Happy Independence Day!

This Independence Day is for celebrating the 250th anniversary of our country's independence. We spent the day in the pool with friends, grilling out and enjoying the beautiful weather. In the morning, I went to our local farmer's market and bought beautiful red roses and light and dark blue statice for the center of the table. The statice looks purple in the picture but is definitely more blue in real light.

Isn't this tablecloth beautiful? I saw it on https://homeiswheretheboatis.net/2026/06/23/tea-on-tuesdays-patriotic-tea-table-for-americas-250th-anniversary/ and searched the internet high and low for it, finally finding it on eBay. It is a pattern called Americana from the Harper Liberty Collection. The woman who writes this blog designs beautiful tables, is an amazing baker, and an incredible photographer. I have baked so many of her desserts, all delicious! I added the flowers to a Fiesta Linen disc pitcher and added a rattan placemat with little patriotic birds, and it is the kitchen table centerpiece for the next couple of days.

I used the same tablecloth for the dinner, with Scarlett, Lapis, and Sapphire plates on red and navy placemats. I used red, white, and blue plaid napkins. You can see peeks of the table amongst the food.

I didn't take a picture of the entire table because we were so busy cooking, and then we served, and the table was gone! Long-time friend Sharon joined us, and she was chef du jour. We made an amazing dinner: a delicious peach and tomato salad on arugula with burrata, two kinds of grilled tri-tip, broiled salmon, and eggplant and zucchini with crunchy chili oil.

I love this salad! The farmers market had beautiful, juicy cling peaches and heirloom tomatoes on a bed of arugula with basil, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar—it was so summery and delicious.

Dear hubby grilled a marinated tri-tip and one seasoned with Montreal seasoning. For those of you who are non-Californians, a tri-tip is a triangular cut from the bottom of the sirloin. We had never heard of this cut of beef prior to moving here. Sharon broiled the salmon brushed with olive oil and salt and pepper. My sons LOVE salmon; hubby and I do not care for it, so they had a real treat. Finally, one of my favorite side dishes: Japanese eggplant, yellow and green zucchini sautéed in olive oil with salt and pepper and crunchy garlic chili oil that you can get at Trader Joe's. It is spicy and goes so well with eggplants and squash.

Sharon is an amazing cook and baker, and she brought a delightful and scrumptious no-bake cheesecake from Dorie Greenspan. The dessert has a graham cracker crust with a layer of dark bittersweet chocolate ganache, a layer of strawberries, a fluffy, light cheesecake layer, and more berries on top. The dark chocolate and strawberries were delicious together, and the cheesecake was not overly sweet, so it added a wonderful creamy layer.

Every Wednesday evening, I bake something for my work team, and most Wednesdays, my sons pout because they don't get any baked goods. This past week, I made chocolate chocolate chip banana bread and made a small loaf for home, which was immediately devoured. I saw in another blog a wreath made of cupcakes with strawberries on top and thought, "Hmm, I could do that with chocolate banana bread cupcakes!" I baked more chocolate, chocolate chip banana bread and baked them in mini-muffin pans, my wreath is definitely not as pretty, but it was tasty.

And, saving the best for last, my bestie set a beautiful lunch table for her family's Fourth of July celebration. I thought I would share it here, she has such a great eye.

How fun is this table? I love the mix of stars, the tablecloth, runner, and plates all with gorgeous patriotic patterns! Her place settings are Fiesta Cobalt with an Americana Stars luncheon plate on a white and Scarlet plate with the new Americana stars pattern on Linen. And don't you just love the Fiesta Omni plates with condiments around the vase in the middle? Such a great use of those cute plates! Every time she sets a table with these, I fall in love with them a little bit more—I have to resist the urge to buy them! The red striped napkins add the final touch to her Stars and Stripes table!

However you celebrated this patriotic holiday, I hope it was enjoyable!