Picnic season is in full swing.  We’ve enjoyed a picnic in Central Park for the past two weekends in a row.  A picnic can be impromptu or carefully planned, a beachside event or a gathering on a bench.  I find picnics to be one of the most enjoyable activities.  For a history of the picnic, visit Cassandra Considers.

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Rooftop picnic via 7 Year Wedding

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Tumblr.  I’m loving the vintage plaid lunchbox.  I used to carry one myself!

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And let’s not forget the food!

Le Figaro Madame

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The Enchanted Home

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Our picnics typically include a few good cheeses, salami, garlic stuffed olives, and fruit.

The key to any great picnic is packing a mix of savory and sweet items:

Crostini with peaches, bleu cheese, and honey via Bev Cooks or Pear Walnut and Ricotta Crostini

Avacado and tzaziki sandwich via Pinterest

Corn, tomato and cheddar pie via Clockwork Lemon

or a simple prosciutto, mozarella, and basil sandwich on crusty bread

via Linzer Tart.

A refreshing salad always complements a picnic:

White House Salad via ivillage

Avocado chicken salad via Becoming Betty

Blood orange and fennel salad via Kiran Tarun

Other ideas:  seashell pasta with basil, tomatoes, and garlic, a simple fruit salad with honey lime dressing, or melon and prosciutto skewers.

For an alternative to packaged chips, try:

Baked beet chips via Martha Stewart

or

Crispy Edamame

Store a tasty thirst quencher in leftover jam jars:

via Parents.com

How about filling the jars with…

Peach summer sangria via Pizzazzerie

Blackberry Bourbon lemonade via Runchickenrun

A champagne grapefruit mojito via Style Me Pretty

Sparkling strawberry limeade via bless her heart

or

Basil Limeade via Celebrating Everyday Life

For dessert, may I suggest:

Salted caramel brownies via A Spicy Perspective

Smores cookies via Martha Stewart

Shortbread caramel sandwiches via Dust Jacket

or

Olive oil, yogurt and lime cake via Simple Provisions

or

Strawberry shortcake in a jar via Honestly Yum

For more picnic food inspiration, check out 101 20 Minute Dishes for Inspired Picnics.

I definitely love picnic food, but naturally, one of my favorite aspects of a picnic is the accessories!  For a stylishly accessorized picnic, here are some products that get my stamp of approval:

Yield picnic bag that folds into a blanket via Cup of Jo.

From Kate Spade, picnic basics that pack a punch of color:

Kate Spade picnic basket

Kate Spade champagne box.

For a more modern take on picnic accessories, uncommon goods has a great selection of clever products, including a picnic backpack.

For those seeking a more traditional picnic basket, Picnic World and Dann-Online offer beautiful selections:

Sutherland Classic picnic basket

Canterbury fully stocked picnic basket

Sutherland Nottingham picnic basket

Sutherland Doppio Vino Picnic Basket

For the most aspirational of picnics, a vintage Rolls Royce picnic basket fits the bill:

via Luxist.

Ready for a picnic?  What will you bring?

I wanted to pop in and share some Fourth of July inspiration…

Vogue February 2013, photographed by Annie Lebovitz.

Tabitha Simmons

Photo by Leombruno Bodi

Chanel ensemble via Into the Gloss

Chance

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Wishing you a safe and splendid Fourth of July!

Image via SHELTER

I continue to have great excuses for not being present here, but I’m hoping that this is the start of easing back into a regular blogging routine.

Tonight I cleared out all of the starred items from my Google reader, quite a job.  Yes, I waited until the last minute to complete this task, but it wasn’t a top priority until it had to be.  I starred a lot of the items as inspiration for future blog posts.  After taking about 22 pages of notes in a Word document, patterns of inspiration have emerged.  Out of all the hundreds of posts I browsed tonight, one hit me in particular:  this post from SHELTER, one of my favorite interior design blogs, on pink upholstered seating.

I thought of my grandmother’s pink chair, similar to the one pictured above, that sat proudly in her living room with another matching chair.  The elegant pink upholstered chair now sits in my parents’ bedroom, one of the rare furnishings of the past century in a home filled with antiques.  Tonight I thought of my grandmother and how she cared about the furnishings that filled her home, just as she cared about what she wore.

I  have always admired that chair, but it has become dearer to me in the past couple of years after sitting in it to nurse Baby Boy in the middle of the night.  It was in the early hours of the morning that I gained a greater appreciation for its comfort and its beauty.  And I couldn’t help but think that my Grandma would be happy that I was enjoying her chair in such a profound way.

Something else that’s hereditary is my curious list making/note taking habit.  I have a need, a compulsion, to compile lists of things that inspire me.  My mother does the same thing.  She keeps lists of things that she reads or hears about for future reference.  Sometimes she shares these items with me.  She reminded me recently that her mother did the same thing.

Some compulsions are in the blood.