Here in Utah we have Pioneer day on the 24th of July celebrating the Mormon pioneers that settled Utah. So July feels like one big party with that and the 4th of July. I love it because I can get double use out of my 4th of July decorations. I put them up at the beginning of July and they do not come down until the last week in July. So when we realized that all of Ryan's siblings and his parents would be in-town for the weekend of the 24th it seemed like the perfect excuse to have a party and go all out. Here are some pictures of what I did.
We made cheese stuffed burgers one feta and the other spicy, homemade hamburger buns, hand squeezed organic lemonade with your option of adding freshly blended strawberries, homemade mayo, homemade fry-sauce, homemade spicy pickles, corn, chunky black bean salsa, and fruit salad with homemade whipped cream. All the food was a blast to make and it tasted delicious. I figured the effort to home-make everything was worth it with the celebration being centered around the pioneers who were not afforded all our modern food preparation short cuts we have today.
Personalized bottles for everyone complete with paper straws and the party logo. I actually had to add those paper circles to the straws because the straws were to short for the bottles, but I loved what it added to them.
I have bun stacking skills, who would have known.
Dollar store jars. I would have bought more, but I am ban from buying more jars via the husband.
Burger flags. We had to have some way to tell which burgers were which.
I used this old record stand that I already had to hold the plates and napkin rolls.
I even had some international guests. Two foreign exchange students from China that are staying with my sister-in-law. I am pleased to announce that they both eat seconds, and I was proud to give them such an american experience. Does this mean I can officially say that people from all over the world come to my parties?
The best party of all...just seeing everyone sitting around enjoying good company in my back-yard.
Yes I actually weaved red white and blue 30 foot fabric banners in-between my picket fence slats.
Hope you enjoy the party...I know I did.
Oh Jill, you've done it again! So fun!! I love all the details. I can't believe you made all that food from scratch. Amazing. Everything looks so cute and festive!
ReplyDeletePS I didn't go to Ikea's opening day. People lined up 2 days ahead of time (like you) and I couldn't swing it. I showed up the morning it opened and there was a line out the door like Disneyland. Plus you had to park in BFE. There was no way I was even getting an envelope at that stage, so I turned around and went to the mall instead. :)