I am just so excited about the 4th of July holiday coming up this week because we have lovely, low-key plans. Fingers crossed for some sunshine so we can make it a beach day, followed by a little grilling at home and hopefully making it back to the beach for the local fireworks. We plan to spend the weekend catching up with a few friends, so casual entertaining is top of mind for me! I put together a festive berry-inspired tablescape to celebrate the holiday, full of my favorite red, white and blue hues. Scroll down for all of the linked resources, and Happy Independence Day! 
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It’s the season of summer barbecues, al fresco family get-togethers, and asking “what can I bring?” when you’re invited to summer soirees. I have a patriotic (and delicious) dessert idea that will hopefully be the answer to that question for all of your warm-weather gatherings: a no-bake cheesecake tart topped with a bounty of fresh, seasonal mixed berries. Here is why this tasty treat is such a winner — no turning on the oven! The whole thing gets made in a few short steps, starting with a crumbly graham cracker crumb crust. A few quick pulses in the food processor and pressing it into the tart pan is all you need to do to get the base of this dessert ready. Then get your electric mixer to do the heavy-lifting on the next step — whip heavy cream with sugar, vanilla, cream cheese and mascarpone for a fluffy and sweet filling that gets poured into the tart crust. Then you chill the whole thing until you’re ready to serve it, and garnish it with colorful sweet berries. Easy, tasty, and it looks like a million bucks! Get the full recipe below: 
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Please note: This post was created in collaboration with Chase Freedom Unlimited. All opinions, images and content are my own.
It’s been a few weeks since I kicked off my “be a better baker challenge” in collaboration with my friends at Chase Freedom Unlimited, and I’m due for a check-in on my progress! When starting any new goal, I always find the hardest part is just that: getting started! I tend to get caught up in planning and researching and prepping, but kickstarting a goal always works best with action, which means I have to get in the kitchen and get baking!
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If there’s one thing you probably know about me, it’s that I love a grazing board. Putting together these themed boards has become one of my favorite seasonal entertaining ideas, I love tweaking them to fit different events and holidays. With the 4th of July coming up this week, summer entertaining is top of mind; I wanted to create a summer grazing board that was fit for warm-weather hosting! 
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A few weeks ago my husband and I were sitting on the couch and chatting about our weekend plans. We started throwing around the idea of going to the beach and after a few minutes we were deep down a rabbit hole discussing how the worst part of beach days is all of the lugging and hauling of our stuff to and from the car. Sometimes the idea of packing everything up almost deters us from doing the trip (and we live a 5-minute drive to the beach, so it’s not much of a trip at all!). We came to a determined agreement that we would refine our beach-packing process this summer and hone it down to only the essentials, the best of the best. After a very serious inventory of what we actually use at the beach we have a new system down, and I’m happy to report the last few beach visits have required much less schlepping. I thought I’d share a few of our refinements, and the favorite beach gear items we use again and again that made the beach bag cut!
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It was a beautiful, 80-degree, perfect weather day last Sunday and I woke up with some very serious determination to have the BEST summer day. I swear that toddlers have a sixth sense for this kind of mental planning and they just love to throw a wrench in those plans. We had a tough morning of grumpiness with a certain unnamed toddler, we never made it to the beach like I planned, and I was so deflated by the time she went down for a nap. Summer is fleeting in New England, and I put so much pressure on those short weeks to make the most of it. After Jane woke up from her nap I knew we both needed to reset the day and I asked her what she wanted to do. She answered without hesitation: ICE CREAM!
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What is it about summer that makes reading so enjoyable? In the good ol’ days I could sit on the beach during a vacation and make my way through 3 books a week! Of course life with a toddler has definitely changed my reading pace, but I have found I’ve been reading a ton this summer thanks to picking up books at night instead of flipping on the TV. I have a big stack I’ve been collecting for my summer line-up and thought I’d share my 2019 summer reading list to spark some inspiration if you’re looking for a good beach read of your own:
Last week I took a foggy little ferry ride on the Hyline to Nantucket for the day, where I met up with a few other bloggers to tour the island with @ShopNantucket and check out some of the best shops and bites on the island. I was pumped because the rain cleared up as we pulled into the dock — and shopping is one of my favorite things to do in Nantucket with so many unique shops and brands to explore! After our fun day on the Grey Lady, I thought I’d round up a mini Nantucket Shopping Guide with a few of my favorites to keep in mind if you ever find yourself on the island for a day of retail therapy! 
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It’s been a wild couple of weeks and I have lots to share — from fun events and projects, to summer finds, new recipes and lots of updates on my reading list! Scroll down to read more in this week’s download:
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I had to share this one last detail from my sister’s bridal shower last weekend because it was one of the tastiest things I’ve ever made! We had a local Italian restaurant cater the party since my sister is a big fan of pasta (go follow her @agirlandherpasta instagram account!). We decided to tackle a few salads to go along with the pasta and chicken dishes we ordered — one bridesmaid brought a beautiful caesar salad, and I was in charge of caprese salad. My motto for this event was go big, or go home and I brought that mantra to every detail (she’s my little sis and BFF after all!), including the caprese salad. 
