Grace at Home No. 429

Hello, friends!

Wow, what a busy summer it's turning out to be! In North Carolina, there are still a few signs that things aren't quite normal yet—for instance, when our church gathers for in-person worship, we all wear masks. But over the last couple of weeks I traveled to Georgia, Tennessee, and Mississippi, and things looked pretty much like they did before the pandemic. I wonder if we might be getting a little ahead of ourselves, since there's still so much about this disease that we don't understand, but I also understand that people are ready to just get back to normal life if possible.

Anyway, here are a couple of fun scenes from my trip.

This is me and my dad. We celebrated his 81st birthday.

And you might recognize this cutie--that's Traci Hutcherson from Beneath My Heart. Traci and I have been blogging buddies and real-life friends since 2010. I knew from her Instagram stories that she was at her home in the Nashville area, so I stopped by and surprised her. The look on her face tickled me pink!

Meanwhile, y'all have been busy, and I'm so grateful you're here for the Grace at Home party, where we celebrate all the ways we make our homes and spheres of influence places of grace. Here are some highlights from our last party.

If you've ever wondered how to transition a small child's bedroom into a fun space for an older kid, you'll love this transformation from Angela at Simply Beautiful by Angela. A kid who likes video games would love this space!

If you're expecting guests this summer (I am, and I'm so excited!), you'll be glad to get this wifi password printable from Jennifer at Satsuma Designs. 

If the air in your house needs a bit of freshening up but you don't want to use artificial scents, check out this homemade air freshener spray from Joy at Artful Homemaking.

If you're looking for ways to spiff up your outside spaces, you might want consider buying concrete planters. Renae at Peacock Ridge Farm shows you how to add patina to raw concrete in a method that's both easy and inexpensive.

While you're at it, if you're looking for plants that will thrive on a shady porch, check out this post. 

When you're welcoming guests into your home, you might want to consider setting up a bar cart to allow people to help themselves. Shelley from Calypso in the Country shares some great styling tips to help you make the cart a part of your summery decor.

Looking for a refreshing drink for these hot days? Michele at Walking on Sunshine Recipes shows us how to make fruit-infused water. I'm going to give this a try!

If you're tasked with cooking for a big group these days, you'll appreciate this wisdom from Barbara at Stray Thoughts. 

Thank you to everyone who linked up!

Now for today's party.  Here at the Grace at Home party, you can link up any post you've written that demonstrates how you're filling your own home with truth, goodness, and beauty. I invite you to link posts about

• DIY projects
• decorating
• recipes
• hospitality
• homemaking tips
• parenting
• marriage
• faith
• self-care
• soul care

Whatever you do to make your home a place of grace, I'd like to hear about it.  Here's what I ask of you.  Please include the permalink to your post, not your blog's home page.  Please let people know that you've linked up.  No more than three posts per person, please.  Note that if you link a post here, you are giving me permission to share your post, including a photo.  And visit at least one of the other party participants--that's what really makes it a party!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter