Instant Ambience: A Giveaway

***Surprise! It's Giveaway Week here at Life of Bliss this week and I think you're going to like what's coming up!  Great stuff for your home starting with a fun one today!  Stay tuned for more coming later this week!***

So, the string lights on the screened porch have definitely been a big hit since we put them up last month.  Friends, family, and even my husband all agree we should've done it sooner!

In case you missed it, here they are and here's the post...

And I can't help but keep on pinning a few more inspiration pics like this one...

this one...

this one...

AND this one...

I love how great they work on a large scale at receptions and parties and on a small scale for an intimate dinner with friends.

You know you need some of these.  And the good news is, Daniel, from BrillantGlobeStringLights.com , has offered to give one of you lucky people a set of string lights in your choice of clear or frosted globes!

Their shop is a small, family-run business that sells quality light sets at very affordable pricing--with free shipping as well!  And for an added bonus- from today through June 26th, use promo code friendsofjulie4off to receive $4 off each item in your order!

Click here to visit their site and learn more.  

And for your chance to win, simply leave a comment telling me where you'd use your string lights!  Share on Facebook or Twitter for extra chances to win (leave an extra comment for each share).

All giveaways for this week will end on Sunday, June 23, at 11:59 pm.  And all winners of the giveaways will be announced on my Facebook page on Monday!

String lights add instant ambience, I tell you!  Get some!

Free Nautical Theme Party Printables for Father's Day

We still have a few days left before Dad's big day, and I thought it might be a good occasion for some free printables!  And since a nautical theme is always in style, anchors and sailboats it is!

So whether you're planning a small celebration at home or a big cookout with the whole family, I hope these work for you!

You can use these for water bottle wraps, napkin rings, flags, buntings, or whatever else you can think of!  Click here to download and get your party started! 

Don't forget to let the kids help with the decorations and Dad will love it even more!  

I'd love to see what you do with it all, so if you decide to use these, upload some pics to Pinterest for me and be sure to tag me so I can see all your creativity!

I'm sharing these with a few of these friends!

Happy Father's Day, dads!

Scent-sational Options for Freshening Your Home

This post brought to you by Air Wick. All opinions are 100% mine.

Our house is smelling pretty fabulous these days, if I do say so myself.  When Airwick asked me if they could send some samples of their scented oils for us to try out, I thought it'd be fun.  But when the package arrived, there were so many great choices, we could hardly decide which was our favorite!



From laundry rooms, kids' rooms, or whatever room needs freshening up, I'm sure there's one you'll love. 

Right now, we've got Magnolia & Cherry Blossom in one daughter's room...

Grand Canyon in another daughter's room...

And American Samoa in our son's room... (And let me tell you--in a contest between this and the smell of dirty socks, well, there is no contest!)  I'm loving it.

And in the laundry room, I've got Ocean Spray and Sparkling Sea Minerals because it's such a great, fresh scent.

And I love that there is a dial on top of each warmer that can be adjusted from low to high, depending on the size of your space or your preference of light or heavy fragrance.

And if we want to switch things up, there are other great scents like Bright Citrus Splash, Island Paradise, Lavender and Chamomile, and Hawai'i. 

Grand Canyon and Hawai'i are part of the Limited Edition National Parks line, available only for a limited time.

And the Bright Citrus Splash and the Ocean Spray and Sparkling Sea Minerals are only avaliable at Sam's Club where you'll find the best value for your money on all scented Airwick products.  And the Sam's Club packages come with a choice of a bonus warner or a bonus oil!




So get to Sam's Club to find out which is your favorite and get your house smelling great. 

2-Step Cherry Lemonade

If my Not-So-Freshly-Squeezed Strawberry Lemonade had a perky twin sister, I guess this 2-Step Cherry Lemonade would be her.  I'm into easy and delicious when it comes to recipes, and when I tried this one out recently, it fit the criteria.  

All you need to make this pretty pink refresher is a can of frozen lemonade and some fresh cherries.  I call it 2-Step Cherry Lemonade because all you do is throw about a cup of the cherries (already pitted) into a mini food processor and then just make the lemonade according to package directions and stir in the cherries.

I guess you could say there are 3 steps if you want to count pouring it over crushed ice.

May your friends and family think you're a culinary genius and may you get the glass with the most juicy bits of cherry!


Cheers!  I'm sharing with a few of these friends.

Miniature Garden Party of Herbs

So, my fascination with miniature gardening that started last year has carried over into this year and my new herb garden came out looking like a small-scale garden party. {Click here to see my first miniature garden of herbs I did last year.}  

My drink tub-turned-container garden worked great last time, so I just cleaned it out and started over.

Re-using some of my little accessories from last year and adding a new little garden bunting made from scrap fabrics, I came up with the little fairy garden party of herbs.  

I used these little slate plant markers from West Elm as well, although I found out that my chalk markers showed up much better for labeling than the crayon that came in the package.  For another fun way to label your herbs, click here.

Simple, yet enchanting-- even for life-sized people! 

I've already made a few great fresh herb recipes that I'll share with you later, but for now, I'm sharing this with some of these friends!

And for some tips on growing and harvesting herbs, check out this post I recently found on Pinterest.

Family Travel Destination: Stone Mountain, Georgia

We love getting away as a family to Atlanta when the opportunity arises, and Memorial Day weekend was just such an occasion, so we took off to meet up with my sister and her family for a mini vacation of relaxation, food, and fun.

And, of course, also some shopping at some of my favorite spots.  (More on my big spontaneous purchase I made coming later.  Eeek!)

But, in all the times we've been to Atlanta, we had never taken the time to visit Stone Mountain Park until this time, and we all loved it!

We arrived around 11:00 am and ended up staying until the laser and fireworks show after dark.  And even with our kids ranging in age from 6 to 16, everyone enjoyed it.

They have rock climbing, ropes adventure courses, mini zip lines, and even a water fun playground for the younger kids.

They also have a mini golf course and a train that takes a 5-mile tour around the "mountain".

And my kids loved the 4-D Journey 2 movie experience.

 One of the coolest things is the Summit Skyride, which is a Swiss cable car that takes you 825 feet up to the top of the mountain!

And the views from the top are amazing!  If you're really adventurous, you can hike up the side to get to the top.

The Confederate Memorial Carving of Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson is really amazing as well.  

And during the Summer, there is a laser show every night after dark.  

There's even more to see than what we had time for, but if you'd like more information, visit StoneMountainPark.com.  

Just a few tips to know before you go:

* If you want to do rock climbing or the ropes adventures, closed-toed shoes are required.

* There is a Family Value Pass available online for purchase which includes a meal ticket.  This ticket is not available at the gate, so if you'd like to save some money on meals, buy before you go and print the tickets at the self-service kiosks when you arrive.

* You may want to bring towels or an extra change of clothes for the little kids if they want to visit the water area.

* If you are planning to stay for the laser show, bring picnic blankets or chairs.  You may even want to save your spot on the lawn early in the day.

This is not a sponsored post from Stone Mountain Park, nor do I have a rich uncle that runs the place!  Just one of my travel recommendations for families!

If you've been to Stone Mountain and have any tips to share, leave them in the comments for us!