Wednesday, July 03, 2013

Happy Birthday, America!! *♥*♥*♥*

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We're ready for the 4th of July celebrations!!

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There will be parades with all of

America's Armed Forces represented.

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Lots of FUN for all ages!

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  My son-in-love made the go-cart, above.
All these parade photos are from
our town's Memorial Day this year.

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Inside The Gazebo House
we are fully decorated in RED, White & BLUE!

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My pretty cobalt Galaxy Blue plates with 14K gold stars & rims (made by Sakura--hand wash only) join forces with all my red polka-dot items & lots of my white milkglass collection.

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Little spreaders, with gold stars on the handles, are ready for appetizers of hummus & cheese.

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The battery operated tea light inside this teapot
will get turned on at dusk,
to add a pretty, warm glow to the bakers rack.

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 My FLAG tray that I found at Sur La Table
(half price sale when I went shopping HERE)
will be put to good use, carrying treats in & out of the gazebo.
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I found these cute, star shaped pretzels,
coated in white chocolate. 
I bought every bag I could find!
They are YUMMO!

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The Libby star shaped candy dishes are from the Dollar Tree.
  They come out for ALL patriotic holidays,
as well as Christmas time, too.

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 Ms. C. loves to use the little scoop
from my sugar shuttle to
serve herself a small handful of M&M's.

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More stars appear on some serving pieces,
along with more spreaders. 
The felt stars are just for decoration
at the moment & will be removed
prior to the placement of food.

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I put this little ceramic 
Navy Sailor, (made by NAPCO)
 that belonged to my Mom,
beneath a cloche, to give him a proper 
place of honor.

Thanks Sis, for passing it on to me, 
especially since my sweet hubby 
was in the Navy during WWII. 

Little tip:  I used my document shredder
to slice a piece of RED tissue paper
into shreds to surround him.
 
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I was only able to find one other like it, online.
I think he is called a "smoker"
but I don't know the history or value, 
except to say he is priceless to me!

A quilt is being used for the tablecloth inside the gazebo.

It will serve double duty later on, once the fireworks start.

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It can get a little chilly out there once the sun goes down!
We have other quilts with STARS,
hanging around the house.
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Can you tell I ♥♥♥ STARS?!
 




We have a GREAT view of 3 different communities
with fireworks displays from our perch in the gazebo &
will open the great room windows &
turn up the stereo, 
with Tchaikovsky's famous 1812 Overture playing
...an annual tradition.   



There will be several cheeses & assorted fruits,
again, keeping with the RED, WHITE & BLUE theme.
(well, okay, grapes are PURPLE not BLUE,
but work with me here, k?)

I'll share my recipe for
BLUE CHEESE DIP
on Friday.
Click HERE to find it.
If you ♥ LOVE Blue Cheese,
you won't want to miss it!

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 My wrought iron silverware caddy
has both RED & BLUE flatware,
as well as patriotic napkins, at the ready.
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 Desserts for the grandkidlets are always easy...
♥♥♥ CUPCAKES!! ♥♥♥
 
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The adults will, hopefully, enjoy these cherry cheesecake parfaits,made with crushed graham crackers,
Dream Whip & cream cheese filling & tart CHERRY RED pie filling.

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 The full recipe can be found HERE
They are not hard at all. 
Putting them into individual little dishes
makes it so much easier than
trying to serve pie slices.

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I hope you have a WONDERFUL
celebration of our Nation's Birthday &
remember, be SAFE!!
 


Thanks to love2dreamdoyou.blogspot.com
for this wonderful hint to prevent sparkler burns!

I'm joining Cuisine Kathleen's meme, Let's Dish,
Yvonne at StoneGable for Tutorials, Tips & Tidbits as well as
Susan at BNOTP for Tablescape Thursday &
Michael Lee at Rattlebridge Farm for Foodie Friday & 
The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays

Thank you, Ladies, for hosting
such wonderful parties each week!

22 comments:

  1. Looks like you're all set for the festivities Rett! I love your pretty quilts and all the munchies look great! Only one thing catches my eye though... That cheese tray could use some pickled jalapenos:@) Happy 4th of July!!!

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    1. Hahahahaha! No way, Jose'...I don't have the cast iron stomach that you do, Lynn!

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  2. You're all set for a festive and patriotic celebration Rett! I love seeing your baker's rack decorated for all the seasons. So fun to illuminate your pierced teapot and I ADORE your quilts and sweet sailor smoker! Your cherry cheesecake parfaits look so fun in your little dishes and I love that they're portion controlled :) Wishing you a Happy Independence Day!

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  3. Oh my goodness - you have outdone yourself! Everything is so wonderful that I am definitely in the mood for tomorrow! Love all of your stars, the polka dots, the food - I mean "everything"!! Such a fun post - thanks for sharing.

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  4. I am so glad you left a comment on my blog because I found you and I am in LOVE. All of your 4th of July decor is wonderful.

    Tomorrow is the annual 4th of July Push 'Em Pull 'em parade in our town. Parents pull wagons or push strollers down Main Street and the paraders throw treats to the observers. It began after all children were too old and wouldn't be caught dead at the Push 'em Pull 'em Parade. We have no grands, but when we do, I can't wait to decorate a wagon.

    I can't wait to explore your site more because we share a love for color, and stars, and tennis.

    Happy 4th

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  5. What an amazing post for honoring Old Glory...my goodnes, wow! Everything is awesome, every detail and the beautiful star plates, the tray flag, well, I can go on and on!!!!! Enjoy your Fourth weekend, sweetie!
    FABBY

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  6. Great post! Your photos are so pretty! Have a great fourth of July!
    XO
    ~Wendy

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  7. Rett, you are definitely ready! Looks like the red, white, and blue will be celebrated in style at The Gazebo House. We'll walk over to the neighborhood parade in the morning. It wouldn't be the 4th of July without the parade. Great idea to use the cup protector for the sparklers. I've not lit a sparkler in years, but found some at the grocery this year. We'll be sparkling on the terrace. '-)
    Enjoy the festivities and the family fun. Happy 4th! ~ Sarah

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  8. I 'm thrilled, yet again, to see you up and entertaining with all your panache and talent. A blessed change from last year. Everything looks absolutely grand! The red white and blue quilt is stunningly beautiful! Oh my! Thanks for inviting us for a peak. Happy 4th! Cherry Kay

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  9. Oh my, Rett, you have been busy getting The Gazebo House in patriotic attire!! The baker's rack looks so festive.. love the star bordered plates, the red polka dots and the milk glass (swoon!). Of course, I always love to see your quilts and your yummy treats. The mini cheesecake servings are perfect for a crowd!! I will remember that for my cheesecake-loving son. I'm looking forward to the blue cheese dip recipe. Gotta love that sparkler tip...genius!!
    Happy 4th to you and your sweetie. xo

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  10. I just know that you're going to have a marvelous day - all the ingredients are there!

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  11. Wow Rett, everything looks terrific. All your beautiful dishes. Food looks yummy. I know you will be having a wonderful time.
    Happy 4th.
    Mary

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  12. Wow, you are too much! I should quit blogging I'm such a poop on such a special day! Your post is beautiful! (As are all your posts, I might add!) I'm having a party today and don't even have patriotic paper napkins either, if you can believe? Who'd ever believe we are friends????

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  13. The sparkler cup is brilliant! May you and Ern enjoy a fabulous Fourth!

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  14. Rett, Your food presentation/tablescape is stunning! Very thoughtfully and creatively put together, with love! Your Baker's rack looks fantastic, your cherry cheesecake parfaits are gorgeous as are your cupcakes, and your quilts are really wonderful! You are a talented woman, Rett. Hope you enjoyed your day.
    xo Beth

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  15. All so wonderfully patriotic and festive! Great job!

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  16. I came here last night but wasn't able to comment so I'm back like a bad penny. I love this whole post from top to bottom. You have so many good ideas and so much eye candy here. Now, I'm clicking for that recipe because it looks yummy and you said it was easy. I hope it's easy on the Debbie Scale too.

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  17. That sailor is a sassy little thing! Cute!

    I like the idea of putting the sparkler through the end of a cup to protect the hands! What a great idea!!! I am going to suggest that to my son for his daughter. It's a fun look, and it appears to be much safer!

    The parade entries are great! I love to see members of the armed forces all decked out in their uniforms! It just brings chills! Those old-time cars are pretty cool, too!!!

    Your house was super decked out for the holiday, and I hope you guys enjoyed it to the fullest! Have a wonderful weekend!

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  18. Wow! I loved reading about all your lovely traditions and decorations. Your photos are just beautiful! You are an entertainer extraordinaire!

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  19. What a beautiful post, chocked full of great ideas! Loved it all! You know we can't even have sparklers here in NY?
    Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful holiday decor at Let's Dish!

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  20. Forgot to say omg on those quilts! You are an artist!

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  21. I love it all Rett! You have thought of every touch, but I wondered about the m&m's - did you separate them or did you find patriotic ones? I bought some years ago and I look every year and can't find them. And, love the pretzels too!
    I think I've mentioned before how much I like your milk glass collection. So many pretties.
    The recipes both look good too, but I like how Debbie put it, I'll see how easy they are for me! You always make it look so effortless, and I know it takes a lot of hard work to tend to all these details.

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Thank you so much for leaving a comment. I read them all & each one is so very special to me & I try really hard to return the visit!

fondly,
~Rett~