FANTASTICALLY FESTIVE FOURTH FOODS

Just some ideas:

Happy 4th!

BIRTHDAY

Happy birthday wishes to my most dedicated reader. Have a wonderful day, Ma!

CINCO DE(RBY) MAYO

I will unfortunately be sitting through a weekend course instead of watching the derby on Cinco de Mayo. But, if I were able to celebrate, I'd surely want to find a way to have some festive elements of both!

Cinco de Mayo and the Kentucky Derby are both associated with specific cocktails. In addition to serving both Mint Juleps and Margaritas, try making some cupcakes inspired by these drinks!

Pair a straw sombrero with your best derby sundress...

Tie a preppy ribbon around these bottle topper sombreros, and you have the perfect derby hat decorations

NANTUCKET LIGHTSHIP

A sucker for anything nautical, I love lighthouses and boats. Combine the two? Awesome. When out on Long Wharf in Boston, you can sometimes spot the red ship across the harbor with bold, white letters spelling NANTUCKET on the side. I have always been curious about the ship, and was happy to learn about its history and that it is being preserved and utilized today. The ship has been refurbished and is now available for charters, rentals, and private events...how fun would it be to host an event on this ship? And as an added bonus, the proceeds are a way to sustain the life of the lightship for years to come. Here is a brief history, as listed on the official website, www.nantucketlightship.com.

The Nantucket Lightship wlv-612 was built in 1950 and was stationed three miles off of the Golden Gate Bridge as the San Francisco from 1950-1969. As Lightships were replaced with 40 foot unmanned buoys, the 612 next served off Cape Mendocino in California as the blunts reef from 1969-71 and in 1971 she went back through the Panama Canal to serve as the portland in Maine from 1971-75. Finally from 1975-1983, she served as the nantucket on the last Lightship station in the United States 45 miles southeast of Nantucket Island. In 1985, the Nantucket Lightship was decommissioned by the United States Coast Guard as the last Lightship in the United States. In 2000, Bill and Kristen Golden bought the ship on Ebay to preserve her, spent three years refurbishing the Ship and now offer the luxury yacht for charters, vacation rentals and events.


The mission of the Lightship was, a life saving mission, to stand resolute regardless of the peril and
guide all to safe haven. The first US Lightship was placed on station in 1820. In 1854, after hundreds
of shipwrecks, the United States Congress established the Nantucket South Shoals Lightship Station
to protect trans-Atlantic and coastal shipping from the dangers of the treacherous shoals. The wlv-


612 is one of a proud line of Nantucket Lightships which were known as the Guardian Angels of the
North Atlantic From 1854 to 1983, it was the Nantucket Lightship and not the Statue of Liberty which first greeted mariners and immigrants to America. Lightships serving this station were in international waters and were exposed to the dangers of fog bound collisions, enemy attacks and natural disaster from hurricanes and severe winter storms.


The Nantucket Lightship wlv-612 is one of a dozen lightships which remain. The others have all been
sunk or scrapped as artificial reefs. It is the objective of Bill and Kristen Golden to showcase the
Nantucket Lightship wlv-612 as a new model for historic marine preservation so that other ships may be saved for future generations.

NAVY, WHITE & YELLOW

...and we have a winner. I love the navy/white/yellow color combination, no matter how it is used.

(photos found via pinterest)

THE PENGUIN BOWL

Who doesn't love a good Super Bowl party, and all of the delicious snacks? I know I'm looking forward to it! But you can only have so many chips and dips at one party. If you want to bring something that has the ability to take the attention away from the game, try making up a football team's worth of these little guys.

All you need are a few carrots (peeled and sliced), small black olives, extra large black olives, cream cheese and toothpicks (the flat, thin kind work the best, since you may have to break a piece off).

• Cut a slice down the middle of the extra large olive and stuff with cream cheese
• Cut a small triangle out of the carrot slice, and stuff in the small olive to make the beak
• Piece the parts together (as shown) and secure with a toothpick