1 – EL GRADUATED!
Happy Sunday! Fun summer decor in today’s post, but I have to quickly share a couple of pics from El’s college graduation! I mean.. if it’s not on the blog did it even happen!? ;) We are so proud of her and had the best weekend celebrating with all of her sweet friends! I can’t believe how quickly the past 4 years flew by.
My beautiful girls! Proud mom. :) Every stage of parenting has ups and downs, but through the years I keep thinking no THIS is the best stage. That’s truly how I feel about life with my kids right now. This young adult stage can be hard (mostly just because I miss having them with me all the time!) but it’s also so rewarding watching your kids grow and learn to adult and even thrive on their own. You see so many similarities, but they also become their own person and it feels like such a gift to watch and to be a part of their lives. My girls have always been my little besties, but now that they are older it’s like they truly are my best friends and we all have such a strong connection. We talk about everything and I love spending time with them. I’m so excited to have them both home all summer! Kole is pumped too. I’m sure he gets tired of just being home with his mom and dad. I mean.. we think we’re cool but he has made it pretty clear he thinks otherwise.. ha. We all love having the girls home! Moms know that everything feels right in the world when your kids are all home under one roof. :)
2 – MAY GIFT IDEA
I used these heart card holders to add a gift card. I’ve had these for years and they are so handy to have on hand for gifts! Use them to pop a note or gift card in any gift you’re giving. They look especially cute in flowers! I bent the bottom a bit to be the right height in the Stanleys.
3 – SUMMER PRINTABLE
Download all of my free printables HERE
I wanted a simple flag print for my console table this year and came up with some cute design options! I was having a hard time choosing between grey and tan for the stripe background so now we have both. :) You can download all print options in 3 different sizes – horizontal prints that are 10×8, 14×11 and 16×12 and vertical prints that are 8×10, 11×14 and 12×16. Print one and put it in a frame and there you go! Easy summer decor. You can download them HERE. :)
4 – SUMMER BANNER
I’ve been doing a few small things in the yard to get it ready for summer. I ordered this cute bow garland to hang over the fireplace and loved it even more than I thought I would. I added some simple silver stars and now I don’t want to ever take this down! The stars shine in the sun and it makes me so happy to see them glistening through my windows during the day.
The bow banner arrived pretty wrinkled and I went to pull out my little steamer that I usually use and it was gone. I remembered El took it to her apartment to use so I opened up this steamer that has been sitting in a box since Christmas! Kenny gave it to me as a gift and at the time I kind of laughed and said a steamer!? You know I have one! He said “I know but some of the women at my office were talking about how much they love this one and you’re always steaming things..” It kind of made me laugh at the time (random!) but I have to say that I can see why people were talking about this! It’s really good and so easy to use. I had my bows steamed and looking amazing in a couple of minutes! I still love my little go – to steamer, but you can tell this new option is higher quality. Sometimes my smaller steamer spits water out (especially if you fill it past the fill line!) and with this one I didn’t see a drop. It also works a little quicker and can be used as an iron. Both are good options but I had to share my love for this one after using it! Good job after all Kenny. ;)
I ordered more of our favorite pool towels. For the next 3 months I’ll have a part time job washing them all.
I also added these cute new pillows with a few I’ve had for years! The floral pillow is so pretty! On sale this weekend too.
5 – POOL FLOATS
We can’t have pool towels without a few new pool floats! I ordered this little air pump when I couldn’t find the one I used last year. It has so many good reviews I decided to try it and I can see why it’s a favorite! It’s so small but packs a big punch.
It blew these tubes up in no time. Very excited about them because they have a spot for my diet coke. :) They come in lots of colors too!
You know I love a good flamingo or swan floating around the pool! Is it even summer without one!? This swan is the COOLEST. It’s solar! It chargers all day from the sun and then glows at night. It switches different colors and is so beautiful floating on the water. I couldn’t wait to watch and see if it worked the first night and was so excited when it lit up.. ha! Kole was pretty impressed too. I’ll snap some night pics soon. Our favorite purchase of the summer so far!
I’m looking at a few pillow options for our lounge chairs and will share them soon. Having an umbrella in this spot has been so nice because I can swing it over to shade the hot tub which is where I spend most of my time!
Our swan is feeling right at home. Summer can now officially begin. :)
6 – SUMMER TABLE
I pulled out my favorite flag plates, red stripe napkins and rattan flatware and then added these cute
Good thing I’m covered with steamers. ;)
