Easy & Cheap Party Decorations

Summer time is party season! The beautiful weather is just aching to have music and grill fumes fill the air. Whats great about outdoor parties is how naturally beautiful everything is, you hardly have to decorate at all. However, sometimes you just need to add a little extra to set apart your seasons big shindig from the regular warm day cook out. 

The one down side about decorating outside is that outdoor decor can be PRICEY! So here are a few  cheap ways I found to add some extra pizazz to your outdoor space while also saving your wallet.  Sometimes, simply adding a table cloth can do so much but other times we need just a bit more going on. 

One of my all time favorite ways to add that extra oomph is with balloons. But not the traditional way balloons are used for parties. I like to glue on some pretty little glitter, just enough to cover the bottom. Then when you hang them over your table you have a whimsical table scape made from nothing but balloons, glue, and glitter! C-H-E-A-P :) 

Another cheap way to add some whimsy glow is with tea lights. I simply saved up some tin cans, poked holes in them, glued on some glitter and placed my tea lights inside. Easy and cheap way to add a nice glow to any table. Fresh flowers and bright foods are amazing to add pops of color too. Thankfully the summer provides lots of natural elements, these daisies and dandelions I picked from the yard, the plates I got from the Dollar Store and well then there is awesome that fabulously fresh fruit! 

Errbody is happy when you can get a pretty and simple table scape :) This pretty girl came over expecting a easy birthday BBQ but luckily I got a little sneaky and added in some pizzaz to her day with all these decor ideas. 

For the food table it's always a plus to display your tasty goodies on pretty platters. And as often as I try and use my beautiful "real" serving pieces sometimes you need something a bit more durable than ceramics. When you need that less valuable piece but still want the pretty look hit up the dollar store for the plastic pieces. For this brownie tray and cake platter I picked up 2 faux silver platters and a set of plastic faux crystal bowls. Then I simply glued the bowls upside down to the bottom of the platter creating a simple, cheap, and pretty serving piece.

I just love outdoor get togethers, and love, even more, being able to make my parties special with out emptying out my wallet! How do you guys prepare for a summer get together?

2014 Summer Reading List

I've had this post sitting for a while, like back in January... But I wanted to make sure I took the time to sit down and really tell y'all what my heart learned from these books! Each of these books are AH-MAZING and get you hooked super quickly, but besides being a great novel they have some amazing truths in them as well.

So, here is my first ever attempt at a reading list and book review :)

Well, all of these books are written by Francine Rivers. She is an amazing Christian Fiction novelist who captures biblical stories with such a creative and truthful mind that you feel like you are seeing the events of the bible actually being played out in full detail. She is a very well known author so I wouldn't be surprised if most of you have read something by her in the past. But I encourage you, whole heartedly, to read some of these others by her and look at the books as more than just a great way to pass the summer time.

I first read Redeeming Love when I was in middle school. It spread like wild fire around my youth group and for good reason! This book takes the story of Hosea and makes it a bit more understandable and relatable. We may not all be a young girl sold in to prostitution but we all have felt unworthy of the pursuit and love of the Lord. This book is a beautiful example of how God can change anyones heart, even if they aren't looking for Him to change it. And how He can also use anyone to help in His purpose. The husband in this book is an amazing listener, to both his wife and to God. He pursued the Lords will even when it didn't make sense or come easily. this book is precious, and comes with so many beautiful reminders of why our God reins. 

Then last summer my mom introduced me to the Mark of the Lion Trilogy by Rivers. Again, the entire series is so captivating that you can't help but learn from the characters. In this series Rivers uses a young slave girl to enforce the importance of faith and trusting that you are exactly where God wants you, even if that means your in an arena with a hungry lion. The characters all struggle with their place in life regardless of how "easy" it should be. I never thought I would learn so much from a fiction book, but Rivers has taken almost everything I have read from her and made it in to something that I can apply to my life. READ THE BOOKS :) 

The next two books I found out of sheer need for another book that would teach me to walk closer to the Lord while also being an enticing novel. These two books are based off biblical characters once again and it is unreal how realistic these have been written. Rivers sure does do her research and brings to life the biblical times beautifully!  Sons of Encouragement tells the story of 5 biblical men (Amos, Aaron, Jonathan, Caleb, and Silas)  who we have all heard of but most likely know little about. Rivers takes theirs stories and brings to light how important their relationships where. How despite not getting the "full spotlight" in this life they were able to change eternity for all of us. Again, amazing how much you can learn from a novel but now reading through the bible I am able to connect with these characters and understand so much more of what is going on. Equally as informative and captivating is Lineage of Grace, the story of the 5 women God chose to play in the lineage of Christ the savior. Each of these women, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary face unbelievable challenges but teach us to endure and trust in the Lord with all our hearts. The circumstances they faced where harsh but they fought through it all with their eyes on the Lord. 

So there you have it! A reading list full of stories that will not only captivate you to the point you can't put it down, but will also teach you lesson after lesson on how to pursue the Lord and become a stronger, more faithful servant.

 These books are perfect for summer time, where you have endless sunlight to embrace and time to soak it all in :) I have some on my Kindle and some hard copies, both of them have notes all over them. All of these books have great reminders that could be written out and placed around your home. 

Basically, READ THE BOOKS :)