.my cookout playbook.

with the temperature on the upswing and my mood following suit, the long memorial day weekend was the perfect excuse for a good ol' fashioned cookout. there's something about a little sun that i never appreciated until i moved away from florida. now, even the smallest ray of sunshine is invigorating, but a whole wide sky full of it just begs for happiness.

for our cookout, i chose lemonade to be the ambassador of sunshine. also, i tossed in pops of yellow color here and there for a little more cheeriness. when the day arrived, i felt ready. i had baked and crafted and made one to-do list after another in preparation for it. once the guests arrived, my husband's famous burgers were on the grill and everyone was relaxing with a drink in hand, i had a moment to take it all in. happy, the whole day was colored in one of my favorite adjectives.

coming up with a color scheme early on made planning everything around that as easy as pie, or should i say strawberry cake in a pie plate? i was on a red and white mission with bonus shots of yellow. of course with memorial day and fourth of july jumping off all the sale racks, this was an easy task. if you're looking to throw a party or host an event for any reason, i highly recommend picking a color or two (ok, or three) to work from and i promise everything else will fall into place. my favorite find was the yellow umbrella on sale at a local craft store. it served as the centerpiece for the table without actually even being on the table.

my next few entries will break down some of the simple crafts and will also share the delicious treats we served. so, stay tuned for this cookout's ingredients. hope there will be something you can use in your home.