Hello Summer, Welcome!

{living}

Friday was the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year and officially the first day of summer, and we celebrated with a little get together with a few friends.......

An Al Fresco Dinner on the Porch and Lawn Games Evening:

    Actually when we had originally set the date for this get together back near the beginning of June we didn't intentionally pick the summer solstice as the date, it just happened to be a day that seemed like it was going to work out for all of us.  It wasn't until a week (or maybe even more) later that it dawned on me what the date was, and I thought to myself, How perfect is that? I had found and fallen in love with the plates at Target, and we needed new outdoor plates anyway so.............. (check out the whole collection, it is fabulous, I would have loved to have gotten more than just the dinner plates, but that wasn't quite in the budget - yet anyway hehe).  I've also been really into the coral/peachy with gray as a color combination lately, and had just a few months ago gotten 2 small urns that were a slate looking color, so it's easy to see how the decorations developed from there. 

Over the table decorations {paper star and lanterns along with globe string lights}

The table almost completely set {P.S. the table cloth is actually a twin size flat bed sheet from Walmart - they're around $5 and come in lots of colors and the twin size is just about right for most tables I've put them on}

   

All set with napkins and homemade bug spray {mosquitoes eat me alive in the summer, but I don't like to constantly be spraying myself with all sorts of chemicals, so I found instructions to make your own all natural spray.... it seemed to work well too}

The Bug Spray is made with Witch Hazel, and essential oils {I used citronella, lemongrass, and rosemary} I made a little spray bottle for everyone so they also served as a kind of favor

{Menu}: Peach glazed Chicken Sliders; Fajita seasoned skewers {chicken ones and beef ones}, potato salad, pasta salad, deviled eggs, and corn on the cob.

Croquet Cupcakes {White chocolate melted and piped into shape then cooled and put in place for the wickets, different size pretzel sticks for the mallet and stakes, and a gum ball croquet ball}

No beverage is more perfect for a summer evening dinner than Sangria. :)

But we did also serve sodas and water of course.

The porch after dark

I loved how the lighting arrangement turned out with the lights on

And of course the glow of the candlelight was so pretty after dark

 

 

 

 

The last picture I took after everyone had left and my husband and I were still sitting outside enjoying the evening (or, I guess, night by this point), before I headed in for the night. {I was sitting in a chair leaning back and looking up at the ceiling in case the angle seems strange..... it was.....}

It was a lovely evening as well as the perfect temperature, not too hot not too chilly but with a nice breeze. We had croquet set up in the front yard and our mini mini-golf course in the backyard, and our side-yard is perfect for bocce ball. We also made a mid-evening trip to Carls here in Fredericksburg and one of our friends who came treated us all to some ice cream. (Thanks again guys!) Oh yes and set off a few fireworks in the street (all legal I made my husband call the police to check and make sure last year for the Fourth of July)  All in all a great way to welcome in summer, and to start the weekend :)