Fourth of July with the Dressy Jersey Strapless Dress

Hope you all had a safe and festive July 4th weekend! We are finally home…at least until August. Kids start camp next week. Life is getting back to semi-normal.

So let me tell you about the 4th at the River – I love small town holidays. We have 2 parades that we go to every year – at Lewisetta and in Reedville. This year they were on the same day since the 4th was a Saturday.

Here’s what is so fun about the 4th at the River:

Small town parades, which are so fun. We went to one in the morning and one in the afternoon. M & E rode in the earlier one in a decorated golf cart with some neighbors. E was a little worried that she would miss out on collecting candy, so when they drove by, she caught my attentions, mouthed “Mom, get this,” and tossed a huge handful of candy right at me. Such a giver. Lucy even dressed up…or rather, we decked her in some random patriotic sparkliness that we found in the kids’ drawer at my parents’ house. Good dog, Lucy! My mom didn’t even realize we were bringing her to the 1st parade, or she would have come up something even more festive. There’s always next year… While the kids were in the parade, the grownups hung out and had Bloody Marys. Great way to start the holiday (festively red, too, natch).

I wore my dressy jersey strapless dress in navy with the gold Havaianas and a white floppy hat. Perfect dress for the sunny, summer weather. Easy, cool, no bra-wear required. And to accessorize…several strands of last year’s patriotic Mardi Gras beads. (I think I might be wearing about half of what we got at the afternoon parade.) It was such a fun day. Such Americana. I love it. Below is the pic from the afternoon parade, which we watched from the front yard of a friend of my parents'. She had people over for lunch and a swim in the pool before the parade. Those plastic bags by my left arm are chock full of candy...which came home with us. Almost as much as Halloween. Fortunately, July is too hot to dole out chocolate, so there is hope that I won't actually eat all of it.


And then we roasted s’mores and watched fireworks on the dock and later the deck that night. Perfect way to end the evening.

And Lucy is becoming a good dock dog.

Here’s what’s not so fun about the 4th at the River:

Men in skirts shooting off muskets and pistols into the river with, we think, just black powder. I wish I could comment more...but I'll let you all do that.


Eh, enough about that. Blog note – I am still figuring out my new laptop which has Windows Vista. Any opinions? Especially on handling pictures? I am downloading from the card via Windows Live Photo Gallery and then manipulating in PictureProject. And I don't have PhotoShop. But there's got to be an easier way, right?