Summer Nights

Now that 4th of July is over, I feel sort of blue.  The next holiday won't be here till Halloween, and I still have to get through the rest of summer.  Luckily, the summer nights have been nice and cool and we have been spending a lot of QT on the back porch.

Here's a roundup of our summer night favorites:

1.  String Lights - I am so majorly in love with our new string lights.  I have been wanting them in our backyard, somewhere, the past few years, and finally got around to putting them up just in time for our 4th of July party.  These are amazing lights.  They don't get hot, so you can string them through your trees, and they have a nice, soft glow.  I've already rearranged them 3 times and they've only been up a couple weeks.  Ha!

2.  Oil lanterns - I absolutely love the look of my lanterns at night!  We put citronella tiki oil in the lanterns and it works great to keep the bugs away.  They are from Pier 1 several years ago.  These are similar to the ones we have, but they aren't lightable.

3.  Tree Swing - We hung Xavier's toddler swing from one of the trees in our yard.  We bought some climbing rope from Home Depot and attached it.  It's great for during the week because after dinner, the last thing we want to do is get packed up to go the park for a half hour before it's time to start bedtime.  Xavier loves, loves, loves it!

4.  Before summer is over, I'm determined to have a full blown picnic somewhere.  I want picnic blankets, an entire full-course meal, complete with kraft gable boxes for each of us.  Doesn't that make you want to have a picnic too?!  

5.  Sweet treats on the back porch.  Cherry Cordial ice cream is my jam!  Add a splash of Hershey's chocolate syrup for some extra happy Alli!

Summer is almost over!  Start making a list of fun outdoor things to do before it's time to pack up your back porch for the winter!

The sun never sets on a badass.