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Patriotic Porch Party

Hold onto your sun hats, and get ready to taste the blueberries…..I’m sharing my Red, White & BLUEBERRY Patriotic Porch Party.

Patriotic Porch Party

(Painted shutter tutorial found on Hoosier Homemade)

When we were building our home we each made lists of our top 5 non-negotiables. Much like you do when you’re planning a wedding….flowers were a top 5 for me, open bar was a top 5 for him.

When it came to our home, however, top 5 for me was upgraded appliances and double ovens. For him it was about not having to make a right angle in order to get into the garage and a spacious backyard.

I knew I married the right guy when expanded front and back porches and a community focused development ended up on both of our lists.

Patriotic Porch Party

When we were moving out of our former (porchless) home, one of our elderly neighbors, Mrs. Mohammed from a few houses down came strolling over with the aid of her walker when she saw the moving truck.

She all but fussed at us for not having said goodbye.

And then she said something that has stayed with me throughout our move. In broken English she said “people don’t talk to each other anymore. They just go in their houses and keep to themselves. That’s not neighbors”.

And she’s right.

It’s a little late to remedy in our old neighborhood, but in our new neighborhood I’ve vowed to make the best usage of my porches.

And to use them for what they were designed for- a semi-public outdoor space associated with community and neighborliness.

To kick things off, I decorated my porch in patriotic fashion and served up some Blueberry Lemonade.

Patriotic Porch Party Lemonade

Individual Mason Jar Blueberry Cheesecakes are always crowd pleasing.

Patriotic Porch Party Cheesecake

Blueberry Biscuits for those not wanting something overly sweet.

Patriotic Porch Party Blueberry Biscuits

Especially when you’re sending them home with Homemade Blueberry Jelly.

Patriotic Porch Party Blueberry Jelly

And if you’re going to go all out decorating your porch and inviting over your neighbors, you might as well monogram your flower pot.

Patriotic Porch Party Monogram Flower Pot

(Monogram die cut from Ten 23 Designs)

Tomorrow I’ll be sharing the recipes for the jelly, biscuits and cheesecakes.

It was just too many photos for one post.

Are you planning something special this holiday weekend?

Do you make an effort to get to know your neighbors?

8 Comments

  1. Are you kidding me? This is seriously perfection! I wish I could say I had even potted ANY plant in the past .. oh… ever? I love it, A! SO CUTE!!!!!! Pinned!

    1. THANK YOU!!!! In our previous house I killed all the plants, we’ll see how long these last. I will say this, though, I bought myself a legit watering can! There’s hope!!! Thanks for pinning!!!

    1. Thank you!!! I agree, the back porch isn’t quite as fun. Decorating the front porch was one of the things I was most looking forward to in this house. Thanks for your sweet comments!

  2. L-O-V-E this! Wonderful story about talking to neighbors 🙂 I live up in rural WI and we are fortunate because we do visit with the neighbors, but mine don’t bring me blueberry jelly! Yours are quite lucky!! (I’ve been following your blog for a while — I’m a friend of Shannons from SF — former Cat Gal myself.) So excited for all of your adventures!

    1. Hi Kristen! Oh my goodness, it’s like a cat reunion!!! Hi, hi, hi!!!! I think it’s great you visit with your neighbors, I really need to do a better job instead of running right inside because 1. I don’t like what I’m wearing, or 2. “think” I don’t have time to chat. Working on it!! THANKS for commenting!!!!

  3. Oh Aimee, I just love how it turned out! And you are right, people just don’t spend time visiting on the porch anymore.
    I love how the shutter turned out. I’m sorry you had trouble. But it looks awesome!
    ~Liz@HoosierHomemade.com

    1. Hi Liz!!!! I adored your shutter idea and couldn’t get it out of my head when I was planning on how I’d decorate the porch. I should’ve just followed your instructions, though! Nevertheless, I looooooooove it! Thanks for being fabulous!!!!

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