Piece-of-Cake Picnic

Well, this is real-life “starter blogging” at its best. I clearly didn’t get my 4^th of July picnic post up by the actual 4^th, but I still wanted to share resources of where I found everything, since for me, red, white and blue is timeless. This applies to clothing and décor. Not to mention, many of the items I love and used at our picnic are available in other colors and patterns to choose from. Better late than never I suppose… I mean, is it ever too late to shop???

Anyway, I love the idea of a picnic, and there are so many outdoor events in Nashville that allow, if not encourage, you to bring your own blanket, food and drink. I’ve listed some of these events that occur throughout the summer and early fall in Nashville, below. There are many more out there, but these are some of my favs. You can of course picnic just for the sake of eating in the great outdoors, but sometimes it’s nice to have live music and a port-a-potty close by.

Back to the picnic- As I said, I love the IDEA of a picnic, but not all the work that can come with prepping for one. Thus, I went in search of the best options to create an easy picnic that were both stylish and functional. When I started researching picnic baskets, I read a lot of reviews about how all the traditional basket-styles, which I love the look of, were too bulky so they weren’t actually easy to carry or to fit in a stroller. A lot of the baskets were only for “wine and cheese” and came with limited supplies inside that wouldn’t work for more than just a snack or over 2 people. Many were also extremely pricey. However, I finally found a solution to this very serious picnic-basket-problem. Crate and Barrel offers a picnic tote that comes in two colors (this red one is on sale) and offers all the tools you need to dine outside. Complete with melamine plates, glasses, silverware, mini salt and pepper shakers, a wine-bottle opener, a mini-cheese (or snack) board and napkins, it’s is definitely both cute and functional. The bag is easy to carry, and even with all the above-mentioned pieces, there’s still room for food… that’s if you’ve just picked-up pre-made of course.

As for all the rest of the goodies we chose to include in our version of a “perfect picnic”… There’s no longer a need to lug around your 60-pound-quilt that granny made years ago that soaks up any spills and doesn’t protect you at all from damp ground. Thankfully, now there are tons of roll-up, water-proof picnic blanks options available. Most even come with a handy strap so they’re easy to tote around with you and keep your hands free to carry other things. We love this red buffalo plaid option from Target. I also bought one with yellow pineapples on it that we keep down at the beach and take with us when we don’t want to sit on the sand. These “blankets” wipe down easily and protect your bum and food from all the elements underneath you. It’s a must for a modern-day picnic.

I also recently discovered this Sunny Life “Beach Sounds” Radio/Speaker with Blue Tooth technology. This DARLING little thing takes 4 batteries and turns any activity into a party. It’s super easy to use, and connects to your phone’s Bluetooth, so that you can play any of your jams over the speaker. It even has a compartment that safely holds your phone while connected, and it’s completely waterproof, sand-proof, spill-proof, etc. It also has a handle, and I recently hung it on the handlebar of my bike and rode around with my tunes blaring. I felt like a total badass, even though I was listening to show tunes. This is one of my favorite purchases of the summer, and I’ve taken it everywhere with me- beach, pool, bike, etc. Oh, and it’s only $50 and comes in several designs. Be careful going to the Sunny Life website- you will want to buy everything on it.

We added in a few things extra items for our picnic that we found at “Sew What?” in Nashville but can be found in other online stores like Mark and Graham. I like to have extra towels when we eat outdoors to use in our laps or to help clean-up any spills. These red, white and blue plaid hand-towels are perfect on a picnic or just hanging from my oven in my kitchen. We brought more booze than would fit in our picnic tote (duh), so I had an individual navy wine cooler monogrammed as well that has a shoulder strap, so it can be easily carried around with everything else.

That’s all I’ve got for now folks, but if you find any other “picnic must-have’s,” please do share them with me, as I love picnicking in the fall even more than in the summer. I always love finding new “tools” to make things easy… and fabulous-looking of course. Don’t send me any ugly-looking crap. Jk… well, kind of.