a little pool party

Last weekend, on a slightly overcast Friday, we helped my youngest sister celebrate turning 16 1/2 with a garden pool party - Because turning 16 in February usually involves cold, snow, cold snow & definitely no pool. My parents' backyard is perhaps one of my favorite party hosting spaces in Virginia, which is nice because I can drill holes into things & use a staple gun without hoping there isn't anyone looking. There's also a golden doodle that follows me around like a shadow & affirms my every decision, so that's an added bonus.

While dip-dyed streamers & mint balloons are fun, my favorite part of this little backyard soiree was (obviously) the s'mores bar, which later in the evening was made possible by my boy scout husband's fire making skillz. While I'm partial to a good caramel-bacon s'more, the dried apricots were one of the best ideas I've had this year. We may need to talk more s'mores talk on this here blog... 

In other & significantly less cutesy news, tonight I made twice baked potatoes (which were more like "Once Microwaved, Once Warmed in the Oven Potatoes") AND... AND! banana bread. ALL in one night. So, now I probably won't make anything of substance in the kitchen for the next two weeks because I'll just like, point to the aging banana bread on the counter & say, "See that? I made that. Eat THAT!" Housewife of the Year!

So, the other thing is that I finally converted to the VSCO way of life, & this is my first little test round of photos with the new editing program. Uhhh... It's a lot harder to adapt to than I thought, but that might have something to do with the fact that I downloaded it onto Jared's newer + way-more-fancy-shmancy-than-my-circa-2008 Macbook that I don't actually know how to navigate. It also may be the reason why Jared's hair is 50/50 white & brown in these pictures. Homeboy is definitely salt & peppering, but I somehow took it to a new level in these edits. I have a lot to learn, & you get to watch the process. YAY! Right??

Happy Friday, everyone!