United States Semiquincentennial

With this year being the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, I am excited about decorating my porch in red, white, and blue. Different names have emerged for our anniversary—Semiquincentennial, Sestercentennial, and Bisesquicentennial. I'm not sure why there are so many different names, but they sound cool—and they would make great spelling bee words.

I have always loved the colors red, white, and blue. They just look good from the road against our white house. I do not usually do a lot of decorating for the Fourth of July, but this year I'm going to dress up the place. Might as well celebrate Memorial Day, Flag Day, and then the 250th Fourth of July!

I'm adding porch pillows and boxwood wreaths with beautiful, high-quality D. Stevens ribbons. I dusted off my beloved sewing machine and whipped up a couple of cute cotton pillows with bows that made me happy. I also found some pillows at Home Sense (Ralph Lauren red ones) that I loved. $34 for two! The little wool heart pillow was from Hamrick's for $10.

Side note—I really wish Gville had better resources for reasonably priced fabrics. I miss Tony's Fabrics. It was the best. Maybe I will find a source that provides good fabric options moving forward. For now, I found a little sale on some basic cotton quilting fabric and made it work.

I've enjoyed taking a few orders for pillows, bows, and sashes. Seasonal styling for family and friends is so fulfilling. What some find overwhelming, I enjoy—go figure.

I love the South! Front porches with the American flag waving, rocking chairs, ferns, benches, pillows, wreaths, and flowers... a cold glass of sweeeeet tea (yes, syrupy sweet with a wedge of lemon), and you can sit and enjoy the summer days (until the mosquitoes come after you). Clean off your porches and enjoy the beautiful weather. Happy 250th birthday, America!!