Fourth of July Home Tour

Happy Fourth of July!

I hope you are enjoying the day with family & friends!

I was so blessed this past weekend when my Instagram friend, Jill, came in from Chicago to visit with Gale Nation & me!  We have been "IG friends" for FIVE years!

When we met on Saturday, it felt as if I had known her "In Real Life" all along.  I am always astonished when people dismiss 'on-line' friendships.  My bestie, Gale, and I met on Instagram. I jokingly call IG "the eHarmony of friendships" for women.  Truly, my ENTIRE tribe originated from Instagram & I couldn't imagine going through life without them!

 

In case you didn't get the memo, you dress ALL in black when you meet your friends!

Gale, me, Jill & Jill's awesome son & hubby!

And, what it's really like when we get together...

What a gift.

And, since it's the Fourth...
I thought I'd give you a little glimpse of 

#jillyshouseofnewbeginnings 

all ZHUSHED up for the day!

I think one of my favorite things to do is change my bar cart of the holidays.

We made sure it was in working order this past weekend when Vic, Gale's hubby, made

us 3-2-1 margaritas.  WOWZA!

I made this FUN picture with my Cricut & framed it in a cheap IKEA frame...

I've decided to make one for EVERY holiday!

My antique dressed holds all my paper

goods & holiday themed napkins.

It also is home to my new book wreath I created.

They are for sale at Bella Patina

(or if you happen to be in KC, you can just give me a holler to purchase one).

Paper is a go-to filler for me when zhushing up my home.

One, it's cheap!

Two, it's versatile...you can do so much with it!

In this picture, I have created a small banner, rolled book pages to fill a 

blue & white pot, and made pinwheels in patriotic paper to add some whimsy.

Another quick cheap idea, is cover cans with paper...

this is just a large can covered in patriotic paper & filled with

those cheap little American flags.

So simple, but packs a punch!

I love book wreaths...

and I like them in unexpected places...

like this hutch. 

A view of the family room...

I learned a trick from Gnation...

take a picture & look at it from that angle.

She has her students do this while they create their chalkboards

in Cheater Chalk Class.

But, I have learned that it works well when observing a whole room.

It's easy to nit-pick when you are only looking at a certain area....

a picture of the entire room helps put things in better perspective.

Hmmm, sounds like a good life lesson, huh?

#thatwillpreach

I don't have a mantle on my fireplace which can be challenging.  

But, I dress it up anyway.

If you're counting...

that is 3 book wreaths in one room.

My personal philosophy is...

if you like it...

GO WITH IT!

I change out this chalkboard over my fireplace with each season.

I love this saying by Albert Einstein,

"Awaken JOY in creative expression."

I have found this to be so true.

The more creative I allow myself to be...

the more JOY I experience in my every day life.

And, this wall probably gets the MOST comments when people 

come to visit.  But, oh do I LOVE it!  

Blue & white plates just make my heart happy!

Really, really, really happy!

And, the answer is "NO"...there are NOT enough plates on that wall.

And, "YES", I plan to add more as I come across them 

in my thrifting expeditions.

So, there you have it...

a little red, white & blue decor on 

this Fourth!

And, this....

"[W]e look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression--everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way--everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want--which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants--everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear--which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor--anywhere in the world."
--Franklin Roosevelt