on pretzel buns, corn on the cob, and zucchini (made with his brand new spiralizer) and I got ZERO photos of it. But it looked and tasted great, I assure you. (Luckily, my sister is a real blogger and I’m sure she got some photos on her phone that you’ll be able to see soon enough on her website, too). After dinner, we made room for some delicious s’mores toasted on our fire pit. (Yay, I remembered pictures of this!)
One thing I really wanted to remember this year was to take some fun pictures with Sparklers! I bought some last year that I never used and saved them to use this time. However, everyone was tired and ready to go home before it even got dark, so the lighting was not ideal for cool sparkler photos. (Also, it’s probably my fault for using year-old sparklers. Who knows how long those things are supposed to last). So, FAIL #2! But it was still fun! Overall, it was a very relaxed, beautiful day spent with great company, both in people and pups!
Karen - Yay! You captured the day perfectly. love your blog. So much fun. Beautiful photos!!!