How to Throw a 4th of July Party!

So, you’re hosting a party tomorrow to celebrate the founding of this wonderful country. You open up your decorating cupboard (everyone has one, right?) and panic because you have absolutely nothing patriotic with which to host such a shindig.

What do you do?!

Take a deep breath. Eat a bowl of ice cream. And then go to World Market to stock up on all sorts of summer and Independence Day goodies.

Well, we’re already off to a great start. When you walk into the store and immediately see the color theme that you’re seeking, it’s a good sign.

Isn’t this a cute table setting? They went kind of nautical with their freedom display this year. I’m not much of a nautical-themed fan, as pictures of creepy lighthouses and neon dolphins always come to mind.

But this? Very tasteful. We could easily host a party with this display!

Especially if we can use some red coral soup spoons. Sure, soup might be impractical on one of the hottest days of the summer. Maybe we’ll make a cold soup this year…

More proof that I should become a sewing monster? This is pretty cute, but I’m certain that I could make an even better version to celebrate the 4th of July. If I sewed, that is.

Since I don’t sew, we can get a few of these banners to hang behind our food table for the day. It’s kind of a Donny-and-Marie thing going on…the red gingham pattern is a little country, and the blue and white stars are a little rock n’ roll.

Has anyone seen their show in Vegas? I bet it would be great! Man, I’m old.

Where was I?

Giant jugs, that’s where I was! I love these colorful barrels for drinks. Storing liquids in here for guests is any easy way to keep everyone hydrated with yummy flavors. But while I love these festive colors for Independence Day, it’s a little impractical to not see how much is left inside so you can ensure it full.

People drink a lot when they’re thirsty. It’s a crazy phenomenon.

I’m a fan of getting pieces that last in many situations. These jugs are cool, but I’m glad I have just a plain ‘ol clear one to see what’s going on.

And who wouldn’t want to show up to your party to eat red, white, and blue tortilla chips? Talk about festive! In a giant white bowl so they really pop? This is a gourmet way to celebrate our country’s freedom, I tell you. Freedom Chips!

These aren’t edible, but you might as well get dressed up for your 4th of July party. Aren’t these silver earrings pretty? Or the red ones? World Market has a great selection of jewelry from around the world, so you might as well look hot on this great day.

And I don’t mean sweaty hot. I mean smokin’ hot.

The best part about this necklace is that is can be used for more than just your awesome Fourth celebration! You could wear this pretty necklace out to dinner with your man, or even out for some errands on the town.

Just kidding. In this heat, I avoid necklaces like the plague. But if you live somewhere that metal won’t burn into your skin upon touch, then this could be the perfect addition to your party-throwing outfit!

We’re covering all of the bases here, huh? Don’t you love this store?

Turn on some Barry White and light these puppies up! We might as well add some atmosphere on the dinner table with some pretty hurricanes and candles. These candles even have a nice, beachy scent.

Your festive guests will appreciate your futile attempts to keep mosquitos at bay.

This small couch just screams “Sit on me during this party!”

Of course, it might have something to do with the fun patriotic pillows being displayed. These will make any party you’re throwing more fun, so you might as well stock up. If people see these on your couch, they’ll know that they are celebrating in the correct place.

If you want more of a low-key approach to summer, this pillow fits the bill. I love the big buttons but wonder if it would wrinkle easily because it’s made of linen.

“Don’t touch that! It will wrinkle! But I’m glad you made it to our Fourth party.”

Ahhhhhh. Soda. In multiple flavors. I absolutely love having bottled soda in an ice bucket for any party, but especially for a party celebrating our breakup with Mother England. Don’t you think that your guests deserve to have a pig in hand during your fun evening?

Oh, sorry. This is what I meant when I said pig in hand. No, it’s not necessary to have live pigs running around during your planned festivities. Unless you like that kind of thing.

I’ve heard that pigs eat firecrackers, anyway. Just drink your pigs instead, to play it safe.

It’s time for more table decorations! Imagine with me, if you will, that each of these glass jars is filled with a different color of M&Ms. Red, white, and blue, of course. Cute, huh?

If this is attempted, might I recommend keeping them indoors? M&Ms do melt in your hand, and in glass apothecary jars, despite Mars’ suggesting otherwise. Giants clumps of melted M&Ms are still edible, mind you, but it’s a heck of a lot easier to eat them as individual pieces.

Should I lie and tell you that I wouldn’t know from experience?

Man, I’m so easy to get distracted in here. We’re planning a 4th of July party for tomorrow, remember?

So providing seating for your lucky guests is never a bad thing. And please take note how wonderful these plastic wicker chairs could be on your patio for the party!

I love that they are cushioned, since chairs tend to get hard after a while. Especially if you’ve gotten a few pigs in you as the evening progresses…

Luckily, our patio is covered. But if you’re hiding from the sun during your Independence Party, you might as well do it in style with this gigantic sun umbrella for over your patio table. If you look at this while squinting, it almost looks like it could pass for red, white, and blue.

Maybe the yellow spots are just the fireworks that evening?

Well, if we’re going all out, and we probably are thanks to panicking about our last-minute party preparations, we might as well pick up a few of these metal side tables in patriotic colors.

Your guests can place their burgers and sodas on these while they visit and marvel at your keen decorating skills. And, worse-case scenario, you’ll be able to use the tables year-round!

I like the blue ones in particular. Surprised?

You know how I love me some white dishes, too. I know that it seems boring, but these guys go with any party theme! You can jazz things up with a bright tablecloth, patriotic napkins, and festive napkin rings. Don’t forget that your centerpieces can be colorful and full of pizazz.

But owning some plain, classic white dishes to serve your guests will allow you to be set for every party forever!

And if you always have crowds over, and if your Hubby is willing to do the dishes, then these buffet plates in sets of twelve would be a great addition to your pantry. You can easily store them away when not needed for entertaining, but how nice is it to have enough plates on hand for this, your greatest party of the year (so far)?

They have dinner and salad plates, bowls, and mugs in these sets. Perfect!

Speaking of drinking (we were, weren’t we?), they have every glass that your party could possibly need. If you want to make virgin margaritas, this could be a great starting point. Or maybe we will serve strawberry lemonade out of those festive jugs? Glasses for just such an occasion can be found here!

If someone complains about the lack of selection in World Market’s drink ware section, we need to worry about their expectations in life.

Oh my heck. I want these. Perfect dishes for fruit, desserts, or sorbet. I would only serve one of those three at my Fourth party, but I bet you can guess which one.

And I love little things, so these guys are perfect. Alas, they did not find their way into my cart. I didn’t get a cart, just in case I found something like this.

How about baking a fruit tart brownie sundae in one of these ramekins? You can find any size and shape and color that you would possible want! I especially like the little green, yellow, blue, and white ones on the lower right. So fun!

And finally, what party would be complete without seating for adults and kids alike? You’ll have a hard time getting people to leave after the fireworks if your place looks this good, so choose these Adirondack chairs carefully.

Now you’re ready for tomorrow! You can plan an entire party around the selections in this store. Now…when do I show up?

Store Crashing – World Market Home Edition

By now you’ve probably guessed that I am a fan of window shopping. I love wandering stores for no apparent reason then leaving completely empty-handed. It sounds silly…who would love not buying something? Perhaps I glean some personal satisfaction in seeing wonderful things but having the self-control to not purchase them for myself?

In any event, I wandered around World Market last week with the intention of showing you around. And I didn’t buy a single thing. Yippee!

First off, you have an incredible selection of art for any décor. And they are fairly reasonably-priced, too. I’ve seen versions on this wall of much more expensive pieces. However, since a lot of these hover around $80-$100, I still don’t buy much art here. I’d prefer to make my own and save more money!

Next we have a soap bar in the personal care section. In an embarrassing admission, I hate bar soap. I hate how it leaves a film behind in the shower (because Hubby insists on being Zestfully clean), and I can’t stand how it makes my skin feel afterwards. For some reason, bar soap makes me feel like I didn’t get any dirt off my hands but managed to add some gross film on top of everything.

Maybe I’m alone out there in my soap bar sentiments. I’m a loofa-body-wash-type of gal. Film-free, that’s me!

Random rantings-about-soap-for-no-reason aside, I love how pretty World Market’s soap selection can be. And standing in this general area smells really good, too.

These were yummy. Can you imagine how great spearmint and rosemary would be in a soap? So fresh! I also liked the packaging here, too. It’s a good thing that I don’t buy soap, if at all possible.

This is an area of the store for which World Market is famous. Lots of furniture revampers come here to find cute knobs and handles and pulls for repurposed furniture found in dumpsters. It’s amazing how a little fairly-affordable bling can really make a piece shine!

They have a nice eclectic selection of knobs here. I like to look but have yet to buy. Rude!

I love little things, as you found out when we crashed Target last week. And these bowls just made my heart go pitter-pat. I love the size and shape, but the crazy colors I think would wear me out eventually. And the fact that they go together but don’t completely match each other might be more work than it’s worth.

So I put them back down. But they’re cute, huh?

Shower curtains galore in this place! They have nice window curtains, too, but for some reason I didn’t take a picture to prove that. The curtains from our living room came from this exact store, so I can vouch for their curtain quality and selection.

I love these chairs but think they are just a little too fanshy for my house. We like clean, mid-century lines here, and these two chairs are rather ornate. But I liked them. I even liked the bright fabrics, too.

In between the chairs, however, was this beautiful table on sale for 50% off. I think $99 is still a little much to pay for tiny tables, regardless of how cool they are. This would be a great side table in a reading nook or even outside on a patio!

Have I mentioned that World Market has pillows? Well, they do. In fact, I’m sure that they give the pillow purchasers free reign and half the budget when it comes to bringing in beautiful fabrics from all over the world. I love these happy, fun colors for a happy, fun living room. I am on the hunt for new couch pillows but didn’t want to spend any money today.

They also have rugs in this fine establishment. I’m very particular when it comes to rugs and think that they should be something that bare feet would crave. These itchy sisal rugs, though rugged and very in-style right now, would be too painful to keep around my digs.

My feet deserve better than rough, I guess is what I’m saying.

I loved this wooden drafting desk for an office. I had a cool drafting desk in high school because I liked to draw and work on large projects. Mine wasn’t wooden or fancy-pants like this one, but I doubt we paid $279 for it, either!

I am also still on the hunt for some lighting in the corner of our living room. I am leaning towards a giant chandelier that I can modernize with a fun, bright color and maybe some cool-looking light bulbs. I haven’t found anything close to what I have in mind, so I will continue admiring other lighting solutions until mine presents itself.

These tin cutout lamps were pretty nifty, in my opinion.

Even this trio of burlap lights would be cool in my corner. I love the added texture and the soft glow. And I’m pretty sure that this awesome price of $59 is for all three lights! What a great deal! I guess this can be my fall-back option if the chandelier idea falls through.

This would be a simple solution for that living room corner, but I am really hoping for a ceiling light to drop down. However, a giant arc lamp with a giant shade would also work well, since we wouldn’t have to drill into the ceiling to wire for a hanging light.

And where would I put my Christmas tree if I hung a chandelier in that corner?! At least this lamp is portable and can be moved when move-important items, like lit fake Christmas trees, need a home for a month.

I actually love the giant yellow shade, but they have other options as well. Don’t let color chase you away from these lamps! By the way, all of their lighting is 20% off right, so find a store if you’re looking for a sweet deal!

I loved these cool wire mesh storage carts for an office, but I also think that they would add some pretty nifty dimension to a pantry. Wouldn’t this be a cool way to store potatoes and fruits and veggies? It’s a good thing that I am only now realizing it and not while I’m at the store.

I got all excited when I saw the starting price point for these awesome baskets. Talk about an easy way to add lots of texture and interest to a room!

We could put this by the fireplace and fill it will logs that will never be used. Or we could put it in the living room and fill it with comfy throws and a toss pillow for added warmth in the winter. Or, again, it could add some pretty nature in a pantry to store bags of chips!

I just love baskets like these and am surprised that I don’t have one. Or nine. The small one was only $4.99 while the bigger one was $24.99. I love them both.

Speaking of things that I love, this pillow caught my eye. I love the embroidery and the soft colors. It has lots of color but in a muted tone, which adds to a toned-down look. I think, anyway. But what do I know?!

World Market has a section in the back with hard-to-find exotic foods and treats. Each one of these little bins is filled with a wonder from another part of the world. It’s fun to look at things, but I don’t think I would ever dare purchase a block of pepper jack cheese that was shelf-stable!

Well, hello little owl! I thought this little timer was a cute way to be reminded of cooking times. Luckily, I hate unnecessary items on my countertop and simply use the microwave for my baking timer. But this little guy was pretty fun, for an owl timer.

World Market always has a wonderful selection of vases and displays for flowers. This selection often rotates, so it feels like there is always something new to find. Talk about an easy and colorful way to accessorize a room!

Speaking of perfect, I love their fake flower selection. They look real but don’t require water to survive. So they might actually last in my house, is what I’m trying to say. I think any single one of these flowers here would look wonderful bunched up in a pretty vase!

These were my only temptation in the store today…something that I almost took home. I love these blue plastic footed glasses for outside entertaining. I don’t like paying full-price for anything if I can help it, so maybe I will check back in a month when these will all be on clearance.

I don’t know that I need these to survive, but they could be a pretty addition to our patio table at night!

The only thing that I use mugs for is hot chocolate, and I certainly don’t want any of the hot-drink bidness this time of year! And if I didn’t already have my twelve mugs in white-that-goes-with-everything color, then I would snatch up a few of these pretty yellow butterfly mugs from which to sip my hot chocolate.

In seven months when it starts cooling down.

Oddly enough, we can vouch for their furniture quality as well. We bought our dining chairs here almost two years ago, and they literally still look brand-new despite lots of love and abuse from us.

World Market always has an awesome selection of tables and chairs. We bought our table next door at Pier One because it was a huge size without the bother of a leaf. But World Market is a great place to find dining furniture for a nice price.

These should look familiar to you, since we have six of the Sophia Leather Chairs in brown around our dining table. They are soft and easy to clean and look so nice! I am really happy with our purchase, and even happier that I got them for around $80 a piece with sales and coupons.

Just for the record, I wanted the green ones to the right. I got out-voted from that decision, even by people who don’t live in my house! But I would still love to have the green ones instead. I will just have to find other ways to add color to my kitchen and dining room.

Fraidy-cats of color.

I don’t know if you know this, either, but I dream of updating our laminate countertops someday. And, when that blessed day takes place, I would like to add an overhang to create some stool seating on the opposite side of my prep space.

Wouldn't these industrial stools look cool there? We go for comfort in addition to looks, so maybe these wouldn’t be comfortable enough to fit the bill. But I sure love how they look!

So there you have it! A house tour of the wonders at World Market, one of my favorite window-shopping stores. Tomorrow, I will show you some fun things for the 4th of July from the same store, so make sure you grab some popcorn and tune in then!