Nothing's sweeter than summertime & American honey

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I loved the Fourth of July when I was a kid. It was always a big celebration at our house! The family would all come over, we'd BBQ and gather around the fireworks, all whilst wearing our patriotic shirts, most likely from Old Navy. 

But, of course, as relatives have passed away, others have moved away or have to work, so have our gatherings. And, of course, our country has changed quite a bit over the years, too, so it's been a weird shift in not being super excited about what we look like to others around the world and what we represent. 

The last few years have been hard, too, because our dog gets so anxious with all the fireworks booming all around our neighborhood. Sometimes we'd have a few family members over, but they'd leave because of the chaos with Rory barking and the craziness of the fireworks sounding like a war zone. Plus, fireworks have gotten so expensive that the cheapest one for like $50 has only a couple fireworks and you're done in 10 minutes. I also miss the old days when you could get a lot more for your money. 

I feel like we're coming back around a bit and I'm hopeful this year. I want to go all out with the red, white and blue treats and the shirts and ponytail holders. I've also been hoping I'd be able to make it to the Hollywood Bowl for their Fourth of July Spectacular. Every year, they have a headliner -- Last year was The Beach Boys, this year it's Harry Connick Jr. They sing patriotic/America-themed songs with the full orchestra. We'll see if it works out to go, especially with my foot situation. 

In other news, I love creating the vibes for it. I came up with the playlist below:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Mh2cAiorx9XKrLtm07rFG?si=fe0f13126f894944 

And this mood board, which is giving Americana. 



I'll let you know what we actually end up doing when it comes. 


That's all for now, 

Shelby


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