#I saw a video some time ago of an adult giving a baby ice cream for the first time.

[freedomforthewin]

Baby Newt Trying Ice Cream—An Imagine

Imagine eight-year-old Theseus feeds Baby Newt ice cream for the first time. Newt’s mouth curls into a big smile after taking the first bite, he looks at Theseus, and he yelps in delight.

“It’s delicious, right?” Theseus smiles back at him.

Newt waves his arms up and down happily.

“You want more?” Theseus laughs. “Okay, I’ll give you more.”

Theseus takes out another small spoon of ice cream and brings it to Newt. Newt focuses on it and opens his mouth. Theseus feeds him the bite. Newt eats it and smiles at his big brother.

“Mmmm,” Newt responds.

Theseus chuckles and kisses Newt on the cheek.

[elisaphoenix13]

Once Upon A Summer (Ch. 5)

"Well...I did say it would wear off over time." Stephen says as he looks Peter over.

Once Tony got Peter's clean bill of health and assurance that there was nothing to be concerned about, he asked Friday to put in an order for things a two year old would need. Such as bigger clothes, possibly bigger diapers, and oh god...potty training. Was it really worth doing? At the rate Peter was growing back to his teenage body, it was likely Tony would pull his hair out over nothing. He'd much rather change diapers than try the pointless endeavor of getting Peter to use the toilet when he would know what to do when he got bigger. So both he and Stephen decided they wouldn't bother.

"I really hope Pete doesn't live up to the terrible twos I've heard about." Tony sighs.

"I'm surprised you've heard of it." Stephen jests and gets an eye roll from Tony.

"Haha. Very funny. Just for that you get to change his next diaper."

"Daddy up!" Peter says as he holds up his arms.

That was another thing Tony was still trying to wrap his head around. Daddy. It threw him for a loop, but he would be lying if he said he hated it. He actually kind of liked it. Peter was his kid and it made Tony wonder if Toddler Peter was just voicing how Teenage Peter had felt all this time. Did Peter actually see him as a father figure and was too worried Tony might shut him down if he said anything? Knowing him, it was a possibility. Peter was a people pleaser. Almost to a fault. But he was a good kid who always tried to do the right thing, even if sometimes he went about it the wrong way.

That train of thought brought Tony back to his earlier conversation with Stephen. He brushed the sorcerer off when he pointed out the similarities between them, but now he was just as curious. He did say he would take the paternity test to see if there was a match, and maybe now was the best time to do it. Before Peter grew even more and was more aware of what was going on.

"Hey...about that test…" Tony starts and Stephen raises an eyebrow.

"What about it?"

"We should do it now, I think. Get it over with you know? Bruce can do it and I can trust him to keep it to himself." Tony rambles.

"If you'd like. Should we pack up?" Stephen asks.

"No. We'll pop over then come back. I'm sure Peter would enjoy the beach now." Tony says.

Stephen merely nods and leaves the master bedroom after muttering something about a sling ring. Tony then finally gave in to Peter's request to be picked up, made sure his diaper was clean, and waited for the sorcerer to return so they could make a quick trip back to the tower. Tony knew he was always dressed to the nines wherever he went, but at the moment, he didn't feel the need to uphold his image. He was comfortable in his t-shirt and sleep pants and he was on vacation. Sort of.

He was taking a few much needed days off at least. Most people wouldn't even consider that a vacation.

"Are you going like that?" Stephen asks when he returns to the room.

"Are you?" Tony counters, eyeing the similar getup Stephen was wearing.

It was nice to see Stephen could relax in some clothes that didn't require twenty belts. Nineteen of which Tony was positive were just for show...and to keep unwanted hands away. That was a hell of a way to stay abstinent.

"Touché." Stephen chuckles and makes a gateway to the Med-bay in the tower. "I'm too lazy to change. Especially if we're coming back."

"Me too." Tony steps through the gateway, and actually finds himself already face to face with Bruce who looked very confused.

"How did you…?" Bruce starts and then looks past Tony as Stephen follows through the gateway before it closes. "Oh."

Then Bruce's attention was drawn to Peter and the confusion that had gone away just milliseconds ago was back in full force. Tony was pretty sure he could actually hear the cogs turning in his head.

"Who's the kid?"

"Long story short, Pete was hit by a spell that turned him into a baby while he was out on patrol. Strange and I are vacationing until he's back to normal." Tony says.

"I think I prefer this over an actual visit because of an injury." Bruce says. "Especially since you're not coming to me with questions."

"No...just…" Tony hesitates. "Can you do a paternity test?" He finally asks with a mumble.

Bruce's eyebrows shoot up. "What brought this on?"

"A nosey sorcerer."

There was a scoff behind him.

"Sure."

Bruce had Tony sit down and go first in the hopes that when it came to Peter's turn, the toddler wouldn't fuss and make a two second finger prick turn into a five minute ordeal. Peter watched with curious eyes as Bruce drew some blood from the billionaire, and once he got that put away, he turned to the boy standing next to Tony's chair. He waited until Tony got up and helped Peter into the chair, and then held his hand out.

"Can I see your hand Peter?" Bruce asks softly.

Peter looks down at his hands and then offers one of them to Bruce with eyes still filled with curiosity, and watches as the man disinfects it. Everything after that was so quick, Peter didn't even realize Bruce had pricked his finger until he was collecting the blood. To his credit, he didn't scream, but there were certainly tears welling up in his eyes. Tony felt a little bad for putting the kid through this just for the sake of curiosity, but he would make it up to him. Ice cream always makes things better right?

"Sorry Peter. It's already over." Bruce tells him as he wraps a band-aid around his finger.

"Come on kiddo." Tony says as he reaches out for the boy, only to be given a look of utter betrayal.

"No!" Tony blinks in surprise as Peter hops off the chair, pushes by him, and runs over to hug Stephen's leg. "Want Mama! You mean!"

Two things immediately crossed Tony's mind at that moment. One, he felt awful when Peter gave him that look of betrayal. But then the second thought trumped the first and he tried to hold back the laughter that was bubbling in his chest. It wasn't easy when he saw the expression on Stephen's face. A mixture between mortified, exasperated, and maybe some pity for the toddler. What the sorcerer said next broke the dam of Tony's laughter though.

"Why am I Mom?"

"Well you do coo to him in the mornings." Tony says through his cackling and earns a miffed huff.

"I do not!"

"I have video evidence." Tony laughs some more when Stephen sputters. "Come on Doc. We'll head back so you can bury yourself in the sand."

That was all Stephen needed to turn and reopen the gateway back to the Malibu mansion, and he even picked up Peter before walking through. Tony in the meantime took a few moments to calm down and turn back to Bruce.

"You'll call me?"

"Yeah. I should have the results by tonight. Only because I don't have much I'm working on right now." Bruce says.

"I'm assuming I don't need to tell you to keep this between us?" Tony asks and the other man shakes his head. "Thank you."

Tony turns and steps through the gateway that he was a little surprised Stephen left open for him, and once he was through and it closed behind him, he looked around when he didn't see the two right away. It didn't take much looking to find them in the kitchen and discovering that Stephen had the same idea he had. The man was currently scooping out some chocolate ice cream into a small bowl for Peter, who was looking up at him in excitement. Almost like Stephen hung the sun just for him.

"Hey, I was going to give him ice cream!" Tony complains.

"Well I'm clearly the nice parent so I need to live up to my role." Stephen says. "You're the bad parent that has to get his own ice cream."

Tony sighs. "Ouch. I'm supposed to be the favorite."

He walks over to scoop out his own ice cream as Stephen leads Peter over to the table and helps him into a chair. Even the sorcerer had his own bowl of ice cream and managed to eat it while keeping an eye on Peter so the toddler didn't make too much of a mess. After Tony put away the carton of ice cream, he sat across from Stephen with his own bowl and immediately stuck a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. Even he had to admit it was a nice treat after being poked at.

"You know I don't remember ordering ice cream." Tony says eventually.

"That's because I did." Stephen tells him. "You did say I could get whatever I wanted or needed."

The tone in Stephen's voice made Tony nod immediately. It was like he wasn't sure what Tony had said was genuine or something and Tony didn't want him to think that. He wanted Stephen to be comfortable. Get what he wanted without having to worry about money. To enjoy himself.

That's what part of this getaway was about after all.

"I did...and that's still true. I honestly expected you to ask me if it was okay first. You usually do that."

"I figured you wouldn't notice ice cream on your bill." Stephen says dryly.

"I didn't. If Mom needs his chocolate--hey! Ow!" Tony winces when Stephen kicks his shin under the table. "Come on! It's cute!"

"Only when Peter does it." Stephen huffs. "He calls me that out of care. You call me that to tease me."

"Oh believe me. If I wanted to tease you, I could think of much more adult ways to do it that we would both enjoy."

That got him another kick to his shins but Tony decided it was worth it. Stephen blushed so prettily and it made him wonder if he was actually getting to the doctor. All of Stephen's attention was turned to his own ice cream or at Peter after that, but Tony was content to stare at the blush on the younger's face and had to smile when it took it's time to go away. It probably didn't help that he was staring in the first place. Tony was being obviously blatant about it and, him being him, unashamed.

"All done!" Peter exclaims a few minutes later and holds up his hands as if to prove his point.

Stephen chuckles and grabs a napkin to help him clean his hands. "You sure are. Would you like to go to the beach?"

"Beach?" Peter questions and Tony was thankful the boy didn't mispronounce it. "Yeah."

"Maybe I'll make lunch for us to have while we're there." Stephen says and Peter nods. "What kind of sandwich would you like?"

"Mmm…"

Peter seemed to struggle with deciding so Stephen helped him down from his chair and led him back into the kitchen to look in the fridge. While he listed off the options to the toddler, Tony watched and listened as he absently ate the rest of his ice cream. It was a surprise to see Stephen doing so well with Peter and it was attractive if he was honest. The other Avengers liked Peter well enough, even cared about him, but Stephen took it to a parenting level like Tony did. Peter certainly viewed the younger man in that light.

"Daddy gets tuna." Peter says and Tony chuckles. Teenage Peter was definitely in there somewhere and remembered Tony's favorite kind of sandwich.

Tony gets up with his empty bowl and spoon and takes it to the kitchen to rinse off in the sink so he can put it in the dishwasher. Once that's finished, he turns to look at Peter and Stephen and then crouches in front of the toddler.

"Hey Pete. How about we go get you ready for the beach and leave Mom to make lunch?" He suggests.

Stephen didn't protest "Mom" being used this time. Maybe because Tony was only using it because that was how Peter saw the sorcerer.

"How?" Peter asks.

"Well, for one thing, we gotta get you in some swim trunks. Bet Friday ordered some for you." Tony says.

"I also took the liberty of ordering some sunblock." The AI says and Tony raises an eyebrow at Peter.

"See? Even Friday knows what you need better than I do."

Peter seemed to study Tony and what he did next took the older man by surprise. He wrapped his little arms around Tony's neck and squeezed as hard as he could. Peter was giving him a hug.

Wait. That shouldn't have been surprising at all. Peter was a touchy-feely kind of person and Tony...wasn't. He already denied Peter that hug after coming back from Germany, but he would be damned if he did it again. Maybe it was what Peter said that was surprising to Tony.

"You good daddy." Peter says into his shoulder.

Tony swallows back the lump in his throat. "I thought I was mean."

Peter moves away and pouts at him after holding up his finger. "No more boo-boos."

"No more boo-boos." Tony confirms with a chuckle and even kisses the bandaged finger. "Not because of me."

Stephen snorts. "Now it's just a matter of if he can keep himself from getting boo-boos."

Tony huffs and gets up with Peter in his arms. He really didn't need the reminder that his kid was, in fact, a web slinging vigilante. So he pinched Stephen's ass when he wasn't paying attention as his rebuttal. The sorcerer's jolt and deep blush just before his confused sputtering sent Tony into a laughing fit as he took Peter to the front door where the packages were waiting.

"Stark, I swear on the Vishanti--"

"Don't try to deny that you liked it. Your blush speaks for you. Nice ass by the way." Tony states nonchalantly and gets another fit of sputtering from Stephen.

Peter, having been looking over Tony's shoulder as the engineer walked away, giggles. "Mama red."

[maxmcyfield]

so it's you again   |  20/08/2011  10:08PM

back to the og’s because i will never ever tire of them they’re literally the best. ofc for @jokermoreau​ idk this is just a lot of retrospect on percy’s part about how she felt about dylan growing up lmao

“Congratulations on your debut, Arrum!”

The video her parents sent to her manager a couple months back before played quietly in her earphones, and Percy couldn’t help but smile. The drive from Busan back to Seoul was pretty long, so she didn’t have anything to do other than relax a little in the car. 

Her parents, specifically her mother, had sent many videos to her manager over time .It was all she’d been doing since all the Lady Pink members were allowed their own phones again (thank god for a successful debut) - but also she didn’t have much free time outside of work since getting said phone. From her hosting gig for Inkigayo to getting cast in her first ever drama, free time was scarce, especially since she had eyes one her all the time.

Still, finally being allowed a phone of her own gave her that tiny bit of freedom once again and it was different, getting to see these videos sent in the past year on her own device, at her own time. Gave it some sort of new levity.

It was interesting to also see more of these videos up close. Her mother had gotten so many people she used to know so closely back in the US to send a bunch of videos to congratulate her. Like Mim Flynn (who she’d started to text with again), and her old friends, and even her old dance teacher. All of whom were so nice to see.

But it was a true delight to see Rohit Thakur on her screen, saying congratulations. She could tell it was taken during one of the classic family friend get-togethers, but it filled her with a kind of warmth she missed. Rohit was something of an uncle to her growing up and seeing him proud of her made her smile. 

She was just about to swipe to see the other videos when she realized the video wasn’t stopping like she thought it would. Huh. The first time she saw this video, she assumed it was the end when the video shifted around and they were all in kind of a rush so she didn’t wait any longer to give her manager his phone back. But it kept going for another minute, the screen showing the moving ceiling, the being blocked off by what she assumed was a hand, and then suddenly a new face was on the screen.

“Hey! Percy slash Arrum, congratulations on your first single-”

It took a long second before she realized it was Dylan Thakur’s part of the video that she never saw.

Dylan Thakur! Oh wow it had been so long? He looked so much different than she remembered. He had a full beard now in the video  -  looked like a real man now. Handsome, definitely, even more than she could care to admit. Though he still had that same infectious smile, undoubtedly, as he went on about listening to Lady Pink’s Venus and loving it. 

She wondered briefly when was the last time she saw him just as the video actually ended. It felt like forever ago, but there was no mistaking her memory of seeing him off at the airport not long after he had graduated. She could recall how upset she was when she realized he wouldn’t be around as much as he was before, but ultimately accepted it because she knew he was moving to New York to pursue his dreams. Of course, at twelve, her crush on him had maximized to its full potential at that point. Someone who was as charming and well-liked as high school senior Dylan Thakur helping her drive her home after they both finished school and treating her to snacks every once in a while? Her innocent baby crush on him was massive. 

It was still nothing in retrospect - just a fleeting infatuation on someone who seemed to care for her but still took her somewhat seriously. Anyone at her age then had a crush on him - and they did, especially her friends. Still, reminiscing got curiosity to spark it’s edges over her and very quickly, she started Googling. (The nap she was planning to take could wait for when she got to the dorms.)

What she found was nothing short of amazing either. Not only had he become a member of SNL just like he said he would, but he was an Emmy award nominee who had a comedy special! A comedy special that was really funny, no less. It took a lot in her to not laugh out loud in the car as she watched it on her phone, curled up in the backseat.

Was this really the same guy she’d basically grown up with?

The one who’d cheer her up when she’d been crying over not getting the last scoop of ice cream? Who had been the only one she could conceivably hang out with all those family friend get-togethers? Where they’d play video games together all night and he’d sneak soda from the fridge while the adults were too busy chatting the night away.

Percy could still feel the echoes of the memories  -  nostalgic and warm all the same, of the feelings she had for him all those years ago. Her friend when she didn’t have any friends. Her first crush. She missed him, definitely. Even if it had been awhile since she even thought about him - and to be fair her life for awhile now didn’t really permit her to think about anyone or anything else other than debuting.

But now that she was here, her debt nearly fully repaid, with her own phone again... Would it be weird to text him out of the blue? She could ask her mom for his number or something. Reconnect and all that. See how he was.

She absentmindedly started to tap on her screen to get to her mom’s text page. And then started at the keyboard-

Wait. 

What would she even say? ‘Hey remember me?’ ‘Thanks for the video you sent like two months ago?’ ‘I used to have a huge crush on you?’ 

No, this was crazy. She couldn’t just text him like this - would he even reply? Even more, what would her mom think if she asked for his number? Nothing good, that’s for sure. Not when she’d been asking about boyfriends even if she clearly knew about the dating ban Percy was still under. 

Nope, nope. Abort mission. She quickly exited the text page and decided to just watch youtube instead of continuing down memory lane. No more of that nonsense. She had a lot to focus on anyways. Like getting ready for her first table read and going through more activities as an Inkigayo MC. No time for other things.

Maybe she’d get to meet Dylan Thakur again one day, when she’d come back to the states for a break or something. But for now, she forced herself to not think about him.

[babiemya]

Blooming Days | Hwang Hyunjin

pairing: reader x hyunjin ft. jisung

genre: barista!au; fluff; crack?? mainly bad puns and way too cheesy

length: 1.5k words

summary: You fell for the charming boy who would come to your job almost every day

+ @squishynaty in conclusion, hyunjin = babie

»———————————————————–✄

The sky had a thick layer of gray clouds. It had been raining for hours and barely anyone was outside. Only the occasional scurrying umbrella was seen as you looked out the library’s window. Luckily, you loved the rain. You have loved the rain ever since you were a child; playing in the mud and getting drenched was something you loved doing even though it would result in a scolding from your mother and getting sick. Though, now as an adult, you love the way the rain hits the window in the pit-pat way provided a calm atmosphere for you. If it weren’t for the fact that you needed the extra cash, you would’ve left your job at the library/cafe a long time ago and walked around.

At least that’s what you have been telling yourself for the past 45 minutes. You tried to entertain yourself with a book but it didn’t work as your coworker, Han Jisung, kept pestering you with questions. Deep down, you know exactly why you were still at your job. You were waiting for the cute dimpled guy who would come every-other-day and ask for the same thing, a small iced caramel macchiato. It had only just occurred to you that maybe he wasn't coming today because of the weather. It was a bit childish... desperate even. Staying just to see the boy with a laugh that is bright and livid. A laugh you could only compare to the literal sun if the sun could laugh. The boy who’s laugh and smile reached his eyes. The boy who’s eyes held all the stars in the galaxy. It was just something about him that made your heart flutter whenever he would rest his arm on the counter while watching you make his drink with your mediocre skills. Or maybe it was the way that he learned your name and would wink whenever you asked if he wanted the usual. Or maybe it was the way he scrunched his nose whenever he would laugh. You were head over heals for this boy and you barely even knew him. Maybe you just need to go out more and socialize instead of hoping things will magically happen like in books. 

“Listen, I just don’t understand why you don’t just leave. That guy is probably stayed home since it’s raining.” Jisung said for the nth time.

“For fuck’s sake Jisung, I’m not here for a boy. I need the extra money.” You replied while ignoring the blood rushing to your cheeks at the mention of the guy with the cutest laugh. You’re such a bad liar that it physically hurts you.

As much as you hated it, Jisung was right. The poor boy you were waiting for is probably home playing video games like your cousin does on rainy days. There’s no way he would even be outside in the rain since, from your knowledge, he doesn’t have a car... but that doesn’t mean he also doesn’t have an umbrella or raincoat.

“I call bs because it’s so obvious that you guys like each other. It’s like I’m watching some sort of drama where everyone knows the main characters like each other except the main characters themselves.” Jisung snorted.

“Hey Han Jisung, do me a solid and switch with Felix because at least he knows the difference between a frappuccino and a cappuccino.” You said while feigning smile.

“Ouch. At least I have the guts to ask someone out.” Jisung said with a smirk you wanted the slap off his face.

“As if you would ever have feelings- oh my god.” You freeze mid sentence as you spotted the familiar brown hair outside the rained-spotted window. You internally panicked as you watched him walk in. Jisung’s stifled laugh didn’t go unnoticed.

“Aww did my favorite barista wait for me?” Hyunjin teased as he walked towards the counter with a smile that made your heart swell.

You held your breath as you looked at the boy that was drenched, his hair was matte against his head with the exceptions that some strands were wavy. His clothes were a shade darker from the rain, making what would’ve-been bright yellow hoodie a muddy gold color. He really came here... in the rain... without an umbrella?

“Hyunjin- you’re drenched! Why were you outside in the rain? You’re gonna get sick!” You rambled while grabbing the first clean towel and rushed to his side. You didn’t leave the glance your coworker gave you unnoticed. The boy in front of you just shyly smiled, putting his hands behind his neck.

“You sound like my mother.” Hyunjin said playfully rolling his eyes, the smile he had was still prominent on his features. You watched as rested his head on the counter, his eyes were sparkling as they looked into yours. 

“There’s no way I’m going to give you an iced drink. Is hot chocolate fine?” You questioned, already making it without his response. Hyunjin nodded and ran his fingers through his hair.

“Oh! Make sure to make it as sweet as you, princess.” Hyunjin added, flashing you wink. You were sure your soul left your body as you felt your face heat up. 

“I don’t think you’d want it bitter.” Jisung answered. You debate what you’re one second away from doing; holding Jisung in a choke hold or risking it all and wrapping Hyunjin in a warm towel and squishing his cute cheeks. You swear you could see Jisung’s shit-eating grin from a mile.

“What are you talking about bitter? ___ is literally the most sweetest, wholesome person I know.” Hyunjin argues. If he doesn’t stop being cute, you’re going to barf rainbows.

“God, I can’t tell if you lack brain cells or if you’re blind or if you lack something up there because you are so dense.” Jisung said while he rubbed his temples.

“The way you guys stare at each other is literally the heart eyed emoji and it disgusts me.” Jisung mumbles, loud enough for you to hear. Ignoring whatever just happened, you topped the hot chocolate with whipped cream and then handed it to Hyunjin. His eyes lit up as he saw the drink and flashed you the cutest smile you have ever seen and handed you the money, which you swatted away.  

“Hyunjin, it’s fine. It’s on me.” You said. You noticed how he held the cup with both hands. You watched as he licked a bit of the whipped cream before it occurred to you that staring is weird. 

“So Hyunjin, I have a friend that came by the other day and she saw you walk out or something like that- Anyways! She basically wanted to know if you were seeing anyone.” Jisung questioned, leaning on the counter while texting. It took all the energy you had to not put Jisung into a choke hold for the nth time the past hour. Hyunjin paused and looked between you and Jisung.

“Hmm... Am I interested in someone? Yes. Am I seeing them? Yeah, I’m looking at them right now actually.” Hyunjin said, not breaking eye contact with you. You felt yourself tense up and you were pretty sure you were about to go into cardiac arrest by how fast your heart is beating. You weren’t sure if you were breathing. 

Jisung cleared his throat, “Would this be a good time to say that this person has been whipped for you for the past... I don’t know... century? Anyways this is a y’all problem so Imma go”, and leaves the area.

All the alarms in your brain are going off as you try to process what the boy, with the prettiest eyes you have ever seen, said. You cleared your throat as you tried to compose yourself so that you can speak, “I- I- you’re interested in me? As in like... you like me? As in like... you’ve been intentionally flirting with me and making my brain malfunction?” you asked.

“Yeah because you do that adorable thing where your eyes go wide and your cheeks get all blushy and dear god you’re the fucking cutest.” Hyunjin mumbled hiding his face in embarrassment with the sleeve of his hoodie. “So uh... I didn’t plan to ask you out this way but- do you wanna go to the fair this weekend? And then we can hang out with Kkami.” He added, lifting his head as he waited for your answer,

“What type of question is that? Of course I would, you goof.” You said as you squished his blush-dusted cheeks, and god knows how long you’ve been wanting to do that. You and Hyunjin turn your heads with you both hear clapping from a distance. Han Jisung was leaning against the wall watching you two while he munched on pistachios.

“Aw you guys finally realized you’re soulmates. Now please get out, I don’t want PDA in here. I don’t care if it’s raining.” 

++ bonus :)

“Han fucking Jisung, I’m going to shove my foot so far up your ass that you’ll feel it in your throat.” 

“Kinky. I like that. But is that any ways to talk to cupid?”

“Cupid my ass but go off I guess”

“Wow I expected more from you, Hyunjin.”

[huntertales]

Part Two: Victor’s Home For Wayward Children. (Freaks and Geeks S08E18)

Episode Summary: The reader and the Winchester brothers investigate a recent set of murders that appear to be caused by a vampire, and are surprised to learn that teenage hunter Krissy Chambers is involved. Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader Word Count: 3,125.

Previous Part | Supernatural Rewrite Masterlist

You weren’t exactly sure what a hideout for three teenager hunters and their supposed guardian would be. Somewhere quiet and secluded, away from wandering eyes so they could have target practice and hand to hand combat training. On the drive here you were picturing an abandoned building renovated enough for it to be livable. A house that was falling apart from the previous owner. What you saw through the backseat window was none of those things. Victor’s home for wayward kids was located somewhere…very peaceful, quiet. Normal.

You got out form the Impala when the kids parked in the driveway of the rather cozy house they called their own for the past few months. You observed the empty street to see other houses around you, occupied by others from the lights on in the windows and cars parked in the driveway. Innocent people enjoying their normal day to day lives, having no clue what their neighbors were up to. You headed over to the boys when they got out of the car and took a look around for themselves. It was clear none of you were expecting Suburbia.

“Not what I call a compound.” Dean said.

You and the boys headed inside after the kids to see if the place was as normal looking as it did from the outside. When your only participation with the supernatural involved spending your days searching monsters, you weren’t worried about your home keeping up appearances for guests. You had books piled up around the place, and when you found yourself too busy to tidy up the place it got a little bit hectic. It wasn’t like you had any friends or visitors to impress. You had the occasional welfare check up from John to make sure you were still alive on his watch, every few weeks Dean would pop up announced for a place to crash. And make sure you were all right. Those were your favorite visits.

Victors place looked appeared to be normal. Like you stepped into an interior magazine article of how to cozy up your home. You looked around the place to see the layout of the place; living room to your left that lead into the spacious looking kitchen and dining room. A staircase that lead upstairs to where you presumed where each of them had their own room. You peered into the hallway that lead forward where you saw a few shut doors. A bathroom, maybe a space where they kept all their weapons. This was too comforting for your liking. It felt like Victor was trying to hide something.

Dean observed the house for himself, taking in everything and how much it wasn’t what he was expecting during the ride here. He mumbled a noise underneath his breath, which caught the attention of Krissy. She looked over her shoulder and to the man, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s just not what I expected.” Dean admitted.

“And what was that?” She asked.

“A little more ‘Lord of the Flies’,” Dean said, continuing to look around the house as if he was trying to find some sort of flaw. He was still not convinced everything wasn’t as it seemed.  “less Huxtables.”

“Sorry to disappoint.” A voice came up another part of the house, making you turn your direction to the staircase. You saw an older man descending down, a welcoming smile spread across his face at the sight of three stranger in his house. You returned the gesture out of politeness. He wasn’t the hunter you remembered meeting four years ago. The man standing in front of you looked like was trying to be Mr. Rogers himself from his loafers and cardigan. “Victor Rogers.”

“We met—a ruguru hunt. I’m Sam. This is my brother, Dean.” The younger man introduced all of you, pointing at himself and than his older sibling. You smiled once again when Sam directed Victor’s attention to you. “And this is our hunting partner, Y/N.”

“Oh, yes. The Winchesters. And Y/L/N. I heard that name lingering through the hunter's grape vine over the years. You're Ella's daughter, right? She was quite a legend. What a shame she quit hunting." Victor remembered now who all of you were. You nodded your head, wondering why he brought up such a thing. You brushed it off, watching as Josephine walked up to her surrogate father and embraced herself into his awaiting arms. She needed to be comforted by the only parental figure she had in her life now. "Better now?"

“Much.”Josephine said, seeming at peace from the things she accomplished earlier tonight.

“And what do we always say?” Victored asked.

"Move on, but never forget." Josephine repeated the motto.

"Good. Now," Victor moved on to more important topics that needed to be discussed after the hunt was over. "Don't you have a trig test in the morning?"

Josephine let out a sigh, nodding her head and went on her way upstairs to study for the big test she had tomorrow. Aiden came back from the kitchen with an apple in his hand, hoping he might be able to sneak himself past Victor and have a relaxing night. "Oh, I'm good, Vic. No test. I'm just gonna chill, play video games."

“Uh-huh. Yeah, keep dreaming. Because I asked to clean your room, twice. And you still haven’t done it. Go on now.” Victor popped the young man’s hope, pointing a thumb to upstairs so he could get to the chores. Aiden let out a defeated groan and made his way to complete the task. No back talk, no complaints. Krissy made her way over to the man, knowing she had some of her own kind of homework she needed to complete for him. “And you.”

“A full report about the hunt on your desk by morning.” Krissy said. Victor smiled and bowed slightly, letting her know she was free to go. “Okay. I’ll be in my room.”    

Victor let out a content sigh when all the kids were now tucked away for the night completing all sorts of normal tasks. Now it was time for the grown ups to talk in private. “Drink?”

The boys took up on the offer while you were forced to decline on anything alcoholic, Victor made up for it by handing you a cold of ice water. You smiled in appreciation and took a sip, watching as he fixed three glasses of whiskey from the looks of it and handed out two glasses to the boys. There was a lot for you to take in. You weren’t sure how you felt about Victor and his methods of how he was raising these kids. You found yourself on the fence at all of this. Part of you would never let your child want to know anything about the supernatural, let alone be hunting when they weren't even legal age. And another felt sort of envious at how they managed to balance things. You were curious as to how all of this worked.

“So, these kids go to school—like school-school, real school?” Sam asked.

“Yes, and they’re doing incredibly well considering all they’ve been through.” Victor said.

"Okay, so how does all of this work?" Dean couldn’t help himself when jumped straight to the question he was the most curious about. "What, after soccer practice and the bake sale, they chop vampires' heads off?"

“Well, yeah.” Victor said. “I think a balanced approach is best, don’t you?”

"But they're kids. They shouldn't be hunting at all." Dean argued with the man about his ideology about what was right. It was dangerous and risked too many chances of someone end up getting hurt when they still had so much of their lives ahead of them. "You got to break this up right now."

“When I found them, they were lost, confused, angry. I gave them family and purpose. And you want to take that all away?” Victor defended himself against your judgement. “Why?”

“So they don’t get killed.” You told him a reason that sounded good to you.

“They know the risks.” Victor said.

“Yeah,” You agreed to a certain point. “But why take them?”

"Because the next generation of hunters has to be better." Victor said. You furrowed your brow slightly from what you were hearing, wondering who he was thinking that had to be better than. When you heard his reasoning behind all of this, you felt your grip around the cup tighten. "Better than us. Oh, come on, guys. I know your friends. I mean, Martin was insane. And somebody obviously dropped Garth on his head when he was a baby. And I know you three loved that Bobby guy, but he was a barely functioning alcoholic."  

"Watch your mouth." You said to him, trying your hardest to hold back the venomous tone you desperately wanted to use on him. "Bobby was a damn good hunter.”

"No disrespect meant, but Josephine is an all-state athlete and a National Merit scholar. Aiden is so fast he could pick your pocket before you could blink. And Krissy, oh she's just a natural born leader and hunter." Victor said, giving a list of things that made these kids great. Sure, it could be for hunting. But you didn't look it at that. You thought of so many things they could be making use of their talents. "These kids are the cream of the crop. They are the Beatles. They are the dream team. And once they get their revenge...they'll be better hunters than any of us ever dreamed of."

There was something about Victor that was rubbing you in all the wrong ways. You would have loved to somehow balance hunting and a normal life on the side. You were content with the living situation you had at the moment, but you knew in the matter of months your entire life was going to change. You needed to start thinking about the long run. About post-baby life and closing the gates of hell. Demons might be gone for good, but you still had so many monsters out there wanting to kill you. The three kids in that house were proof.

You and the boys made your way outside after taking a look around at the dynamics. While they weren’t what you thought it was going to be, Dean’s opinion of the matter was clear. The kids in that house weren’t legal age to be an adult, so it made sense for them not to be able to go after the vampire that killed their families. So what if hunting came natural to them. They had their entire lives to screw up while in the process of saving a few people before their own ended up being cut short. Because no one got a happy ending with this lifestyle.

“This is crazy.” Dean said.

“Is it?” Sam wondered. “They got a pretty good life.”

“Kids aren’t supposed to hunt, Sam.” His brother said.

“We did.” Sam said.

“Yeah, and look what that did for us.” Dean replied back.

"Maybe they're doing it right." You said. "Maybe they can hunt and have a real life."

“You know that’s not true.” Dean said.

"Why, 'cause it didn't work out for us? I mean, what do you think life is gonna be like once the baby gets here? You think I'm just gonna be out for good?" You asked. Dean's expression fell, knowing this was a conversation he didn't want to have right now. "Whatever. Then what do you want to do? Because Victor’s not gonna stop this.”

“They said they were hunting a nest, right?” Dean asked. You nodded your head. “Well, let’s hunt it for ‘em. That way, until we can figure out what to do with Victor, they stay safe.”

“All right,” Sam agreed to the plan. “So, what’s your move?”

“I want to talk to that girl who was tied up at the motel. Something didn’t smell right about that.” Dean said. “Why don’t you guys stay here and look after the Brady Bunch?”

You agreed to the plan, knowing there wasn't much else you could do at the moment until you figured out where this nest was. And you wanted to keep a better eye on Victor. Dean headed back to the Impala and drove off a minute later, leaving you and Sam to watch over the family. The both of you exchanged a look before heading back inside. As you stepped into the house, you didn't notice the same blue van that Dean had seen earlier tonight slowly pull up to the exact spot where the Impala was just a second ago. He only stayed for a moment, watching as a house full of hunters went on with their peaceful night.

+ + +

The next morning you woke up feeling somewhat rested from the few hours you managed to snag after Victor offered you a place to relax for the night. You would have been fine on the pull out couch, but Sam insisted you take the guest room on the first floor hall. While it was better than staying at a motel, nothing compared to your own bed at the bunker. The place where you called home. You rolled out of bed when you were woken up by the sounds of a dark barking a few houses down, the noise brought you back to the time when you still lived at home.

You made yourself look presentable before venturing out down the hall to follow the sounds of muffled voices and movement. As you made your way to the kitchen, you passed by the living room where you saw a folded up blanket and pillow sitting on the arm rest. You turned into the kitchen to see what a normal morning looked like—and nearly running into Aiden.

“Y/N, just in time.” Victor greeted you from behind the kitchen counter, where he was whipping up breakfast for everyone. You tried your hardest to not be a nuisance to the family, but you found yourself doding teens who were trying to make their way to the dining room to enjoy their breakfast before school. "Grab a seat."

You raised your brow in surprise to see what was on the menu. "Waffles?"

“Yeah,” Victor said. “Krissy's fav."

"My dad used to make 'em for me all the time." She said, grabbing two plates for herself and you before heading to the table where you followed behind. "I think it was the only thing he knew how to cook."

You smiled at the memory she had of her late father before sitting yourself down to enjoy a breakfast that didn't sound too bad. Before you dug into the food, you looked around the table to see Josephine had her nose stuck in her trig book, probably trying to study before her big test. Victor made his way over, reaching out a hand to grab the book from the young woman and told her to interact with everyone. Aiden, being a teenager that he was, smirked and called her a nerd. Victor was quick to make corrections to the kid's manner, pushing his elbows off the table and reminded him of manners he should be using.

“We’re gonna be late.” Josephine said, glancing over at the clock to see what time it was.

You and Sam watched as the trio of kids grabbed another piece of food for the road before grabbing their backpacks for school, Victor ushering them out and reminding them he'd pick them up after school. You would be lying if you said you weren't impressed at how all of them worked together in sync, almost fooling you into thinking they were a normal family. Victor went on with his morning, heading into the dining room to clean up the dishes they left behind.

“Whirlwind, right? It’s always like that with kids.” Victor said. He grabbed a few plates and began heading off to the kitchen to put them into the sink. “You got any, Sam?”

“Me? Uh, no.” Sam answered the man’s question.

“You want any?” Victor asked.

"Uh," Sam found himself unsure how to answer that question. You looked over at him, curious as to what he thought about being a parent. You knew he wanted to have a normal life. And he could have had that, along with a family if he stayed with Amelia. All though he let that chance pass him by, he didn't want to shut out the possibility completely. "I don't know yet."

"Well, from the looks of it, you're going to be an uncle. Which is practically having your own. But trust me, the answer's yes. " Victor said. He pulled out his wallet from his back pocket to show you and Sam a picture he kept close to him at all times. You leaned over to see it was a family of three with their mother, smiling and appearing to be happy. You guessed that it was Victor's family. "Yeah. Well, until we went camping and a wendigo ripped them to shreds."

"Sorry." Sam told the man, giving his condolences at the tragic end of four innocent lives. People always needed a reason to start hunting. Most of the time it was a child who lost their parents or a sibling to a monster, turned out Victor lost his entire family in one night. "Is that why you're doing this, taking all these kids in?"

Victor nodded his head, but it was part of his reasoning. "But you know what I realized,guys, is that these kids, they don't have to live it the way we have. You know, crappy hotel rooms, always moving, no family, no life. It's not the only way."

You found yourself lingering on the way of Victor's thinking. There was always a set way for how a hunter was supposed to work; always on the road, never in one spot for too long without risking the chance of their past catching up to them. You knew of people who had homes and a place to rest their heads. But they didn't have kids to come home to, or a spouse to listen to the things they saw while on a job. It was the bitter emptiness that greeted them, and drove them to drink to silence their demons. Victor wanted to break the rules and do things his way.

He wanted to give these kids a stable life to come home to and a support system they didn't have anymore. He wanted to give them the best of both worlds. It was everything you always wanted. A part of you was envious. Another part of you knew all of this was too good to be true.

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[5hfanfiction]

The Last Person You Love - Chapter 1

Summary: 

It started at a coffee shop, as all cliché love stories do.

~ 

Despite it being mid-September, remnants of summer’s heat still lingered for a few hours a day before the crisp air from the fog took over. It was typical San Francisco - one moment the sun would be shining and all of a sudden a blank white sheet was covering the sky. Camila worked downtown near the Bay and, from her view from the hospital windows, she would often admire how rays of sunlight reflected off the water and skyscrapers to highlight the bridge connecting the city and Treasure Island. As she would bike back to her apartment through nearly sky-high hills, Camila’s lungs heaved for oxygen and would be relieved when the fog rolled in to cool down the sweat falling down her face.

She lived in the western part of the city - opposite the Financial district where all the booming tech companies were taking over and where tourists scoured for the best clam chowder near Union Square. She lived in the residential area by the ocean and just a ten minute bike ride to the beach - although, it was nothing in comparison to the beaches back in her hometown, Miami. Ocean Beach’s sand was too coarse and - as ridiculous as this may sound - the Pacific Ocean just felt different from the Atlantic. It was not as warm and the water against her skin did not feel as smooth. Nonetheless, she still loved it. It was one of her favorite places in the city. She and her best friend, Dinah, often found themselves there, playing reggae and entertaining themselves with a few joints because it was San Francisco and smoking weed in public was as common as wearing headphones on public transportation.

After graduating from New York University three months ago, Camila returned to San Francisco to be with her mother, Sinuhe, and younger sister, Sofia. The three of them moved to the city after Camila’s father died from lung cancer the summer before her freshman year of high school. He was an architect for houses along the coast and, after he died, their home simply felt like a house. So they packed their things and moved to the first job offering Sinu got, which was not too hard considering she was one of the nation’s most renowned cardiothoracic surgeons.

The whole situation was overwhelming for Camila - one moment she was saw her dad take his final breath in a hospital bed and the next moment she was in the middle seat of a plane, admiring Sofi admire the window view from their high altitude. However, San Francisco did her well. She cannot explain it, but it helped her grow in more ways than she believed she would have had she stayed in Miami.

They went from a three-story mansion with a backyard the size of a park to a two-bedroom townhome that was half the size of their previous home, yet double the cost. Camila took the bus every day to her high school, which she had to apply to despite being a public school rather than being assigned by proximity to her home. Her school emphasized service learning and critical diversity, and the foreign language department offered various languages rather than just Spanish. Their field trips were to community centers, museums and gardens, and tech headquarters in Silicon Valley. Camila loved Miami for its rich Cuban culture and laid-back aura, but San Francisco always offered something new. There were endless opportunities and so much autonomy to navigate self-discovery, which is what Camila needed after losing her father.

San Francisco made her realize she was a city girl and, ultimately, made the transition to study in New York City not as overwhelming than if she had moved straight from Miami. At NYU, Camila studied Global Public Health and Science with a track in Biology - her goal being to follow in her mother’s footsteps and be a doctor, too. Maybe not surgery because Camila wanted to form relationships with patients and be part of their lives - not just seeing them once or twice, and saying goodbye after that. Her dream was to foster her passion for underserved healthcare and social justice through comprehensive and compassionate care to long-term patients.

Since Camila finished her undergraduate studies in three years, Sinu let her daughter take a gap year to apply for medical school and gain clinical experience during what would have been Camila’s fourth and final year of college. Through her mother’s connections, Camila was able to get an internship at the hospital Sinu practiced at. Camila was a medical scribe, which was a fancy term for “personal assistant to her mother, who she could not call her mother in front of patients, so basically she was Dr. Cabello’s bitch, which really was not any different than from when she was living home.” Her main responsibility was charting her mother’s interactions with patients, documenting all important notes from their discussions. The job is perfect for her considering she spent most of her high school years typing away her feelings on the Internet. Sinu used to always take away her laptop when she was a teenager because she spent “too much time staring at a screen” and, now, Camila loves to rub in her mother’s face that her word-per-minute count can keep up with how fast Sinu talks thanks to all her tweets and Tumblr posts.

With her mom being her supervisor, though, Camila’s hours were lenient - mostly because her mother dismiss her early to pick Sofi up from her middle school and take her to all her extracurriculars. In between piano lessons and soccer practice, Camila often found herself waiting for her younger sister at her favorite coffee shop near Golden Gate Park. The coffee shop was just another hole in the wall, but she loved its minimalist interior design, fairy-light-adorned patio, and lavender white chocolate mocha. She has been going to this place since she had to study for the SAT. However, with her studying in New York, she never considered herself a regular until she moved back home after graduation. She spent all summer working on her medical school application and published article about her undergraduate research on educational neuroscience, but, now, with both submitted, Camila was able to actually enjoy the ambience of the charming coffee shop.

Taking a break from watching YouTube videos on how to properly water succulents, Camila looked up from her screen to sip her mocha and take in all that was around her. There was a table of three adults in business suits, talking animatedly about the stacks of papers next to their mugs. A woman was breastfeeding her baby as her toddler was playing with the banana bread in front of her. Camila’s eyes scanned the room when they stopped to soak in what had to be the most beautiful being Camila had ever laid her eyes on.

The woman was dressed casually - faint jeans and a white tank top partially covered by a black leather jacket that matched the raven hair twirled halfway down her back. The look was so simple, but Camila could not help but squint her eyes to try and focus on the woman standing in line a few feet away from her table. The mystery woman was texting fervently and her left foot tapped with what Camila assumed to be annoyance. Every few seconds, the woman would let out a long sigh or run her fingers through her hair - both of which were only noticeable to Camila, who tried to hide her gawking behind her laptop and mug.

She could hardly hear what the woman had ordered when she stepped in front of the cashier, but Camila could make out raspy mumbles that intrigued her even more. She looked around her table for an excuse to get up and quickly stuffed the rest of her croissant in her mouth so she could bring her empty plate to the bar. This was her idea of flirting: Sneaking glances at a distracted woman with her mouth too full to even talk. Camila gave a tight-lipped smile to the barista as she finished chewing and swallowed in time to turn around to face the stunning woman waiting for her drink. The woman looked up from her phone to meet Camila’s eyes and it was as if time stopped for a moment.

Camila blushed for having been caught staring, but managed to give a small smile before scurrying back to her table without looking back. The woman stood perplexed at the elegant features of the other woman, wishing she was able to admire more before she basically ran back to her table. Her breath caught at her throat and she was not brought back to reality until her order was called out. She grabbed her dirty chai latte and glanced back at the tables to try and see the woman’s face once more before she had to go to work. Her eyes landed on the woman, but was only able to see the white bow clipped at the top of her light brown hair as she was looking down to write some notes.

The raven-haired woman smiled at how simple yet cute the other woman looked and left the coffee shop knowing it was going to be a good day.

~

Still catching her breathing after her bike ride from work, Camila entered her apartment to find Dinah sulking on their couch with a bowl of ice cream and “Moana” playing.

“Rough day?”

“I miss Mani,” Dinah looked at her best friend and pouted.

Camila simply rolled her eyes at how dramatic her best friend was being. Dinah was so in love with her girlfriend, Normani, that she could not even handle a few days without the older woman. Normani had left just the night before to visit her family and best friend, Ally, back in Texas and Dinah has been acting like a complete baby ever since.

“It hasn’t even been 24 hours, Cheech.”

“You don’t understand!” Dinah threw a pillow at Camila. “What’s the point of living without her by my side?!”

“Okay, calm down, Juliet,” Camila sat down on the couch and instantly rested her head on Dinah’s shoulder. “Put the dagger away and just go FaceTime your girl.”

“I can’t. I know she’s having fun and I don’t want to take away time from her family and friends. I just feel so empty, you know?” Dinah sighed and leaned her head against her best friend’s. “Please tell me something interesting that happened today so I can distract myself.”

Camila thought about her day. She just finished a brutal bike ride because there was some convention that caused traffic along her normal route, so she had to take an alternate that included more hills than usual. Her mother was her typical self and kept pestering Camila to have dinner at their house because Sofi was being like any moody middle schooler. Not that she did not love her younger sister, but Camila knew the last thing Sofi needed was some staged intervention by their mother. Sometimes, things just sucked and you needed to be a bitch.

Nothing about her day was out of the ordinary except for the “flirtatious” moment she had with the stunning woman at the coffee shop earlier in the morning. Was their three-second gaze even considered a moment? Maybe it would have been if Camila had not fled in attempt to hide the flush of red that crawled across her face.

“I don’t know, there was this girl at the coffee shop.”

“A girl?!” Dinah’s head instantly snapped up and she bent her head down to look at her best friend with eager eyes. “Spill!”

Camila sat up and shook her head at the mischievous look on Dinah’s face. She shrugged and mumbled, “It’s nothing. We just looked at each other and I ran away.”

“Ugh, not again, Chancho!” Dinah buried her face in the palms of her hands. She groaned at how awful her best friend was at interacting with anyone she found even slightly attractive.

They have been best friends ever since Camila had initially moved to San Francisco and they ended up living in adjacent townhomes. They hit it off right away despite them going to different high schools - Camila at a randomly assigned public school while Dinah went to a private performing arts school on the opposite side of the park. Their families got close as Dinah’s parents always welcomed Camila and Sofi into their homes when Sinu had a night shift, and Camila tutored Dinah in basically every subject except Dance and Music Theory.

With Camila not being the one to really go out and Dinah always getting stuck babysitting her younger siblings and cousins, the two of them basically spent every moment with each other outside of school. They maintained their friendship via constant texting and daily FaceTime sessions while Camila studied at NYU and Dinah stayed in San Francisco to become a dance instructor at the children’s dance studio a few blocks down from their homes. When Camila returned from New York, she knew she would go absolutely insane if she moved back home on top of already working every day with her mother, so she proposed to Dinah that they live together. 

It really was not hard to convince the younger woman to move out of her family’s small townhome with twenty other people.

Their two-bedroom apartment was just five bus stops away from their families, but it was enough for them to feel somewhat independent and in their 20’s. They were able to finish a bottle of wine on a weeknight and not have their mothers scold them for displaying borderline concerning alcoholic tendencies. They rolled and smoked on their fire escape after a rough day - much more convenient than when they would have to sneak out in high school to light a joint at the neighborhood park. They did not have to be second mothers to the little kids running around their homes. They were able to simply enjoy being out of school and somewhat adulting. 

Normani lived with them, too, but, with her working at a major tech company as one of the best computer engineers, she went on several business trips to the company’s other offices - from Seattle and Chicago, to Shanghai and Berlin. You would think with all the business trips the older woman has gone on, Dinah would be used to her absence, but it seemed that the younger woman’s separation anxiety only got worse with each trip. Sometimes, Dinah would be so miserable that Camila sucked up her pride and put on the tightest dress she owned just to take her best friend out clubbing.

Camila may not be able to dance, but her ass was big enough to not have to do much and still have guys fighting over her. She cannot lie and say it did not boost her ego to watch extremely desperate guys gawk at her as she tried to sway her hips the way Dinah so effortlessly did. There would always be a few handsy guys who would grab her waist from behind and try to slam their boners against her, but “D” in “Dinah” basically stood for “Dick Deflector." 

The younger woman never let a guy get their way with her best friend - always shoving them away and grabbing Camila to dance with. Sometimes, Dinah would push Camila against a wall and grind on the older woman just so no guy could get at Camila from the front or back. Sometimes, Dinah would hold Camila from behind and bend her down just to make it clear that her best friend’s Cuban ass was off limits. It was hot for most guys to watch and, honestly, if they were not practically sisters, it would really look like Camila and Dinah had something going on between them. Normani would murder her girlfriend in a heartbeat if Dinah ever danced with anyone the way she did on Camila. The two best friends just worked - there was no other way to explain it. They balanced each other out, always had each other’s backs, and never failed to have the times of their lives together.

So, when Camila admitted she ran away from a girl at the coffee shop, Dinah was not surprised, considering the older woman always ran off to the bathroom whenever someone tried to pick her up at a bar or club. Camila was not experienced with intimacy and romance. In high school, she "dated” a basketball player, Austin, for less than a month before he dumped her because she denied his sexual advances. During her three years of college, Camila only went to a total of seven parties - only four of which she got drunk at and only two of those four instances did she drunkenly kiss someone. She gave Shawn a quick peck on the lips as a rule for King’s Cup and she hooked up with Hailee after she took a body shot from the girl’s cleavage. The girl took Camila to an empty room and showed her what is was like to be with a woman, being the first person to ever see Camila in such a vulnerable state. Camila did not regret having sex for the first time with Hailee, but, prior to their hook up, Camila never considered the thought of being attracted to girls. She always thought girls were pretty and felt more comfortable around them than with guys, but, after experiencing the sheer bliss and passion with Hailee, Camila could not help but think that maybe she was only attracted to guys because that was expected of her and being with a girl was what she truly desired.

This reveal was not surprising to Dinah, who always noticed how flustered her best friend got around boys and caught Camila staring at the cheerleaders more so than the football players when they would go to Friday night games back in high school. She did not care how her best friend identified - all Dinah cared about was that Camila found someone deserving. This was hard to determine when Camila could hardly even flirt. If a decently looking guy tried to converse with her, Camila would stutter and make some excuse about having to pick up her younger sister. Whenever a pretty girl passed by her, which was all the time because women are just so effortlessly beautiful, Dinah would have to physically close Camila’s mouth for her. The younger woman has tried to teach her best friend the basics, but Camila always froze in the moment and resorted to what she knew best: Running off to be by herself.

“I really tried this time, I swear!”

Dinah crossed her arms and gave her an incredulous look. “How?”

“Okay, so I was learning how to take care of succulents, which is much more complicated than you would think, and then I saw her,” Camila stood up to reenact the morning. “She was standing in line on her phone like this and I thought to myself, ‘I have to do something!’ So I did what I thought was the best thing to do in that moment and shoved half a ham and cheese croissant just so I could give the plate to the barista at the bar, where the girl was standing, waiting for her drink.”

Dinah’s mouth hung open at how ridiculous her best friend was, but she let Camila continue.

“When I turned around to go back to my table, our eyes met and holy shit! Dinah, her eyes! Her eyes were like, fuck, I don’t know how to explain it!”

“What color were they?”

“They were green, but not just green!”

“Oh, so like hints of blue?”

“No, no, no,” Camila shook her head furiously as she paced back and forth in front of the TV. “It’s not as simple as that. They were so full. I don’t know how to explain it except that it felt like magic and bliss and warmth and eternity! We looked at each other and time stopped and I felt a rush of comfort take over me as if I have been scouting the universe for centuries and finally found my home.”

When she stopped her movements and looked at Dinah, whose eyes were as wide as saucers, Camila shook her head in frustration at how she could not fathom into words how gorgeous this mystery woman was. She knew she sounded crazy, but, of everyone she has encountered - from Mexico, Cuba, Miami, San Francisco, and New York City - this woman was surreal. You know how everyone has a celebrity crush or that dream person that stars in every fantasy? This woman blew every face imaginable for Camila. Camila did not even understand how a face so perfect could exist - it had to be chiseled by God himself and topped with Midas’ touch.

After moments of silence, Camila plopped face first back into the couch and groaned into the cushions as her best friend rubbed her back.

“Oh, honey…” Dinah cooed. “Should I pop open the red or white?”

“White." 

~

A/N:

This is going to be a very long story… Get ready for an agonizing slow burn… 

I hope you enjoyed - thanks for reading! 

Wattpad: nodustollens7

[feynites]

*flings some fluffy Frat Reincarnation AU Baby Pride into the universe to try and make up for that last fic*

Pride’s little brothers are twins, and they are babies, and they are very cute.

Their names are Felasel and Darevas. He tells his whole kindergarten class about them, when the teacher lets him talk about it for Show and Tell. Mama gives him a photo of the twins in their little knit caps, sleeping in their crib. It’s from when they were just born, and still very pink. They’re less pink now, though, and better at keeping their eyes open.

And they’re noisy.

They only know how to cry right now, though, so Papa says they’re noisy because they’re still learning how to communicate. Pride cried a lot when he was a baby, too, although he doesn’t remember that. Ein worries about it because it’s very hard to explain crying to a dog, and tends to sit outside of the nursery a lot.

When the twins are sleeping, though – and they sleep a lot – they’re very quiet. And so is everyone else. Mama says nap time is a good time for quiet activities, like reading, or drawing, or also napping. Pride doesn’t like to nap at the same time as the twins, though, so one morning he sneaks into the nursery while Mama and Papa and the twins are sleeping. Ein goes with him, and settles down next to the crib, while Pride stares through the slats at his baby brothers.

Felasel has hair like Mama’s. It’s even starting to curl at the edges. Darevas has dark hair, like Papa’s, but otherwise Pride thinks they look pretty much the same. Papa says they aren’t identical twins, though, because identical twins don’t have any differences. And most babies look alike.

Pride stares at his brothers a little longer, making extra sure to be quiet, before he finally settles down onto the nursery floor, and pulls out his sketchbook and takes his crayons out of his pocket. He starts out by drawing the crib, and Ein beside it. He’s used to drawing Ein, so that’s easy. And then he tries to draw his brothers, side by side and napping. The sun is outside of the window, so Pride includes that, too, and he tries to get Felasel’s hair right but just like with Mama, he finds himself frustrated that his crayons are never the right shade for it.

He makes do with the yellow, though, pressing very lightly except at the edges. After a minute Ein comes over and snuffles his hair, and then tries to sneak one of his crayons away. Pride objects, reflexively, letting out a firm ‘no’ and then smacking his hand over his mouth as he realizes his mistake. The twins move a little; scrunching up their faces. Darevas’ tiny mouth starts to work, like he’s eating invisible pudding. Pride holds his breath.

But after a minute, they don’t wake up, and he lets it back out again.

The door to the nursery opens again, and he glances over and sees Ana looking in.

She raises a finger to her lips, and then gestures for him to come over. Pride picks up his drawing and all of his crayons, counting to be sure he doesn’t miss any, and then quietly heads over. Ana urges him and Ein back out of the nursery, and then down the hall, and away from the ajar door to his parents’ room, too.

“What are you up to?” she asks, quietly, once they get to the kitchen.

Pride shows her his drawing.

“I was drawing the twins,” he whispers back. “Mama said I could draw while they were napping. I was being extra careful! But then Ein tried to eat one of my crayons.”

He gives his usual partner-in-crime a disappointed look, which goes mostly ignored.

“Ohhh,” Ana says. She ruffles his hair a little, and then takes his drawing to look at. “It’s very good! You got their little legs just perfect.”

Pride beams.

“Let’s put it on the fridge,” Ana suggests. “And then we should probably have a snack. Do you want apple slices or carrot sticks?”

Pride thinks about it while Ana opens up the drawer and fishes out a fresh magnet, and sticks his drawing of the twin up next to the one he did a few days ago, of the wolf pack he saw on the television documentary that Papa watched with him.

“I want apple slices,” he decides. “Can we have caramel sauce with them?”

Ana gives him a look.

“We can have yogurt with them,” she tells him. “Or cheese. Pick your poison.”

Pride sighs. Sometimes Ana lets him get away with having candy, but it’s starting to seem like all of the adults are conspiring to make sure he doesn’t sneak any extra sweets outside of dessert, and his cookies at lunch time. He picks cheese, with a long-suffering air, and Ana gives him his favourite kind of juice which makes up for the disappointment a little. He wonders if the twins will like candy and sweets, once they can start having Big Kid Food. Pride hopes so, then he can show them what all the best snacks are, and they can help him convince Mama and Papa that ice-cream on pancakes is a good everyday breakfast.

Ana settles down next to him, with some fresh berries with her apple slices, and pulls out her phone.

“Wanna see some more pictures from my trip?” she offers. “I don’t think I’ve shown you the ones from the Museum of Antiquity in Nevarra yet.”

“You went to more museums?!” Pride asks. He can’t wait until he’s big enough to take a whole trip across Thedas, and see all the places. Ana nods, and grins, and then shows him some pictures of a big, beautiful building that’s full of lots of spooky stuff. And vases. And mummies.

Ana shows him all the drawings that were done on one of the big fancy coffins, and Pride wonders if, one day, any of his pictures will end up in museums. He thinks that seems kind of funny, because he can’t imagine somebody talking about him all fancy, like ‘way back a hundred tons of years ago, there was an elf named Pride, and he made all these beautiful pictures but we think aliens helped him’. There was a whole show about that one the other day, with an Orlesian history man who was pretty sure that aliens helped the ancient elves make Arlathan. Mama said he was so full of hot air that it was amazing that he didn’t float away, like a big balloon, and go meet his aliens himself.

It was funny. Papa explained how blimps worked to Pride, after that, and that was almost as interesting as aliens.

“Do you think the twins will like museums?” he wonders. Lots of kids don’t.

Ana shrugs.

“I don’t know! I guess we’ll have to wait and find out. Although considering what a giant pack of nerds everyone in this family is, I’d say there are good odds on it.”

Pride giggles. Ana doesn’t mean it the mean way when she says they’re all nerds. She smiles at him, and then reaches over and bops his nose.

“Finish your apple slices, and I’ll show you one of the videos I took of the exhibits,” she promises.

Pride promptly shoves the rest of his snack into his face, and grins.

[yourmoansareasymphony]

1. Do you bite or lick ice cream? I like to eat ice cream with a spoon. If I can choose between a cup and a cone I always pick a cup.

2. What is home to you? Might sound like a cliché but is true. Pixie.

3. What was the last lie you told? I lie to my cat often. Tell him I’m going to take him out or give him shrimps later but forget. He probably doesn’t trust me at all.

4. Does everyone deserve the truth? Of course not.

5. What is the creepiest toy ever made? Baby dolls.

6. Describe a moment in which you did something unacceptable in a bad situation. I borderline odeed on xans like a weasel.

7. List two things that are more easily done than said. (No, I didn’t mix them up.) Loving and hating.

8. When was the last time you worked really hard to achieve something? PhD.

9. How organized are you? Very. Organised and prepared.

10. If humans didn’t evolve to laugh or smile, how would we express our happiness instead? I don’t know.

11. How many romantic “things” or “flings” have you had? Just this one.

12. What is your favourite background noise? (Ex. Water dripping, people talking.) Heavy rain.

13. How many hearts do you think you have broken? A few, I’m afraid, but not intentionally. Some people just take sex as a promise of something more and perhaps those have been the moments when people have been disappointed.

14. What is the most annoying thing someone can do to you? Interrupt me when I speak.

15. Do you overexaggerate? The word “over” is unnecessary here? Yes, I do, sometimes when I’m angry. Or sometimes for comedy value.

16. Have you played any instruments before? Which instruments? I can play the piano. I’ve taken cello and guitar lessons. I have an ukulele but I’m not allowed to play because it’s annoying, apparently.

17. Do you like taking selfies? Why or why not? No. Because of my face.

18. Do you have what it takes to raise a child? Why or why not? I think I’d have everything concrete that it takes: time, money, maybe intellect. But what I don’t have is unconditional love. I can’t love a person just because they’re family. I might easily hate my child if he or she was an idiot or grew up to be a UKIP voter. I want to choose the people in my life.

19. How do you cheer yourself up after a bad day? I play with my cat.

20. When was the last time you felt awkward? Gary slept with us in our bed last night. I was in the middle and they were both more or less leaning on me and they both smelled like old booze.

21. Are you introverted or extroverted? Or a mixture of both? Introvert.

22. What constitutes a good friend? I was just asked what I love about my best friend.

23. Would you rather have a lot of friends to hang out with or just one best friend? I like having a best friend. Quality over quantity.

24. In a regular day, what do you not want to hear? “Bark bark bark the liberal elite moo moo moo unelected bureaucrats.”

25. What is your dream job? Prime Minister.

26. What is a truth about yourself that others find hard to believe? My followers don’t seem to believe that I don’t masturbate. I think the last time I did was in 2012 or 2013. It is true, you wankers!

27. What have you always wondered about the other gender? Why they don’t murder more.

28. Which fantasy world would you like to visit the most? The post-apocalyptic world of the film The Road, to see how long I’d survive.

29. Imagine that you have switched bodies with someone you don’t know. You can’t switch back. What do you do? Go on with my life. Celebrate. I’d probably look a lot better.

30. If you found the recipe for immortality, would you sell it or would you burn it? I most definitely wouldn’t sell it. I would keep it and hide it and give myself at least a decade to think about what to do with it.

31. What is the most important, applicable class you have ever taken? Maths.

32. Name the last book you read. I’m reading All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.

33. When was the last time you made the first move? 9,5 years ago.

34. What is your opinion on electronic music such as dubstep or trap? I don’t listen to it. No opinion.

35. What was the last movie you watched? Star Wars: The Force Awakens

36. Do you like and appreciate your life? Yes.

37. Do you like and appreciate yourself? Appreciate, yes. Like, not always.

38. When was the last time you cried? Christmas.

39. What are you scared of? Babies. Well, not scared of but they creep me out.

40. What is the most embarrassing, cringe-worthy thing you have ever done? I’m still mortified about the wedding.

41. What is a superficial yet annoying mistake you constantly make? Our London house is a “smart” house, this is a very stupid one. I close the bathroom door and stand in the dark for a few seconds until I remember that there’s no motion sensor and that I have to switch the lights on myself. Sometimes I forget to switch them off.

42. Are you a good friend? What makes you a good friend? If not, what makes you a bad friend? Loyal but clingy.

43. Do you honestly learn from your mistakes? Honestly, I’m not sure.

44. What have you learned the hard way? Pixie doesn’t want her nipples touched.

45. What is the most important thing to have in order to attain happiness? Statistically, money. And I agree with the statistics.

46. Which medium do you use for expressing your artistic emotions? (Singing, writing, etc.) Dance.

47. Are you a creative or a logical thinker? Both, I’d like to think. Why do people always assume that these are mutually exclusive? I think these are often found in the same person.

48. What is the smartest thing you have ever done? Left home the way I did.

49. What is the worst thing someone could do on a date? Pay the bill without asking? Murder?

50. Do you like animals? Which kind is your favourite? Kitty.

51. If you could turn one legal thing illegal, what would it be? Voting, if you’re stupid. There should be two pages on the ballot. First page: 1 x 1, which party/parties form the government at the moment, what is the EU? All 3 answers must be correct and if they’re not they will discard your ballot without counting it.

52. Do you have any guilty pleasures? Pimple popping videos.

53. What is the best thing that the internet has ever created? Human connections for introverts.

54. Are you a morning person? When do you usually wake up? Not a morning person at all. I’m physically unable to smile before noon.

55. Do you have a favourite Disney movie? Character? Dumbo. Got stuff done without talking.

56. Would you rather live in the city or in the countryside? City.

57. Would you rather live near the ocean or in the mountains? Mountains.

58. What are the best things about winter? Heh, I just talked about this with someone. I like it when my nose hair freeze when I inhale. It’s satisfying.

59. What scares you most about the future? Nothing really scares me. Stupidity depresses me.

60. What makes you feel old? My Tumblr followers.

61. How many hours do you spend on the computer or phone on average? 2-3 hours?

62. What bad habits do you do? I clean my ears with cotton buds.

63. Most prominent childhood memory? Oh boy, maybe not.

64. Imagine if you had an older brother. If you already have one, what is it like? If you don’t, how would this change your life? I have two older brothers. One’s a twin, the other one I haven’t seen since I was 18 and do not care to. Having a brother is nice, because he’s nice.

65. Do you believe in horoscopes? Of course not.

66. What is the worst advice you’ve ever been given? I rarely take advice but all these “everything happens for a reason” blaa-di-blaas are really irritating. (I don’t think they mean determinism.)

67. List the 3 most important people in your life right now. Pixie, Gary, Aaron.

68. Do you have a role model? Why or why not? No, because nobody’s perfect.

69. What is your opinion on social media? I’m not on Facebook or Twitter. It’s aggravating how everyone has the chance and the right to post whatever they wish, true or not, and there’s a constant terrifying false balance in these conversations. On the other hand, it’s a great tool to detect which one of your friends or acquaintances is actually a moron and therefore you can avoid them in future.

70. Are you a pessimist or an optimist? Still, realist.

71. List some things that you think are overpriced? Pink hygiene products.

72. What is your worst memory or creepiest experience? Amba’s death and what lead to it.

73. What are some things you did as a child that you no longer do? I don’t put so much sugar in my tea.

74. What languages can you speak? BSL, English, Finnish.

75. Favourite food? Raw beef.

76. What is the most terrifying dream you’ve ever had? I had raped Pixie, didn’t remember doing it and couldn’t understand why. I was trying to find a building high enough but every time I got on the roof the building had shrunk.

77. When was the last time you got seriously angry? Christmas.

78. What was the last friendship you broke? I haven’t broken any. Some of them just dry out.

79. Do you have any pet peeves? Yeah, don’t interrupt me when I’m talking.

80. Who was the last person you gave a hug to? Gary, when he left earlier today.

81. When was the last time you got seriously stressed? Last September.

82. What did you want to be when you were little? Dancer.

83. What are some things that you are good at? I’m getting good at knitting socks.

84. What is one thing you want to be good at? I’d like to be a better driver. I’m not bad but the reality is that I’ve driven all my adult life in central London and it doesn’t take much skill. Just don’t kill cyclists or pedestrians. I look up to Pixie (and she looks down on me). We were in her home town one Christmas and she was driving. We were looking for a parking space and saw one on the other side of the street. I thought we’d go around the block and then parallel park like normal people but no, what followed was a handbrake U-turn on ice and a neat drift right into the spot. Her spatial orientation is excellent in general. She knows instantly whether a piece of clothing will fit, whether a large object will fit in the car. We haven’t competed but I think she’d beat me in Tetris and I’m really good. And I know I’m a good driver as well but her mad skills just make me feel inadequate. She gets frustrated if I need to adjust when I’m parking.

85. What distracts you the most, especially when you’re trying to work? My own thoughts. My mind wanders so easily.

86. How important is privacy to you? Essential.

87. If you could create one social norm, what would it be? I’d like to end the greeting fascism. We all have to say hi to people we haven’t really been in contact with in years. People from school, your previous neighbours, current neighbours, your best friend’s aunt, the cousin of your childhood geography teacher, fucking everyone. One of the greatest things about moving here is that I don’t know many people. In London walking to work was always hi, hi, hello, hello, morning, yes, it’s you again, hello.

88. What’s the craziest lie you’ve ever told? I’ve lied to children. I told the Greek kid that my iPad doesn’t show cartoons because it’s an adult iPad and made her watch Brian Cox and she believed me. I told a kid once that I can forge bank notes by drawing them. That my wife is a witch. That there are pirates buried under our house. All sorts of crazy things. Children are idiots!

89. What story do you like to tell about yourself at parties? I don’t tell stories about myself.

90. What is the stupidest thing you’ve done to impress someone? Acrobatics. It starts with me and Pixie, me saying “hey, watch this!” and then I break a bone.

91. What is your morning routine? Pee, brush teeth, feed the cat.

92. If karma was coming back to you, would it help or hurt you? Help.

93. What is your opinion on playing “hard to get?” If you think it’s attractive, fine. But it might not get you the result you want.

94. What are the pros and cons of straightforward? Getting things said and done efficiently. People getting upset.

95. Are you the friend-zoner or the friend-zoned? Such thing does not exist. There are just dicks who think that being nice should be awarded with sex.

96. What is your opinion on “going with the flow?” Don’t. 

97. Do you enjoy talking or listening? When the topic is interesting I enjoy both.

98. When was the last time you had a deep conversation with someone? Yesterday, with Gary.

99. Do you have any self-restraint? Lots.

100. What advice would you give to yourself 5 years ago? I would advise myself to take care of myself because by not doing so I’ve caused a lot of sorrow.

I’m going to try and drop this bomb on @my-wanton-self, @theklicker, @nirhauma​, @cherrytintedmusings, @agythi, @nakedbutterfly​ and @cherrypies​.

[statusreview]

Fourth of July Party Recipes, Ideas, & General Insanity

Every year on Instagram Stories I share photos from our friend’s insanely over-the-top party for the Fourth of July. And each year we gets tons of requests for a post with all the photos and links to the recipes she uses, so we’re finally giving the people what they want. Our friend Justine has been hosting these backyard soirees for years – and the only way to describe them would be: EXTRA. And we love her for it. She and her husband John basically just throw this huge party every year for all of us to gather and hang out with our kids and each other. It’s such a great time of year to get together (not as hard with schedules as things around the holidays for example) and when the party ends, her prep for the following year begins. Just kidding. But maybe not…

Let’s dive right in. Each year she sets up a sun tent and decorates it to create a makeshift photo booth with some fabric, sparkly red tulle, and a banner along the back.

Now lean into your screen and really soak up this next sentence, because the success of a DIY photobooth hinges on this single solitary tip: SHE HAS THE BEST PROPS. Every July there are more of them on the little table off to the side for us to choose from. This year there were wigs and beards in addition to all of the oversized glasses and hats and giant inflatable gloves. She says whenever she sees something on sale after the 4th she grabs it for next year, so that’s how the collection keeps growing.

It should come as no surprise to longtime readers that Justine is the one who, instead of a traditional baby gift, offered to make the cupcakes for our daughter’s 4th birthday party (just a few weeks after our son was born). She turned out the most amazing stack of custom decorated treats. BECAUSE SHE ONLY HAS ONE PARTY MODE AND IT’S BEAST MODE. Which explains why she can’t resist large inflatable presidents to greet guests on the hanging daybed on her back porch, for example.

Yes, all of the kids tackled them and smacked each other with them in the yard. And yes it was hilarious.

She also made this cute wooden sign a few years ago that comes out each July. It says things like “food”, “waterslide”, “drinks”, “photobooth”, etc. Are you thinking “this party is almost like a wedding!” – because if so, you are starting to get it. It has snowballed, so every year she has so many things to break out that feel festive and hilarious and even more over the top than the year before. At this point the party momentum cannot be stopped and can only be appreciated with an Abraham-Lincoln hat-tip, which of course is on the prop table.

Speaking of fun, she always rents a two story waterslide for the kids (and the adults, once we have enough jello shooters) because… well, SHE IS THAT DEDICATED TO FUN. The waterslide really takes things to the next level when you record slow-mo videos of other adults attempting tricks like barrel rolls and flips. Five stars, would recommend.

As for other things to do, there are epic cornhole tournaments – and in case it wasn’t obvious, much like Puffy demands that everyone wear white to his parties, Justine demands that we wear red, white, and blue to her gathering each year. There’s even a series of prizes for certain costume categories (we had a big winner in our family this year when it came to an extremely patriotic swimsuit & towel combo).

This is Justine-the-host’s outfit. THAT’S AT LEAST FIVE HUNDRED FLAIR POINTS, GUYS. She decorated those flip-flips herself with ribbon. I know. Commitment level: 1000.

There’s also a leather sofa in the middle of the grass. Obviously for photo ops and general hanging out. It’s pretty much full of people the entire night long. It also makes for a great place to spectate/heckle the cornhole players.

Justine also does things like rolling silverware in bandanas and tying them with twine BECAUSE THAT’S WHO SHE IS AS A PERSON. She actually confessed to me that each year she has a ton of these left over, so they’re not that high maintenance. Note: her definition of high maintenance might be slightly different than other people’s based on her ALL IN level of party-throwing.

The food is always fun and we actually do a pot luck thing so it’s not too much on Justine & John’s shoulders. We each bring a side dish for everyone to share and meat for our own family for the grill. Also, note the sock and shoe combination here. Just saying. We do not mess around when it comes to our costumes.

Since around 20-30 people come each year, there’s always a giant amount of food – and a lot of it ends up being themed. Blue corn chips with red salsa for example, or this bean dip with little olives and tomatoes to make a flag (it’s just a layer of refried beans, a layer of guacamole, a layer of cheese, and a layer of sour cream with the tomatoes and olives on top).

These mozzarella, basil, and tomato skewers are another example of the good eats that feel sort of themed (the blueberries add some blue, right?). Add some salt and pepper, drizzle them with balsamic glaze, and thank me later ;)

We always bring what I affectionately call “pigs in a blanket,” which I’ve learned are called “Lil’ Smokies” here in Virginia. Still getting used to that name. The kids love them though – they’re always completely gone by the end of the night.

The drinks are also, to borrow a term from Lil’ Wayne: “off the chain.” These are jello shooters, for example – and the cherry is so clever because if you pull the stem it lifts the shooter out of the cup so you can suck it down and remark how amazing the hostess is. Here is a kid-friendly recipe without any alcohol (just add vodka if you want them to be true jello shots).

Justine also made these awesome red, white, and blue smoothies for the kids – all of whom raved about them except for one non-fruit-loving child. Let the record state that cute straws and the little jelly jars are the key to a ridiculous amount of serving flare, so do with that information what you will.

And you can’t have a big ol’ gathering without red, white, and blue margaritas for the grown ups. It should be noted that because I helped in the kitchen, these weren’t as beautiful as they should have been. We think if we added more ice to thicken them that the red, white, and blue layers would have been more distinct. But as Justine’s husband John so eloquently stated, “we were going for margarita speed over margarita perfection.” Here’s the recipe for ya.

One of the biggest reveals of the night (there are usually 3-5 of these surprises because JUSTINE DOES NOT MESS AROUND) were these waffle cones that she had individually decorated with red white and blue melted chocolate and sprinkles. THE KIDS WENT HAM FOR THESE.

Also, I thought her use of the teal blue milk crates was so adorable and asked if she saw that on Pinterest and she said she had been standing in her daughter’s room and looked at them and thought “those would be perfect for my cones!” which floored me. I mean this woman clearly has her own version of Pinterest running in her brain 24/7.

One other thing on the menu that I would definitely highly recommend was this amazing dessert called “Berry Lasagne” that Justine whipped up:

Yes, that’s a white chocolate drizzle that she added right before bringing it out. And let the record state that any party that required me to drizzle white chocolate during the actual party would lead to me breathing into a paper bag in the kitchen, but Justine just has that party expert gene. Here’s the recipe for the berry lasagne, and here’s a shot of it all sliced and served on a patriotic plate:

After all the food and drinks (and competitive watersliding), we gather on the back porch and the patio to watch the fireworks that Justine’s husband John takes a ton of pride in.

Every year they get bigger and more insane (they’re legal here in Virginia for all of the Northerners wondering – I had to get used to that when I moved to VA). There’s always a fire extinguisher nearby and it only had to be used one epic time when the table very slowly caught fire after the fireworks ended.

So that’s Justin & John’s completely over-the-top and SO MUCH FUN annual party. Hope the recipes and photos come in handy for anyone else who is walking around with their own personal Pinterest running through their brain. I always get a little mushy during the fireworks because it’s so rare to get together with friends and family that you love – so it’s such a treat to have these awesomely festive and completely committed friends to get us all in one place to enjoy each other’s company every year. WE LOVE YOU J&J! Thanks for ALL THE MEMORIES (and all the photobooth props).

P.S. Wanna see the most extra thing I’ve ever done for a patriotic party? Here’s a watermelon trick I learned years ago (John looks like a baby in that first picture). 

P.P.S. Did you know that we send out what basically ends up being a bonus blog post each week?! Sign up for our free weekly emails to get them delivered right to your inbox. 

The post Fourth of July Party Recipes, Ideas, & General Insanity appeared first on Young House Love.

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[endlessarchite]

Fourth of July Party Recipes, Ideas, & General Insanity

Every year on Instagram Stories I share photos from our friend’s insanely over-the-top party for the Fourth of July. And each year we gets tons of requests for a post with all the photos and links to the recipes she uses, so we’re finally giving the people what they want. Our friend Justine has been hosting these backyard soirees for years – and the only way to describe them would be: EXTRA. And we love her for it. She and her husband John basically just throw this huge party every year for all of us to gather and hang out with our kids and each other. It’s such a great time of year to get together (not as hard with schedules as things around the holidays for example) and when the party ends, her prep for the following year begins. Just kidding. But maybe not…

Let’s dive right in. Each year she sets up a sun tent and decorates it to create a makeshift photo booth with some fabric, sparkly red tulle, and a banner along the back.

Now lean into your screen and really soak up this next sentence, because the success of a DIY photobooth hinges on this single solitary tip: SHE HAS THE BEST PROPS. Every July there are more of them on the little table off to the side for us to choose from. This year there were wigs and beards in addition to all of the oversized glasses and hats and giant inflatable gloves. She says whenever she sees something on sale after the 4th she grabs it for next year, so that’s how the collection keeps growing.

It should come as no surprise to longtime readers that Justine is the one who, instead of a traditional baby gift, offered to make the cupcakes for our daughter’s 4th birthday party (just a few weeks after our son was born). She turned out the most amazing stack of custom decorated treats. BECAUSE SHE ONLY HAS ONE PARTY MODE AND IT’S BEAST MODE. Which explains why she can’t resist large inflatable presidents to greet guests on the hanging daybed on her back porch, for example.

Yes, all of the kids tackled them and smacked each other with them in the yard. And yes it was hilarious.

She also made this cute wooden sign a few years ago that comes out each July. It says things like “food”, “waterslide”, “drinks”, “photobooth”, etc. Are you thinking “this party is almost like a wedding!” – because if so, you are starting to get it. It has snowballed, so every year she has so many things to break out that feel festive and hilarious and even more over the top than the year before. At this point the party momentum cannot be stopped and can only be appreciated with an Abraham-Lincoln hat-tip, which of course is on the prop table.

Speaking of fun, she always rents a two story waterslide for the kids (and the adults, once we have enough jello shooters) because… well, SHE IS THAT DEDICATED TO FUN. The waterslide really takes things to the next level when you record slow-mo videos of other adults attempting tricks like barrel rolls and flips. Five stars, would recommend.

As for other things to do, there are epic cornhole tournaments – and in case it wasn’t obvious, much like Puffy demands that everyone wear white to his parties, Justine demands that we wear red, white, and blue to her gathering each year. There’s even a series of prizes for certain costume categories (we had a big winner in our family this year when it came to an extremely patriotic swimsuit & towel combo).

This is Justine-the-host’s outfit. THAT’S AT LEAST FIVE HUNDRED FLAIR POINTS, GUYS. She decorated those flip-flips herself with ribbon. I know. Commitment level: 1000.

There’s also a leather sofa in the middle of the grass. Obviously for photo ops and general hanging out. It’s pretty much full of people the entire night long. It also makes for a great place to spectate/heckle the cornhole players.

Justine also does things like rolling silverware in bandanas and tying them with twine BECAUSE THAT’S WHO SHE IS AS A PERSON. She actually confessed to me that each year she has a ton of these left over, so they’re not that high maintenance. Note: her definition of high maintenance might be slightly different than other people’s based on her ALL IN level of party-throwing.

The food is always fun and we actually do a pot luck thing so it’s not too much on Justine & John’s shoulders. We each bring a side dish for everyone to share and meat for our own family for the grill. Also, note the sock and shoe combination here. Just saying. We do not mess around when it comes to our costumes.

Since around 20-30 people come each year, there’s always a giant amount of food – and a lot of it ends up being themed. Blue corn chips with red salsa for example, or this bean dip with little olives and tomatoes to make a flag (it’s just a layer of refried beans, a layer of guacamole, a layer of cheese, and a layer of sour cream with the tomatoes and olives on top).

These mozzarella, basil, and tomato skewers are another example of the good eats that feel sort of themed (the blueberries add some blue, right?). Add some salt and pepper, drizzle them with balsamic glaze, and thank me later ;)

We always bring what I affectionately call “pigs in a blanket,” which I’ve learned are called “Lil’ Smokies” here in Virginia. Still getting used to that name. The kids love them though – they’re always completely gone by the end of the night.

The drinks are also, to borrow a term from Lil’ Wayne: “off the chain.” These are jello shooters, for example – and the cherry is so clever because if you pull the stem it lifts the shooter out of the cup so you can suck it down and remark how amazing the hostess is. Here is a kid-friendly recipe without any alcohol (just add vodka if you want them to be true jello shots).

Justine also made these awesome red, white, and blue smoothies for the kids – all of whom raved about them except for one non-fruit-loving child. Let the record state that cute straws and the little jelly jars are the key to a ridiculous amount of serving flare, so do with that information what you will.

And you can’t have a big ol’ gathering without red, white, and blue margaritas for the grown ups. It should be noted that because I helped in the kitchen, these weren’t as beautiful as they should have been. We think if we added more ice to thicken them that the red, white, and blue layers would have been more distinct. But as Justine’s husband John so eloquently stated, “we were going for margarita speed over margarita perfection.” Here’s the recipe for ya.

One of the biggest reveals of the night (there are usually 3-5 of these surprises because JUSTINE DOES NOT MESS AROUND) were these waffle cones that she had individually decorated with red white and blue melted chocolate and sprinkles. THE KIDS WENT HAM FOR THESE.

Also, I thought her use of the teal blue milk crates was so adorable and asked if she saw that on Pinterest and she said she had been standing in her daughter’s room and looked at them and thought “those would be perfect for my cones!” which floored me. I mean this woman clearly has her own version of Pinterest running in her brain 24/7.

One other thing on the menu that I would definitely highly recommend was this amazing dessert called “Berry Lasagne” that Justine whipped up:

Yes, that’s a white chocolate drizzle that she added right before bringing it out. And let the record state that any party that required me to drizzle white chocolate during the actual party would lead to me breathing into a paper bag in the kitchen, but Justine just has that party expert gene. Here’s the recipe for the berry lasagne, and here’s a shot of it all sliced and served on a patriotic plate:

After all the food and drinks (and competitive watersliding), we gather on the back porch and the patio to watch the fireworks that Justine’s husband John takes a ton of pride in.

Every year they get bigger and more insane (they’re legal here in Virginia for all of the Northerners wondering – I had to get used to that when I moved to VA). There’s always a fire extinguisher nearby and it only had to be used one epic time when the table very slowly caught fire after the fireworks ended.

So that’s Justin & John’s completely over-the-top and SO MUCH FUN annual party. Hope the recipes and photos come in handy for anyone else who is walking around with their own personal Pinterest running through their brain. I always get a little mushy during the fireworks because it’s so rare to get together with friends and family that you love – so it’s such a treat to have these awesomely festive and completely committed friends to get us all in one place to enjoy each other’s company every year. WE LOVE YOU J&J! Thanks for ALL THE MEMORIES (and all the photobooth props).

P.S. Wanna see the most extra thing I’ve ever done for a patriotic party? Here’s a watermelon trick I learned years ago (John looks like a baby in that first picture). 

P.P.S. Did you know that we send out what basically ends up being a bonus blog post each week?! Sign up for our free weekly emails to get them delivered right to your inbox. 

The post Fourth of July Party Recipes, Ideas, & General Insanity appeared first on Young House Love.

Fourth of July Party Recipes, Ideas, & General Insanity published first on https://bakerskitchenslimited.tumblr.com/

[truereviewpage]

Fourth of July Party Recipes, Ideas, & General Insanity

Every year on Instagram Stories I share photos from our friend’s insanely over-the-top party for the Fourth of July. And each year we gets tons of requests for a post with all the photos and links to the recipes she uses, so we’re finally giving the people what they want. Our friend Justine has been hosting these backyard soirees for years – and the only way to describe them would be: EXTRA. And we love her for it. She and her husband John basically just throw this huge party every year for all of us to gather and hang out with our kids and each other. It’s such a great time of year to get together (not as hard with schedules as things around the holidays for example) and when the party ends, her prep for the following year begins. Just kidding. But maybe not…

Let’s dive right in. Each year she sets up a sun tent and decorates it to create a makeshift photo booth with some fabric, sparkly red tulle, and a banner along the back.

Now lean into your screen and really soak up this next sentence, because the success of a DIY photobooth hinges on this single solitary tip: SHE HAS THE BEST PROPS. Every July there are more of them on the little table off to the side for us to choose from. This year there were wigs and beards in addition to all of the oversized glasses and hats and giant inflatable gloves. She says whenever she sees something on sale after the 4th she grabs it for next year, so that’s how the collection keeps growing.

It should come as no surprise to longtime readers that Justine is the one who, instead of a traditional baby gift, offered to make the cupcakes for our daughter’s 4th birthday party (just a few weeks after our son was born). She turned out the most amazing stack of custom decorated treats. BECAUSE SHE ONLY HAS ONE PARTY MODE AND IT’S BEAST MODE. Which explains why she can’t resist large inflatable presidents to greet guests on the hanging daybed on her back porch, for example.

Yes, all of the kids tackled them and smacked each other with them in the yard. And yes it was hilarious.

She also made this cute wooden sign a few years ago that comes out each July. It says things like “food”, “waterslide”, “drinks”, “photobooth”, etc. Are you thinking “this party is almost like a wedding!” – because if so, you are starting to get it. It has snowballed, so every year she has so many things to break out that feel festive and hilarious and even more over the top than the year before. At this point the party momentum cannot be stopped and can only be appreciated with an Abraham-Lincoln hat-tip, which of course is on the prop table.

Speaking of fun, she always rents a two story waterslide for the kids (and the adults, once we have enough jello shooters) because… well, SHE IS THAT DEDICATED TO FUN. The waterslide really takes things to the next level when you record slow-mo videos of other adults attempting tricks like barrel rolls and flips. Five stars, would recommend.

As for other things to do, there are epic cornhole tournaments – and in case it wasn’t obvious, much like Puffy demands that everyone wear white to his parties, Justine demands that we wear red, white, and blue to her gathering each year. There’s even a series of prizes for certain costume categories (we had a big winner in our family this year when it came to an extremely patriotic swimsuit & towel combo).

This is Justine-the-host’s outfit. THAT’S AT LEAST FIVE HUNDRED FLAIR POINTS, GUYS. She decorated those flip-flips herself with ribbon. I know. Commitment level: 1000.

There’s also a leather sofa in the middle of the grass. Obviously for photo ops and general hanging out. It’s pretty much full of people the entire night long. It also makes for a great place to spectate/heckle the cornhole players.

Justine also does things like rolling silverware in bandanas and tying them with twine BECAUSE THAT’S WHO SHE IS AS A PERSON. She actually confessed to me that each year she has a ton of these left over, so they’re not that high maintenance. Note: her definition of high maintenance might be slightly different than other people’s based on her ALL IN level of party-throwing.

The food is always fun and we actually do a pot luck thing so it’s not too much on Justine & John’s shoulders. We each bring a side dish for everyone to share and meat for our own family for the grill. Also, note the sock and shoe combination here. Just saying. We do not mess around when it comes to our costumes.

Since around 20-30 people come each year, there’s always a giant amount of food – and a lot of it ends up being themed. Blue corn chips with red salsa for example, or this bean dip with little olives and tomatoes to make a flag (it’s just a layer of refried beans, a layer of guacamole, a layer of cheese, and a layer of sour cream with the tomatoes and olives on top).

These mozzarella, basil, and tomato skewers are another example of the good eats that feel sort of themed (the blueberries add some blue, right?). Add some salt and pepper, drizzle them with balsamic glaze, and thank me later ;)

We always bring what I affectionately call “pigs in a blanket,” which I’ve learned are called “Lil’ Smokies” here in Virginia. Still getting used to that name. The kids love them though – they’re always completely gone by the end of the night.

The drinks are also, to borrow a term from Lil’ Wayne: “off the chain.” These are jello shooters, for example – and the cherry is so clever because if you pull the stem it lifts the shooter out of the cup so you can suck it down and remark how amazing the hostess is. Here is a kid-friendly recipe without any alcohol (just add vodka if you want them to be true jello shots).

Justine also made these awesome red, white, and blue smoothies for the kids – all of whom raved about them except for one non-fruit-loving child. Let the record state that cute straws and the little jelly jars are the key to a ridiculous amount of serving flare, so do with that information what you will.

And you can’t have a big ol’ gathering without red, white, and blue margaritas for the grown ups. It should be noted that because I helped in the kitchen, these weren’t as beautiful as they should have been. We think if we added more ice to thicken them that the red, white, and blue layers would have been more distinct. But as Justine’s husband John so eloquently stated, “we were going for margarita speed over margarita perfection.” Here’s the recipe for ya.

One of the biggest reveals of the night (there are usually 3-5 of these surprises because JUSTINE DOES NOT MESS AROUND) were these waffle cones that she had individually decorated with red white and blue melted chocolate and sprinkles. THE KIDS WENT HAM FOR THESE.

Also, I thought her use of the teal blue milk crates was so adorable and asked if she saw that on Pinterest and she said she had been standing in her daughter’s room and looked at them and thought “those would be perfect for my cones!” which floored me. I mean this woman clearly has her own version of Pinterest running in her brain 24/7.

One other thing on the menu that I would definitely highly recommend was this amazing dessert called “Berry Lasagne” that Justine whipped up:

Yes, that’s a white chocolate drizzle that she added right before bringing it out. And let the record state that any party that required me to drizzle white chocolate during the actual party would lead to me breathing into a paper bag in the kitchen, but Justine just has that party expert gene. Here’s the recipe for the berry lasagne, and here’s a shot of it all sliced and served on a patriotic plate:

After all the food and drinks (and competitive watersliding), we gather on the back porch and the patio to watch the fireworks that Justine’s husband John takes a ton of pride in.

Every year they get bigger and more insane (they’re legal here in Virginia for all of the Northerners wondering – I had to get used to that when I moved to VA). There’s always a fire extinguisher nearby and it only had to be used one epic time when the table very slowly caught fire after the fireworks ended.

So that’s Justin & John’s completely over-the-top and SO MUCH FUN annual party. Hope the recipes and photos come in handy for anyone else who is walking around with their own personal Pinterest running through their brain. I always get a little mushy during the fireworks because it’s so rare to get together with friends and family that you love – so it’s such a treat to have these awesomely festive and completely committed friends to get us all in one place to enjoy each other’s company every year. WE LOVE YOU J&J! Thanks for ALL THE MEMORIES (and all the photobooth props).

P.S. Wanna see the most extra thing I’ve ever done for a patriotic party? Here’s a watermelon trick I learned years ago (John looks like a baby in that first picture). 

P.P.S. Did you know that we send out what basically ends up being a bonus blog post each week?! Sign up for our free weekly emails to get them delivered right to your inbox. 

The post Fourth of July Party Recipes, Ideas, & General Insanity appeared first on Young House Love.

Fourth of July Party Recipes, Ideas, & General Insanity published first on https://aireloomreview.tumblr.com/

[billydmacklin]

Fourth of July Party Recipes, Ideas, & General Insanity

Every year on Instagram Stories I share photos from our friend’s insanely over-the-top party for the Fourth of July. And each year we gets tons of requests for a post with all the photos and links to the recipes she uses, so we’re finally giving the people what they want. Our friend Justine has been hosting these backyard soirees for years – and the only way to describe them would be: EXTRA. And we love her for it. She and her husband John basically just throw this huge party every year for all of us to gather and hang out with our kids and each other. It’s such a great time of year to get together (not as hard with schedules as things around the holidays for example) and when the party ends, her prep for the following year begins. Just kidding. But maybe not…

Let’s dive right in. Each year she sets up a sun tent and decorates it to create a makeshift photo booth with some fabric, sparkly red tulle, and a banner along the back.

Now lean into your screen and really soak up this next sentence, because the success of a DIY photobooth hinges on this single solitary tip: SHE HAS THE BEST PROPS. Every July there are more of them on the little table off to the side for us to choose from. This year there were wigs and beards in addition to all of the oversized glasses and hats and giant inflatable gloves. She says whenever she sees something on sale after the 4th she grabs it for next year, so that’s how the collection keeps growing.

It should come as no surprise to longtime readers that Justine is the one who, instead of a traditional baby gift, offered to make the cupcakes for our daughter’s 4th birthday party (just a few weeks after our son was born). She turned out the most amazing stack of custom decorated treats. BECAUSE SHE ONLY HAS ONE PARTY MODE AND IT’S BEAST MODE. Which explains why she can’t resist large inflatable presidents to greet guests on the hanging daybed on her back porch, for example.

Yes, all of the kids tackled them and smacked each other with them in the yard. And yes it was hilarious.

She also made this cute wooden sign a few years ago that comes out each July. It says things like “food”, “waterslide”, “drinks”, “photobooth”, etc. Are you thinking “this party is almost like a wedding!” – because if so, you are starting to get it. It has snowballed, so every year she has so many things to break out that feel festive and hilarious and even more over the top than the year before. At this point the party momentum cannot be stopped and can only be appreciated with an Abraham-Lincoln hat-tip, which of course is on the prop table.

Speaking of fun, she always rents a two story waterslide for the kids (and the adults, once we have enough jello shooters) because… well, SHE IS THAT DEDICATED TO FUN. The waterslide really takes things to the next level when you record slow-mo videos of other adults attempting tricks like barrel rolls and flips. Five stars, would recommend.

As for other things to do, there are epic cornhole tournaments – and in case it wasn’t obvious, much like Puffy demands that everyone wear white to his parties, Justine demands that we wear red, white, and blue to her gathering each year. There’s even a series of prizes for certain costume categories (we had a big winner in our family this year when it came to an extremely patriotic swimsuit & towel combo).

This is Justine-the-host’s outfit. THAT’S AT LEAST FIVE HUNDRED FLAIR POINTS, GUYS. She decorated those flip-flips herself with ribbon. I know. Commitment level: 1000.

There’s also a leather sofa in the middle of the grass. Obviously for photo ops and general hanging out. It’s pretty much full of people the entire night long. It also makes for a great place to spectate/heckle the cornhole players.

Justine also does things like rolling silverware in bandanas and tying them with twine BECAUSE THAT’S WHO SHE IS AS A PERSON. She actually confessed to me that each year she has a ton of these left over, so they’re not that high maintenance. Note: her definition of high maintenance might be slightly different than other people’s based on her ALL IN level of party-throwing.

The food is always fun and we actually do a pot luck thing so it’s not too much on Justine & John’s shoulders. We each bring a side dish for everyone to share and meat for our own family for the grill. Also, note the sock and shoe combination here. Just saying. We do not mess around when it comes to our costumes.

Since around 20-30 people come each year, there’s always a giant amount of food – and a lot of it ends up being themed. Blue corn chips with red salsa for example, or this bean dip with little olives and tomatoes to make a flag (it’s just a layer of refried beans, a layer of guacamole, a layer of cheese, and a layer of sour cream with the tomatoes and olives on top).

These mozzarella, basil, and tomato skewers are another example of the good eats that feel sort of themed (the blueberries add some blue, right?). Add some salt and pepper, drizzle them with balsamic glaze, and thank me later ;)

We always bring what I affectionately call “pigs in a blanket,” which I’ve learned are called “Lil’ Smokies” here in Virginia. Still getting used to that name. The kids love them though – they’re always completely gone by the end of the night.

The drinks are also, to borrow a term from Lil’ Wayne: “off the chain.” These are jello shooters, for example – and the cherry is so clever because if you pull the stem it lifts the shooter out of the cup so you can suck it down and remark how amazing the hostess is. Here is a kid-friendly recipe without any alcohol (just add vodka if you want them to be true jello shots).

Justine also made these awesome red, white, and blue smoothies for the kids – all of whom raved about them except for one non-fruit-loving child. Let the record state that cute straws and the little jelly jars are the key to a ridiculous amount of serving flare, so do with that information what you will.

And you can’t have a big ol’ gathering without red, white, and blue margaritas for the grown ups. It should be noted that because I helped in the kitchen, these weren’t as beautiful as they should have been. We think if we added more ice to thicken them that the red, white, and blue layers would have been more distinct. But as Justine’s husband John so eloquently stated, “we were going for margarita speed over margarita perfection.” Here’s the recipe for ya.

One of the biggest reveals of the night (there are usually 3-5 of these surprises because JUSTINE DOES NOT MESS AROUND) were these waffle cones that she had individually decorated with red white and blue melted chocolate and sprinkles. THE KIDS WENT HAM FOR THESE.

Also, I thought her use of the teal blue milk crates was so adorable and asked if she saw that on Pinterest and she said she had been standing in her daughter’s room and looked at them and thought “those would be perfect for my cones!” which floored me. I mean this woman clearly has her own version of Pinterest running in her brain 24/7.

One other thing on the menu that I would definitely highly recommend was this amazing dessert called “Berry Lasagne” that Justine whipped up:

Yes, that’s a white chocolate drizzle that she added right before bringing it out. And let the record state that any party that required me to drizzle white chocolate during the actual party would lead to me breathing into a paper bag in the kitchen, but Justine just has that party expert gene. Here’s the recipe for the berry lasagne, and here’s a shot of it all sliced and served on a patriotic plate:

After all the food and drinks (and competitive watersliding), we gather on the back porch and the patio to watch the fireworks that Justine’s husband John takes a ton of pride in.

Every year they get bigger and more insane (they’re legal here in Virginia for all of the Northerners wondering – I had to get used to that when I moved to VA). There’s always a fire extinguisher nearby and it only had to be used one epic time when the table very slowly caught fire after the fireworks ended.

So that’s Justin & John’s completely over-the-top and SO MUCH FUN annual party. Hope the recipes and photos come in handy for anyone else who is walking around with their own personal Pinterest running through their brain. I always get a little mushy during the fireworks because it’s so rare to get together with friends and family that you love – so it’s such a treat to have these awesomely festive and completely committed friends to get us all in one place to enjoy each other’s company every year. WE LOVE YOU J&J! Thanks for ALL THE MEMORIES (and all the photobooth props).

P.S. Wanna see the most extra thing I’ve ever done for a patriotic party? Here’s a watermelon trick I learned years ago (John looks like a baby in that first picture). 

P.P.S. Did you know that we send out what basically ends up being a bonus blog post each week?! Sign up for our free weekly emails to get them delivered right to your inbox. 

The post Fourth of July Party Recipes, Ideas, & General Insanity appeared first on Young House Love.

Fourth of July Party Recipes, Ideas, & General Insanity published first on https://carpetgurus.tumblr.com/

[yesterdaysdreams]

Fourth of July Party Recipes, Ideas, & General Insanity

Every year on Instagram Stories I share photos from our friend’s insanely over-the-top party for the Fourth of July. And each year we gets tons of requests for a post with all the photos and links to the recipes she uses, so we’re finally giving the people what they want. Our friend Justine has been hosting these backyard soirees for years – and the only way to describe them would be: EXTRA. And we love her for it. She and her husband John basically just throw this huge party every year for all of us to gather and hang out with our kids and each other. It’s such a great time of year to get together (not as hard with schedules as things around the holidays for example) and when the party ends, her prep for the following year begins. Just kidding. But maybe not…

Let’s dive right in. Each year she sets up a sun tent and decorates it to create a makeshift photo booth with some fabric, sparkly red tulle, and a banner along the back.

Now lean into your screen and really soak up this next sentence, because the success of a DIY photobooth hinges on this single solitary tip: SHE HAS THE BEST PROPS. Every July there are more of them on the little table off to the side for us to choose from. This year there were wigs and beards in addition to all of the oversized glasses and hats and giant inflatable gloves. She says whenever she sees something on sale after the 4th she grabs it for next year, so that’s how the collection keeps growing.

It should come as no surprise to longtime readers that Justine is the one who, instead of a traditional baby gift, offered to make the cupcakes for our daughter’s 4th birthday party (just a few weeks after our son was born). She turned out the most amazing stack of custom decorated treats. BECAUSE SHE ONLY HAS ONE PARTY MODE AND IT’S BEAST MODE. Which explains why she can’t resist large inflatable presidents to greet guests on the hanging daybed on her back porch, for example.

Yes, all of the kids tackled them and smacked each other with them in the yard. And yes it was hilarious.

She also made this cute wooden sign a few years ago that comes out each July. It says things like “food”, “waterslide”, “drinks”, “photobooth”, etc. Are you thinking “this party is almost like a wedding!” – because if so, you are starting to get it. It has snowballed, so every year she has so many things to break out that feel festive and hilarious and even more over the top than the year before. At this point the party momentum cannot be stopped and can only be appreciated with an Abraham-Lincoln hat-tip, which of course is on the prop table.

Speaking of fun, she always rents a two story waterslide for the kids (and the adults, once we have enough jello shooters) because… well, SHE IS THAT DEDICATED TO FUN. The waterslide really takes things to the next level when you record slow-mo videos of other adults attempting tricks like barrel rolls and flips. Five stars, would recommend.

As for other things to do, there are epic cornhole tournaments – and in case it wasn’t obvious, much like Puffy demands that everyone wear white to his parties, Justine demands that we wear red, white, and blue to her gathering each year. There’s even a series of prizes for certain costume categories (we had a big winner in our family this year when it came to an extremely patriotic swimsuit & towel combo).

This is Justine-the-host’s outfit. THAT’S AT LEAST FIVE HUNDRED FLAIR POINTS, GUYS. She decorated those flip-flips herself with ribbon. I know. Commitment level: 1000.

There’s also a leather sofa in the middle of the grass. Obviously for photo ops and general hanging out. It’s pretty much full of people the entire night long. It also makes for a great place to spectate/heckle the cornhole players.

Justine also does things like rolling silverware in bandanas and tying them with twine BECAUSE THAT’S WHO SHE IS AS A PERSON. She actually confessed to me that each year she has a ton of these left over, so they’re not that high maintenance. Note: her definition of high maintenance might be slightly different than other people’s based on her ALL IN level of party-throwing.

The food is always fun and we actually do a pot luck thing so it’s not too much on Justine & John’s shoulders. We each bring a side dish for everyone to share and meat for our own family for the grill. Also, note the sock and shoe combination here. Just saying. We do not mess around when it comes to our costumes.

Since around 20-30 people come each year, there’s always a giant amount of food – and a lot of it ends up being themed. Blue corn chips with red salsa for example, or this bean dip with little olives and tomatoes to make a flag (it’s just a layer of refried beans, a layer of guacamole, a layer of cheese, and a layer of sour cream with the tomatoes and olives on top).

These mozzarella, basil, and tomato skewers are another example of the good eats that feel sort of themed (the blueberries add some blue, right?). Add some salt and pepper, drizzle them with balsamic glaze, and thank me later ;)

We always bring what I affectionately call “pigs in a blanket,” which I’ve learned are called “Lil’ Smokies” here in Virginia. Still getting used to that name. The kids love them though – they’re always completely gone by the end of the night.

The drinks are also, to borrow a term from Lil’ Wayne: “off the chain.” These are jello shooters, for example – and the cherry is so clever because if you pull the stem it lifts the shooter out of the cup so you can suck it down and remark how amazing the hostess is. Here is a kid-friendly recipe without any alcohol (just add vodka if you want them to be true jello shots).

Justine also made these awesome red, white, and blue smoothies for the kids – all of whom raved about them except for one non-fruit-loving child. Let the record state that cute straws and the little jelly jars are the key to a ridiculous amount of serving flare, so do with that information what you will.

And you can’t have a big ol’ gathering without red, white, and blue margaritas for the grown ups. It should be noted that because I helped in the kitchen, these weren’t as beautiful as they should have been. We think if we added more ice to thicken them that the red, white, and blue layers would have been more distinct. But as Justine’s husband John so eloquently stated, “we were going for margarita speed over margarita perfection.” Here’s the recipe for ya.

One of the biggest reveals of the night (there are usually 3-5 of these surprises because JUSTINE DOES NOT MESS AROUND) were these waffle cones that she had individually decorated with red white and blue melted chocolate and sprinkles. THE KIDS WENT HAM FOR THESE.

Also, I thought her use of the teal blue milk crates was so adorable and asked if she saw that on Pinterest and she said she had been standing in her daughter’s room and looked at them and thought “those would be perfect for my cones!” which floored me. I mean this woman clearly has her own version of Pinterest running in her brain 24/7.

One other thing on the menu that I would definitely highly recommend was this amazing dessert called “Berry Lasagne” that Justine whipped up:

Yes, that’s a white chocolate drizzle that she added right before bringing it out. And let the record state that any party that required me to drizzle white chocolate during the actual party would lead to me breathing into a paper bag in the kitchen, but Justine just has that party expert gene. Here’s the recipe for the berry lasagne, and here’s a shot of it all sliced and served on a patriotic plate:

After all the food and drinks (and competitive watersliding), we gather on the back porch and the patio to watch the fireworks that Justine’s husband John takes a ton of pride in.

Every year they get bigger and more insane (they’re legal here in Virginia for all of the Northerners wondering – I had to get used to that when I moved to VA). There’s always a fire extinguisher nearby and it only had to be used one epic time when the table very slowly caught fire after the fireworks ended.

So that’s Justin & John’s completely over-the-top and SO MUCH FUN annual party. Hope the recipes and photos come in handy for anyone else who is walking around with their own personal Pinterest running through their brain. I always get a little mushy during the fireworks because it’s so rare to get together with friends and family that you love – so it’s such a treat to have these awesomely festive and completely committed friends to get us all in one place to enjoy each other’s company every year. WE LOVE YOU J&J! Thanks for ALL THE MEMORIES (and all the photobooth props).

P.S. Wanna see the most extra thing I’ve ever done for a patriotic party? Here’s a watermelon trick I learned years ago (John looks like a baby in that first picture). 

P.P.S. Did you know that we send out what basically ends up being a bonus blog post each week?! Sign up for our free weekly emails to get them delivered right to your inbox. 

The post Fourth of July Party Recipes, Ideas, & General Insanity appeared first on Young House Love.

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Fourth of July Party Recipes, Ideas, & General Insanity

Every year on Instagram Stories I share photos from our friend’s insanely over-the-top party for the Fourth of July. And each year we gets tons of requests for a post with all the photos and links to the recipes she uses, so we’re finally giving the people what they want. Our friend Justine has been hosting these backyard soirees for years – and the only way to describe them would be: EXTRA. And we love her for it. She and her husband John basically just throw this huge party every year for all of us to gather and hang out with our kids and each other. It’s such a great time of year to get together (not as hard with schedules as things around the holidays for example) and when the party ends, her prep for the following year begins. Just kidding. But maybe not…

Let’s dive right in. Each year she sets up a sun tent and decorates it to create a makeshift photo booth with some fabric, sparkly red tulle, and a banner along the back.

Now lean into your screen and really soak up this next sentence, because the success of a DIY photobooth hinges on this single solitary tip: SHE HAS THE BEST PROPS. Every July there are more of them on the little table off to the side for us to choose from. This year there were wigs and beards in addition to all of the oversized glasses and hats and giant inflatable gloves. She says whenever she sees something on sale after the 4th she grabs it for next year, so that’s how the collection keeps growing.

It should come as no surprise to longtime readers that Justine is the one who, instead of a traditional baby gift, offered to make the cupcakes for our daughter’s 4th birthday party (just a few weeks after our son was born). She turned out the most amazing stack of custom decorated treats. BECAUSE SHE ONLY HAS ONE PARTY MODE AND IT’S BEAST MODE. Which explains why she can’t resist large inflatable presidents to greet guests on the hanging daybed on her back porch, for example.

Yes, all of the kids tackled them and smacked each other with them in the yard. And yes it was hilarious.

She also made this cute wooden sign a few years ago that comes out each July. It says things like “food”, “waterslide”, “drinks”, “photobooth”, etc. Are you thinking “this party is almost like a wedding!” – because if so, you are starting to get it. It has snowballed, so every year she has so many things to break out that feel festive and hilarious and even more over the top than the year before. At this point the party momentum cannot be stopped and can only be appreciated with an Abraham-Lincoln hat-tip, which of course is on the prop table.

Speaking of fun, she always rents a two story waterslide for the kids (and the adults, once we have enough jello shooters) because… well, SHE IS THAT DEDICATED TO FUN. The waterslide really takes things to the next level when you record slow-mo videos of other adults attempting tricks like barrel rolls and flips. Five stars, would recommend.

As for other things to do, there are epic cornhole tournaments – and in case it wasn’t obvious, much like Puffy demands that everyone wear white to his parties, Justine demands that we wear red, white, and blue to her gathering each year. There’s even a series of prizes for certain costume categories (we had a big winner in our family this year when it came to an extremely patriotic swimsuit & towel combo).

This is Justine-the-host’s outfit. THAT’S AT LEAST FIVE HUNDRED FLAIR POINTS, GUYS. She decorated those flip-flips herself with ribbon. I know. Commitment level: 1000.

There’s also a leather sofa in the middle of the grass. Obviously for photo ops and general hanging out. It’s pretty much full of people the entire night long. It also makes for a great place to spectate/heckle the cornhole players.

Justine also does things like rolling silverware in bandanas and tying them with twine BECAUSE THAT’S WHO SHE IS AS A PERSON. She actually confessed to me that each year she has a ton of these left over, so they’re not that high maintenance. Note: her definition of high maintenance might be slightly different than other people’s based on her ALL IN level of party-throwing.

The food is always fun and we actually do a pot luck thing so it’s not too much on Justine & John’s shoulders. We each bring a side dish for everyone to share and meat for our own family for the grill. Also, note the sock and shoe combination here. Just saying. We do not mess around when it comes to our costumes.

Since around 20-30 people come each year, there’s always a giant amount of food – and a lot of it ends up being themed. Blue corn chips with red salsa for example, or this bean dip with little olives and tomatoes to make a flag (it’s just a layer of refried beans, a layer of guacamole, a layer of cheese, and a layer of sour cream with the tomatoes and olives on top).

These mozzarella, basil, and tomato skewers are another example of the good eats that feel sort of themed (the blueberries add some blue, right?). Add some salt and pepper, drizzle them with balsamic glaze, and thank me later ;)

We always bring what I affectionately call “pigs in a blanket,” which I’ve learned are called “Lil’ Smokies” here in Virginia. Still getting used to that name. The kids love them though – they’re always completely gone by the end of the night.

The drinks are also, to borrow a term from Lil’ Wayne: “off the chain.” These are jello shooters, for example – and the cherry is so clever because if you pull the stem it lifts the shooter out of the cup so you can suck it down and remark how amazing the hostess is. Here is a kid-friendly recipe without any alcohol (just add vodka if you want them to be true jello shots).

Justine also made these awesome red, white, and blue smoothies for the kids – all of whom raved about them except for one non-fruit-loving child. Let the record state that cute straws and the little jelly jars are the key to a ridiculous amount of serving flare, so do with that information what you will.

And you can’t have a big ol’ gathering without red, white, and blue margaritas for the grown ups. It should be noted that because I helped in the kitchen, these weren’t as beautiful as they should have been. We think if we added more ice to thicken them that the red, white, and blue layers would have been more distinct. But as Justine’s husband John so eloquently stated, “we were going for margarita speed over margarita perfection.” Here’s the recipe for ya.

One of the biggest reveals of the night (there are usually 3-5 of these surprises because JUSTINE DOES NOT MESS AROUND) were these waffle cones that she had individually decorated with red white and blue melted chocolate and sprinkles. THE KIDS WENT HAM FOR THESE.

Also, I thought her use of the teal blue milk crates was so adorable and asked if she saw that on Pinterest and she said she had been standing in her daughter’s room and looked at them and thought “those would be perfect for my cones!” which floored me. I mean this woman clearly has her own version of Pinterest running in her brain 24/7.

One other thing on the menu that I would definitely highly recommend was this amazing dessert called “Berry Lasagne” that Justine whipped up:

Yes, that’s a white chocolate drizzle that she added right before bringing it out. And let the record state that any party that required me to drizzle white chocolate during the actual party would lead to me breathing into a paper bag in the kitchen, but Justine just has that party expert gene. Here’s the recipe for the berry lasagne, and here’s a shot of it all sliced and served on a patriotic plate:

After all the food and drinks (and competitive watersliding), we gather on the back porch and the patio to watch the fireworks that Justine’s husband John takes a ton of pride in.

Every year they get bigger and more insane (they’re legal here in Virginia for all of the Northerners wondering – I had to get used to that when I moved to VA). There’s always a fire extinguisher nearby and it only had to be used one epic time when the table very slowly caught fire after the fireworks ended.

So that’s Justin & John’s completely over-the-top and SO MUCH FUN annual party. Hope the recipes and photos come in handy for anyone else who is walking around with their own personal Pinterest running through their brain. I always get a little mushy during the fireworks because it’s so rare to get together with friends and family that you love – so it’s such a treat to have these awesomely festive and completely committed friends to get us all in one place to enjoy each other’s company every year. WE LOVE YOU J&J! Thanks for ALL THE MEMORIES (and all the photobooth props).

P.S. Wanna see the most extra thing I’ve ever done for a patriotic party? Here’s a watermelon trick I learned years ago (John looks like a baby in that first picture). 

P.P.S. Did you know that we send out what basically ends up being a bonus blog post each week?! Sign up for our free weekly emails to get them delivered right to your inbox. 

The post Fourth of July Party Recipes, Ideas, & General Insanity appeared first on Young House Love.

Fourth of July Party Recipes, Ideas, & General Insanity published first on https://novaformmattressreview.tumblr.com/

[lowmaticnews]

Fourth of July Party Recipes, Ideas, & General Insanity

Every year on Instagram Stories I share photos from our friend’s insanely over-the-top party for the Fourth of July. And each year we gets tons of requests for a post with all the photos and links to the recipes she uses, so we’re finally giving the people what they want. Our friend Justine has been hosting these backyard soirees for years – and the only way to describe them would be: EXTRA. And we love her for it. She and her husband John basically just throw this huge party every year for all of us to gather and hang out with our kids and each other. It’s such a great time of year to get together (not as hard with schedules as things around the holidays for example) and when the party ends, her prep for the following year begins. Just kidding. But maybe not…

Let’s dive right in. Each year she sets up a sun tent and decorates it to create a makeshift photo booth with some fabric, sparkly red tulle, and a banner along the back.

Now lean into your screen and really soak up this next sentence, because the success of a DIY photobooth hinges on this single solitary tip: SHE HAS THE BEST PROPS. Every July there are more of them on the little table off to the side for us to choose from. This year there were wigs and beards in addition to all of the oversized glasses and hats and giant inflatable gloves. She says whenever she sees something on sale after the 4th she grabs it for next year, so that’s how the collection keeps growing.

It should come as no surprise to longtime readers that Justine is the one who, instead of a traditional baby gift, offered to make the cupcakes for our daughter’s 4th birthday party (just a few weeks after our son was born). She turned out the most amazing stack of custom decorated treats. BECAUSE SHE ONLY HAS ONE PARTY MODE AND IT’S BEAST MODE. Which explains why she can’t resist large inflatable presidents to greet guests on the hanging daybed on her back porch, for example.

Yes, all of the kids tackled them and smacked each other with them in the yard. And yes it was hilarious.

She also made this cute wooden sign a few years ago that comes out each July. It says things like “food”, “waterslide”, “drinks”, “photobooth”, etc. Are you thinking “this party is almost like a wedding!” – because if so, you are starting to get it. It has snowballed, so every year she has so many things to break out that feel festive and hilarious and even more over the top than the year before. At this point the party momentum cannot be stopped and can only be appreciated with an Abraham-Lincoln hat-tip, which of course is on the prop table.

Speaking of fun, she always rents a two story waterslide for the kids (and the adults, once we have enough jello shooters) because… well, SHE IS THAT DEDICATED TO FUN. The waterslide really takes things to the next level when you record slow-mo videos of other adults attempting tricks like barrel rolls and flips. Five stars, would recommend.

As for other things to do, there are epic cornhole tournaments – and in case it wasn’t obvious, much like Puffy demands that everyone wear white to his parties, Justine demands that we wear red, white, and blue to her gathering each year. There’s even a series of prizes for certain costume categories (we had a big winner in our family this year when it came to an extremely patriotic swimsuit & towel combo).

This is Justine-the-host’s outfit. THAT’S AT LEAST FIVE HUNDRED FLAIR POINTS, GUYS. She decorated those flip-flips herself with ribbon. I know. Commitment level: 1000.

There’s also a leather sofa in the middle of the grass. Obviously for photo ops and general hanging out. It’s pretty much full of people the entire night long. It also makes for a great place to spectate/heckle the cornhole players.

Justine also does things like rolling silverware in bandanas and tying them with twine BECAUSE THAT’S WHO SHE IS AS A PERSON. She actually confessed to me that each year she has a ton of these left over, so they’re not that high maintenance. Note: her definition of high maintenance might be slightly different than other people’s based on her ALL IN level of party-throwing.

The food is always fun and we actually do a pot luck thing so it’s not too much on Justine & John’s shoulders. We each bring a side dish for everyone to share and meat for our own family for the grill. Also, note the sock and shoe combination here. Just saying. We do not mess around when it comes to our costumes.

Since around 20-30 people come each year, there’s always a giant amount of food – and a lot of it ends up being themed. Blue corn chips with red salsa for example, or this bean dip with little olives and tomatoes to make a flag (it’s just a layer of refried beans, a layer of guacamole, a layer of cheese, and a layer of sour cream with the tomatoes and olives on top).

These mozzarella, basil, and tomato skewers are another example of the good eats that feel sort of themed (the blueberries add some blue, right?). Add some salt and pepper, drizzle them with balsamic glaze, and thank me later ;)

We always bring what I affectionately call “pigs in a blanket,” which I’ve learned are called “Lil’ Smokies” here in Virginia. Still getting used to that name. The kids love them though – they’re always completely gone by the end of the night.

The drinks are also, to borrow a term from Lil’ Wayne: “off the chain.” These are jello shooters, for example – and the cherry is so clever because if you pull the stem it lifts the shooter out of the cup so you can suck it down and remark how amazing the hostess is. Here is a kid-friendly recipe without any alcohol (just add vodka if you want them to be true jello shots).

Justine also made these awesome red, white, and blue smoothies for the kids – all of whom raved about them except for one non-fruit-loving child. Let the record state that cute straws and the little jelly jars are the key to a ridiculous amount of serving flare, so do with that information what you will.

And you can’t have a big ol’ gathering without red, white, and blue margaritas for the grown ups. It should be noted that because I helped in the kitchen, these weren’t as beautiful as they should have been. We think if we added more ice to thicken them that the red, white, and blue layers would have been more distinct. But as Justine’s husband John so eloquently stated, “we were going for margarita speed over margarita perfection.” Here’s the recipe for ya.

One of the biggest reveals of the night (there are usually 3-5 of these surprises because JUSTINE DOES NOT MESS AROUND) were these waffle cones that she had individually decorated with red white and blue melted chocolate and sprinkles. THE KIDS WENT HAM FOR THESE.

Also, I thought her use of the teal blue milk crates was so adorable and asked if she saw that on Pinterest and she said she had been standing in her daughter’s room and looked at them and thought “those would be perfect for my cones!” which floored me. I mean this woman clearly has her own version of Pinterest running in her brain 24/7.

One other thing on the menu that I would definitely highly recommend was this amazing dessert called “Berry Lasagne” that Justine whipped up:

Yes, that’s a white chocolate drizzle that she added right before bringing it out. And let the record state that any party that required me to drizzle white chocolate during the actual party would lead to me breathing into a paper bag in the kitchen, but Justine just has that party expert gene. Here’s the recipe for the berry lasagne, and here’s a shot of it all sliced and served on a patriotic plate:

After all the food and drinks (and competitive watersliding), we gather on the back porch and the patio to watch the fireworks that Justine’s husband John takes a ton of pride in.

Every year they get bigger and more insane (they’re legal here in Virginia for all of the Northerners wondering – I had to get used to that when I moved to VA). There’s always a fire extinguisher nearby and it only had to be used one epic time when the table very slowly caught fire after the fireworks ended.

So that’s Justin & John’s completely over-the-top and SO MUCH FUN annual party. Hope the recipes and photos come in handy for anyone else who is walking around with their own personal Pinterest running through their brain. I always get a little mushy during the fireworks because it’s so rare to get together with friends and family that you love – so it’s such a treat to have these awesomely festive and completely committed friends to get us all in one place to enjoy each other’s company every year. WE LOVE YOU J&J! Thanks for ALL THE MEMORIES (and all the photobooth props).

P.S. Wanna see the most extra thing I’ve ever done for a patriotic party? Here’s a watermelon trick I learned years ago (John looks like a baby in that first picture). 

P.P.S. Did you know that we send out what basically ends up being a bonus blog post each week?! Sign up for our free weekly emails to get them delivered right to your inbox. 

The post Fourth of July Party Recipes, Ideas, & General Insanity appeared first on Young House Love.

Fourth of July Party Recipes, Ideas, & General Insanity published first on https://landscapingmates.blogspot.com

[vincentbnaughton]

Fourth of July Party Recipes, Ideas, & General Insanity

Every year on Instagram Stories I share photos from our friend’s insanely over-the-top party for the Fourth of July. And each year we gets tons of requests for a post with all the photos and links to the recipes she uses, so we’re finally giving the people what they want. Our friend Justine has been hosting these backyard soirees for years – and the only way to describe them would be: EXTRA. And we love her for it. She and her husband John basically just throw this huge party every year for all of us to gather and hang out with our kids and each other. It’s such a great time of year to get together (not as hard with schedules as things around the holidays for example) and when the party ends, her prep for the following year begins. Just kidding. But maybe not…

Let’s dive right in. Each year she sets up a sun tent and decorates it to create a makeshift photo booth with some fabric, sparkly red tulle, and a banner along the back.

Now lean into your screen and really soak up this next sentence, because the success of a DIY photobooth hinges on this single solitary tip: SHE HAS THE BEST PROPS. Every July there are more of them on the little table off to the side for us to choose from. This year there were wigs and beards in addition to all of the oversized glasses and hats and giant inflatable gloves. She says whenever she sees something on sale after the 4th she grabs it for next year, so that’s how the collection keeps growing.

It should come as no surprise to longtime readers that Justine is the one who, instead of a traditional baby gift, offered to make the cupcakes for our daughter’s 4th birthday party (just a few weeks after our son was born). She turned out the most amazing stack of custom decorated treats. BECAUSE SHE ONLY HAS ONE PARTY MODE AND IT’S BEAST MODE. Which explains why she can’t resist large inflatable presidents to greet guests on the hanging daybed on her back porch, for example.

Yes, all of the kids tackled them and smacked each other with them in the yard. And yes it was hilarious.

She also made this cute wooden sign a few years ago that comes out each July. It says things like “food”, “waterslide”, “drinks”, “photobooth”, etc. Are you thinking “this party is almost like a wedding!” – because if so, you are starting to get it. It has snowballed, so every year she has so many things to break out that feel festive and hilarious and even more over the top than the year before. At this point the party momentum cannot be stopped and can only be appreciated with an Abraham-Lincoln hat-tip, which of course is on the prop table.

Speaking of fun, she always rents a two story waterslide for the kids (and the adults, once we have enough jello shooters) because… well, SHE IS THAT DEDICATED TO FUN. The waterslide really takes things to the next level when you record slow-mo videos of other adults attempting tricks like barrel rolls and flips. Five stars, would recommend.

As for other things to do, there are epic cornhole tournaments – and in case it wasn’t obvious, much like Puffy demands that everyone wear white to his parties, Justine demands that we wear red, white, and blue to her gathering each year. There’s even a series of prizes for certain costume categories (we had a big winner in our family this year when it came to an extremely patriotic swimsuit & towel combo).

This is Justine-the-host’s outfit. THAT’S AT LEAST FIVE HUNDRED FLAIR POINTS, GUYS. She decorated those flip-flips herself with ribbon. I know. Commitment level: 1000.

There’s also a leather sofa in the middle of the grass. Obviously for photo ops and general hanging out. It’s pretty much full of people the entire night long. It also makes for a great place to spectate/heckle the cornhole players.

Justine also does things like rolling silverware in bandanas and tying them with twine BECAUSE THAT’S WHO SHE IS AS A PERSON. She actually confessed to me that each year she has a ton of these left over, so they’re not that high maintenance. Note: her definition of high maintenance might be slightly different than other people’s based on her ALL IN level of party-throwing.

The food is always fun and we actually do a pot luck thing so it’s not too much on Justine & John’s shoulders. We each bring a side dish for everyone to share and meat for our own family for the grill. Also, note the sock and shoe combination here. Just saying. We do not mess around when it comes to our costumes.

Since around 20-30 people come each year, there’s always a giant amount of food – and a lot of it ends up being themed. Blue corn chips with red salsa for example, or this bean dip with little olives and tomatoes to make a flag (it’s just a layer of refried beans, a layer of guacamole, a layer of cheese, and a layer of sour cream with the tomatoes and olives on top).

These mozzarella, basil, and tomato skewers are another example of the good eats that feel sort of themed (the blueberries add some blue, right?). Add some salt and pepper, drizzle them with balsamic glaze, and thank me later ;)

We always bring what I affectionately call “pigs in a blanket,” which I’ve learned are called “Lil’ Smokies” here in Virginia. Still getting used to that name. The kids love them though – they’re always completely gone by the end of the night.

The drinks are also, to borrow a term from Lil’ Wayne: “off the chain.” These are jello shooters, for example – and the cherry is so clever because if you pull the stem it lifts the shooter out of the cup so you can suck it down and remark how amazing the hostess is. Here is a kid-friendly recipe without any alcohol (just add vodka if you want them to be true jello shots).

Justine also made these awesome red, white, and blue smoothies for the kids – all of whom raved about them except for one non-fruit-loving child. Let the record state that cute straws and the little jelly jars are the key to a ridiculous amount of serving flare, so do with that information what you will.

And you can’t have a big ol’ gathering without red, white, and blue margaritas for the grown ups. It should be noted that because I helped in the kitchen, these weren’t as beautiful as they should have been. We think if we added more ice to thicken them that the red, white, and blue layers would have been more distinct. But as Justine’s husband John so eloquently stated, “we were going for margarita speed over margarita perfection.” Here’s the recipe for ya.

One of the biggest reveals of the night (there are usually 3-5 of these surprises because JUSTINE DOES NOT MESS AROUND) were these waffle cones that she had individually decorated with red white and blue melted chocolate and sprinkles. THE KIDS WENT HAM FOR THESE.

Also, I thought her use of the teal blue milk crates was so adorable and asked if she saw that on Pinterest and she said she had been standing in her daughter’s room and looked at them and thought “those would be perfect for my cones!” which floored me. I mean this woman clearly has her own version of Pinterest running in her brain 24/7.

One other thing on the menu that I would definitely highly recommend was this amazing dessert called “Berry Lasagne” that Justine whipped up:

Yes, that’s a white chocolate drizzle that she added right before bringing it out. And let the record state that any party that required me to drizzle white chocolate during the actual party would lead to me breathing into a paper bag in the kitchen, but Justine just has that party expert gene. Here’s the recipe for the berry lasagne, and here’s a shot of it all sliced and served on a patriotic plate:

After all the food and drinks (and competitive watersliding), we gather on the back porch and the patio to watch the fireworks that Justine’s husband John takes a ton of pride in.

Every year they get bigger and more insane (they’re legal here in Virginia for all of the Northerners wondering – I had to get used to that when I moved to VA). There’s always a fire extinguisher nearby and it only had to be used one epic time when the table very slowly caught fire after the fireworks ended.

So that’s Justin & John’s completely over-the-top and SO MUCH FUN annual party. Hope the recipes and photos come in handy for anyone else who is walking around with their own personal Pinterest running through their brain. I always get a little mushy during the fireworks because it’s so rare to get together with friends and family that you love – so it’s such a treat to have these awesomely festive and completely committed friends to get us all in one place to enjoy each other’s company every year. WE LOVE YOU J&J! Thanks for ALL THE MEMORIES (and all the photobooth props).

P.S. Wanna see the most extra thing I’ve ever done for a patriotic party? Here’s a watermelon trick I learned years ago (John looks like a baby in that first picture). 

P.P.S. Did you know that we send out what basically ends up being a bonus blog post each week?! Sign up for our free weekly emails to get them delivered right to your inbox. 

The post Fourth of July Party Recipes, Ideas, & General Insanity appeared first on Young House Love.