While none of us want summer to come to an end (I'm at the front of that line!) a great end of summer beach party is the perfect way to welcome in the football, I mean fall season. Whether you live on the coast or want to host a fun beach party in your own backyard there are some essentials that you will want to put on your shopping list for this summertime party. Here are my ten essentials when it comes to hosting an end of summer beach party.

1. Ice: You can NEVER have to much ice for any party (and you might need some for #7!)
2. Tiki Torches: To light up your beach party long after the sun sets
3. Beach Balls: For games and decoration
4. Seashells: Perfect for decorating with!
5. Sunglasses: The perfect favor that all your guests can use during and after the party
6. Beach Games: Cornhole, Bocce Ball and Ladder Golf are some popular ones
7. Drink Maker: You don't just have to serve margaritas with this portable drink machine
8. Snack Foods: Just make sure that nothing you make will melt in the sun
9. Beach Music: Check out some of my favorite beach music from my beach mix
10. Beach Buckets: The perfect solution for holding food, drinks or setup for guest's trash

What is on your list of beach party essentials?

xoxo
Megan

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Every year when the family goes to the beach we celebrate my dad's birthday. I think he intentionally scheduled our beach vacation like this from the beginning, but I won't deny that it wasn't a great idea. Over the years we have celebrated by the way my dad loves best: going out for a good breakfast and then spending as much time as possible out on the beach. Here are a few pictures from my dad's birthday celebrations...

This year was no different as we found a great new breakfast place to go try out. Let me first state that we are a family that can never just sit still (myself included). The breakfast tables had butcher paper on them and it only took a few minutes before we went to retrieve some crayons and all enjoyed some fun coloring while waiting for our food. (My pictures is the one above.) After the birthday boy's breakfast we all retreated back to the beach as quickly as we could to bask in the rays. 

We ran into a little rain in the afternoon, but after the quick shower we went back out to the pool to enjoy the rest of the afternoon rays. We did get to see a beautiful double rainbow after the rain storm from our back porch.

For dinner we went to our favorite local restaurant in Sandbridge and then went out for some ice cream at the new family owner ice cream shop. We finished up the birthday evening with the unwrapping of a few presents that he got a good kick out of. He really enjoyed the whoopee cushion that came in his card from my brother (I stopped asking why some time ago) and also the shirts that we got made for him with our beach house's logo.

What is your favorite way to celebrate your birthday?

xoxo
Megan

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This past week I have been on vacation down at the beach taking in some rays and having some fun out in the water. Whenever we come down to the beach we always have a cute themed treat or two to enjoy as well. This vacation my friend Kristin made these adorable beach cupcakes for all of us to enjoy. Instead of having each individual cupcake as a beach she took all of them and made it into one big beach with chocolate shells in the water and umbrellas out on the sand. We have been enjoying them all week and they have been delicious! Even if you aren't at the beach you can still make your own beach cupcakes by following the directions below. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• cupcake mix (any kind will do)
  
• white icing
  
• blue food coloring
  
• graham crackers (finely crumbled)
  
• decorations (drink umbrellas, chocolate shells, gummy lifesavers, etc.)
  

Instructions

1. Prepare the cupcakes according to the directions on the box.
   
2. Once cooked and cooled get ready to decorate! Take your icing and color it to the desired blue you want. Put the icing into a piping bag and ice your cupcakes like you normally would any other cupcake.
   
3. For those that you want to create a beach on take your graham cracker crumbles and gently pat them onto the top of your icing.
   
4. For the final touch take your cocktail umbrellas, chocolate shells and other decorations and add them onto your cupcakes to create your beach scene and enjoy!
   

What is your favorite beach themed treat? Have a great weekend!!

xoxo
Megan

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If you are looking for a wedding with a little sparkle on your wedding day, you want a glam wedding. From the dress to the table accessories you should find sparkles on just about everything. And the more sparkle really is better in this setting. So for the bride who is looking to have classic glam as her wedding day theme look no further than these suggestions to create the perfect glam wedding event.

The Bride & Groom
The bride should look for a dress that is more on the princess side than Pippa Middleton's look. Decked out with crystals and intricate details on the dress and in the jewelry, the bride will captivate all those whom were invited. For the groom a three piece suite is what you will want to choose. It will lend the perfect Hollywood red carpet glam to the day.

The Venue & Decorations
A venue that eludes elegance and glam creates the perfect wedding venue. An old theater or estate house with gilded details and sparkling chandeliers adds charm to the overall look you are trying to achieve. So when it comes to the decorations you want to support your venue's details. If your venue has ornate chandeliers find crystal centerpieces and plates with gilded edges.  

The Entertainment
Looking for entertainment to support your glam Hollywood feel you don't need to search much further than the classic photo booth. You guests will love to feel like they are posing on the red carpet while adding one of their photo creations to your guest book. And to keep the party going all night long hire a DJ to spin some of your favorite tunes well into the twilight hours. 

If you can't decide what choose think about what you might see at a red carpet event to guide your decisions. What are your favorite glamorous details of this wedding theme?

xoxo
Megan

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Not that you ever need a reason to celebrate or throw a party, but if you do need a reason just look up some of the unofficial holidays that are celebrated in the US. You can find everything from National Talk Like a Pirate Day to National Wear Pink Day and a ton of other fun holidays in between. I ran across this funny website PartyExcuses.com and spent over an hour just browsing through the list of unofficial holidays. With so many to choose from I decided that I would put together a list of my ten favorites each month so you will always have a fun reason to celebrate that month. So without further ado here are my ten favorite unofficial holidays for August. Happy celebrating!

August 6th: Wiggle Your Toes Day 
August 10th: Lazy Day 
August 11th: Play in the Sand Day (I think I can check this one off since I am at the beach!)
August 15th: Best Friend's Day
August 16th: National Tell A Joke Day (It's knock, knock time!) and it's also...
National Rum Day (maybe that is how all those jokes sound so good?)
August 18th: Cupcake Day
August 24th: National Waffle Day
August 26th: National Toilet Paper Day (genius!)
August 27th: Just Because Day (Why not?!?)

What is your favorite unofficial holiday to celebrate?

xoxo
Megan

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A lot of event hosts are looking for new ways to add personal touches and decorate without breaking the bank. With the rise of Pinterest there is no end to the amount of wedding inspiration that you can find. A few weeks ago I worked a wedding in Charlottesville where the Mother of the Bride went all out with the DIY decorations. They turned a great event venue into an amazing reception venue with some simple projects that I could not wait to share with you. Here are some of my favorites from the event.

The place card and gift table showcased a multitude of DIY projects. Besides making their own place cards for all the guests they added decorative bows to the table skirting as well as put together the blue and gold globes you can see lined up. They used small circle vases stuffed with metallic streamers and added a large gold ornament on top. This is a budget friendly easy DIY as you can find everything for the project at your local dollar store. Over on the gift table side they took a large blue vase and then suspended blue and gold decorative ornaments from gold wire. It was quite pretty to look at!

This cocktail table centerpiece really drew everyone's interest. These vases are filled with these things called magic growing jelly balls. They are little spheres that you submerge in water and watch them grow. They had blue, yellow and clear balls in two different sizes that they put inside vases with a battery operated tea light at the bottom. These jelly balls also work great in flower vases and other water displays.

Instead of renting a dance floor, since there was already a nice terrazzo floor, they decided to create floor markers for the 4 corners. A paper lantern column was created for this purpose. Paper lanterns were strung together with hanging lights inside. Metallic gold ribbon was then attached to the top lantern with everything being hung from the metal tower. This was an elegant way to designating where the dance floor was for their guests.

The last DIY project I wanted to share with you today were the table decorations. They used two table runners, bows, ornaments, battery operated lights and outdoor glass globes. The fabric table runners were layered to form an "X" across the table with the glass globe and ribbons arranged over the crossed section. The table numbers were simple photo holders that were spray painted gold and had 5x7" photos inserted into the frame. 

The best thing about these projects? You can alter the colors to match your own wedding theme! Do you have an easy DIY project that you have created for an event? 

xoxo
Megan

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This Saturday is National Watermelon Day. I consider watermelon one the my summertime staples and will even make a whole meal out of just watermelon. To me you can NEVER go wrong with watermelon anything. Even the colors are pink and green (two of my favorites!). So to help you celebrate this fun summertime holiday I have put together a number of fun watermelon themed ideas and recipes that you can try out this Saturday.

Party Accessories
You can't go wrong with using watermelon colored paper products or these adorable watermelon toothpicks from Etsy shop Naissance. You can also find great watermelon party banners on there as well. For those who like to get a little crafty you can always make your own watermelon accessories using circle punches, black markers and a little bit of creativity.

Party Games
There are so many different kinds of watermelon games you can play in celebration of National Watermelon Day. Depending on the age group here are a few of my favorites. 

• Watermelon Carving Contest. Give each contestant/group a watermelon and see what kind of creation they can make from it. Let all the guests judge which one is their favorite.
  
• Watermelon Eating Contest. Give each contestant a slice of watermelon, have their hands tied behind their back and see who can finish their wedge first. The plastic lobster bibs may come in handy for this contest.
  
• Seed Spitting Contest. Lay a piece of butcher paper on the ground and let guests see how far they can spit their seed. Mark each guest's seed before the next contestant trying their luck.
  
• Watermelon Pinata. Fill a watermelon shaped pinata (learn how to make your own here) with watermelon flavored candies. Let each guest have a turn trying to knock all the goodies out.

Party Menu
Not all of your watermelon party foods have to be made from watermelon. You can also create cute watermelon shaped treats for your guests to enjoy. Here are some great recipes to try out for a watermelon celebration.

• Herb Goat Cheese and Watermelon Party Bites
  
• Honey-Glazed Grilled Watermelon Wedges
  
• Watermelon Waffles (note they are not waffles made from actual watermelons!)
  
• Watermelon Flavored Cake
  
• Drunken Watermelon on Tap (Can also be made for those under 21, just don't add the rum)
  

And if you are ever in China or Japan a watermelon for your party host is the perfect gift. Who knew! What is your favorite watermelon themed party idea? 

xoxo
Megan

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