Summer Birthday Barbecue!

Happy Monday!

How was your weekend? Our Saturday was busy, but in a good way. Let me fill you in...

My husband turned 40 earlier this spring, but we wanted to wait to do a party outside. The date was set & the guests were invited! 

The party date arrived. It was raining. Boo! 

We prayed over the weather & got to our party preparations anyway.

The menu was simple - we provided the hot dogs & burgers & we asked our friends to bring the side dishes. I just love a pot luck! Everyone makes their favourite dishes & it takes so much pressure off of the host family!

As I said, we had the party outside, so I wanted to add a bit of colour to our green backyard. :)

The rain stopped a couple of hours before the party started (ours prayers worked!), so we were able to get things "prettied up" in plenty of time.

Some lanterns with brightly coloured candles, paper lanterns, Off! bug lanterns (which work really well, by the way), my chevron tablecloth from HomeSense, topped with a vintage wire basket for napkins & paper plates, & some bright turquoise buckets held the plastic utensils. I brought out my yellow vintage step stool & we set up a drink station with it. 

The guests arrived & we had a wonderful meal with them. I didn't make the same mistake this year that I did last year: making blended drinks for our guests that had me running the blender all night! 

I made plenty of fruity iced tea (a berry blend from Steeped Tea), combined it with frozen lemonade concentrate & some Sprite to add a bit of fizz. It was a great punch that was easy to throw together as the night went on. I was actually able to sit & visit with friends instead of being in the kitchen all night! It also helped that my friend, Krysta, took on dishwashing duty towards the end of the party & cleaned up all the leftover food as well! Thanks, Krys! 

Instead of a birthday cake, I put together some of my sweet husband's favourite flavours - chocolate & peanut butter - & made a summer friendly (no turning on the stove!) trifle! Recipe coming soon - stay tuned!

It was a great party & my husband's 40th birthday was definitely celebrated in style! 

Thanks to all our friends for coming & celebrating with us!

Thanks for reading. If you like what you see here on Silver Boxes, I'd love it if you would become a follower on Google Friend Connect, subscribe by email (sign up on the right sidebar), 

or follow along on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, or Twitter. 

And please leave a comment when you do so I know who my new friends are! :)

Enjoy your day!

Check out the great parties I link up to!

Insta-Friday #23, #24, #25

Another week of telling you the stories behind my Instagram photos! Three week's worth, this time! You may want to grab a coffee... ;)

Once our peonies started blooming it rained for days which means we didn't get a whole lot of time to enjoy them. In between the rain showers, I managed to get this shot.

After all the rain, the plants (and the weeds!) were growing profusely! And weeding was a super muddy job!

Skinny Strawberry Cream Fruit Dip

Summer is such a great time to fill your diet with fresh fruit. It's also a great option to have at a party or shower. Here's a great dip to include with your next fruit tray or just to have on hand for you & your family! 

It's low fat too so it's a guilt free treat!

Skinny Strawberry Fruit Dip

makes approx. 6 cups

2 envelopes Dream Whip or 4 cups low fat whipped topping

1 package strawberry jello mix

1 cup low fat strawberry yogurt 

Prepare Dream Whip according to package directions. In a separate bowl, prepare the jello  according to directions, but don't allow it to completely set. Only refrigerate for 45 minutes to an hour - until thickened, but still a liquid. Fold jello & strawberry yogurt into the whipped topping. Refrigerate for 2 more hours, until thickened. 

Serve with fruit. 

Note: If it gets runny, you can whip it for 2 minutes on high & it will bring it right back to life!

Enjoy the fruits of summer!

Thanks for reading. If you like what you see here on Silver Boxes, I'd love it if you would become a follower on Google Friend Connect, subscribe by email (sign up on the right sidebar), 

or follow along on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, or Twitter. 

And please leave a comment when you do so I know who my new friends are! :)

Enjoy your day!

Check out the great parties I link up to!

Shopping Bag Turned Gift Bag

 I always enjoy walking out of a store with a paper shopping bag. Especially these lovely turquoise bags from David's Tea. 

Besides that fact that you're getting some retail therapy, they are also so easy to upcycle to a pretty gift bag!

Start with the shopping bag, glue or an adhesive runner, a pretty patterned paper, & some handmade tissue paper flowers. {Find my tutorial here!} 

This Way To Birthday Fun!

Well, after a little blogging break to get settled into summer, I'm back!

Taking a break always usually helps me think of some creative posts to share with you & get fired up for my next project. Breaks are good. They are needed. But it's good to be back.

What have you been up to so far this summer?

~~~

Here's a fun birthday card that perfectly suited to a summer birthday party!