Fourth of July Favorites

Photo Credit: Land O'Lakes

Wishing you and your family a wonderful 4th of July holiday!

Perfect Pie for today!  Click here for the recipe.

We brought tons of these to the beach...

and one of these!

Then don't forget to frame in the U.S.A.

Our favorite beach towels in patriotic colors.

I wear this every summer beach day.

Blue and White jacket to take you from Summer into Fall.

Fourth of July Entertaining on the TODAY Show

I was on The TODAY Show this morning showing some last minute ideas for Fourth of July entertaining!

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Mix and match red, white and blue plates and flatware to give your table a patriotic feel! Don't worry if you don't have the exact number of every color. Combining patterns will keep things fun and festive!

I used brown paper lunch sacks to make place cards for the guests. It's a simple thing you can do to make your friends and family feel extra special.

Not sure what to serve? This red velvet berry cobbler featured on the cover of July's Southern Living would be delicious!

 If you don't have red, white or blue place settings already on hand, don't fret! Take to the outdoors to find some summer inspiration.

I used some ferns from my backyard, a butcher block from my kitchen and a few different sized glasses to make a great centerpiece!

Use a metallic marker to write your guest's names on leaves for quick and simple place cards!

Next up, serve your guests a refreshing drink to beat the July heat. Place popsicles in wine glasses and top them with a sparkling white wine. Prosecco is my favorite!

I also just had to share my shoes! I couldn't have picked a more fun pair for the Fourth! 

I had so much fun sharing my tips today! I hope you all have a wonderful Fourth of July!

Independence Day Entertaining

Throw a Fourth of July party with an outdoor table that will allow you to enjoy the pretty summer weather and move easily to a spot on the lawn to watch the local fireworks!

Kimberly Schlegel Whitman's "Tablescapes" 

I love square tables, so I took the chance to rent one for our early dinner. I found a wonderful navy fabric with white starts at a wholesale fabric shop and quickly bought up dozens of yards! The talented Nicolas Villalba whipped up a custom cloth, and I was ready to get started!

Kimberly Schlegel Whitman's "Tablescapes" 

Nothing screams Fourth of July more than watermelon, so to celebrate this refreshing summer fruit, I placed three of them in a large galvanized bucket. By cutting the tops off the watermelons, I made sort of a vase out of them and tucked stems of red Gerber daises right into the moist melons! The flowers stayed fresh much longer than if they had been simply put in water.

Kimberly Schlegel Whitman's "Tablescapes" 

Place cards were made from bright blue paper, white glitter glue and striped ribbon stickers. They were playful and fun, just like our guests! 

Kimberly Schlegel Whitman's "Tablescapes" 

We folded red and white striped napkins and placed them inside each bucket as an envelope for the navy-handled flatware.

A basket of insect spray, some little American flags stuck into our potted plants and a lot of lemonade were the finishing touches to our casual get-together. 

With Justin grilling and plenty of friends by the pool, tomorrow is sure to be a fantastic Fourth!

TODAY Show: Memorial Day Entertaining

Good Morning!  TGIF!  Are you excited about the long weekend?  If you have plans for entertaining this Memorial Weekend, I hope you had a chance to catch me this morning when I shared my tips with Savannah Guthrie on TODAY.

Watch the full video here!

Keep it clean and put a small basket of Wheat Germ or Moss in a basket to catch the drippings from your drink dispenser.  We added flags to give it a patriotic look.  The Drink Dispenser is from Sur la Table and the Glass Dryer Rack is from Farm Housewares.

Invest in serving pieces that can go from the kitchen to the table.  I love the paddle from Chef Tim Love's collection for Sur la Table.  The rubs are amazing too!

Set the table using your favorite red, white and blue pieces.  I love John Robshaw's block print linens and this blue and white pattern took on a patriotic feel when we added a red plate.

The centerpieces were made by my talented and crafty friend Katherine.  She had them at her home and I asked her to loan them to me for the segment.  Aren't they brilliant!  They are simply old glass soda bottles and jam jars that she painted white. She had yellow flowers in them but I used red gerbera daisies to keep with our red, white and blue theme.

Set up a popcorn bar for your guests.  It is a fun treat for adults and kids alike!  Simply stack brown paper sacks full of plain popcorn and let your guests add condiments.  We had red and blue M&Ms, parmesan, bacon bits, various salts and pepper, and cranberries.  The three-tiered basket if from Southern Living's collection for Ballard Design and it can be used tiered or as separate baskets. Brilliant! I stamped the brown paper sacks to give them a bit of style and I labeled the condiments with ribbons and signs made by The Left Handed Calligrapher.

Add mood lighting in style with BHLDN's three blue and white lanterns.  I love the way they mix patterns!

Keep the kids entertained with a paper tablecloth and a centerpiece made with Crayola Colored Sand and red, white and blue crayons.  So easy!

Don't forget the music! I didn't get to the Rukus in the segment but I am crazy about it!  It is solar powered and you can connect your music to it by bluetooth or USB.  I think everyone needs one for summer!

Speaking of music, I snagged a picture with artist, Pitbull, before he performed his new song off of the Men in Black III soundtrack. 

New York looks wonderfully patriotic decked out with American flags to celebrate our veterans.

I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day!