4th of July Fun Facts

We love trivia. Here are some fun facts gathered from Pier 1 Imports about the 4th of July

• Over 74 million families will barbecue on this day. Will your family be one of them? Who wears the apron in YOUR family?
• Over 150 million hot dogs will be eaten on the Fourth. That’s one hot dog for every two Americans. Please make mine with mustard and onions.
• The most popular sides at the 4th of July BBQ? Potato salad and baked beans.
• Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.
• John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died within hours of each other on July 4, 1826.
• The only American president born on the 4th of July was Calvin Coolidge (b. 1872).
• The Liberty Bell weighs 2000 pounds and cost $225 to make.
• In 1959, the very first Pepsi 400 race was held. This event is hosted by NASCAR every 4th of July or the Saturday of 4th of July weekend
• In 1916, four immigrants are said to have been arguing who among them was most patriotic on this 4th of July. The four decided to settle the dispute with a hot dog eating contest, thus sparking the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest held annually on the 4th in Coney Island.
• In 1870, Congress made July 4th a national, but unpaid, holiday for all federal employees.
• America has its own places of patriotic pride, as shown by the multitude of places within the United States with patriotic names. For example, at least thirty cities include "liberty" in their names, such as Liberty, MO and Iowa's Libertyville, North Liberty, West Liberty and New Liberty. The United States also is home to thirty-two "Eagles," eleven "Independences," five "Freedoms," and even a "Patriot" (residing in Indiana).

Sweet Tunes For Your 4th Of July Bash

Music plays such a huge role when it comes to planning any get together. Even when it's lightly playing the background, choosing festive songs to match your party theme is a must. And now with music programs like iTunes, you can make your own custom mixes with just the click of a mouse.

Here are some great 4th of July tunes to set tone for your big bash...

• Born in the U.S.A. – Bruce Springsteen
• 1812 Overture - Tchaikovsky
• Proud to be an American – Lee Greenwood
• America – Neil Diamond
• America the Beautiful – Ray Charles version
• Ballad of the Green Berets – Barry North
• Color Me Red, White and Blue – Dolly Parton
• God Bless America – Kate Smith or Celine Dion (our favorite Canadian!)
• Living in America – James Brown
• My Baby is American Made – Oakridge Boys
• Peaceful World – John Mellencamp
• Some Gave All – Billy Ray Cyrus
• Star Spangled Banner – Jimmy Hendrix, Whitney Houston and a host of others
• This Ain’t No Rag – It’s a Flag – Charlie Daniels Band
• This Land is Your Land – Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, Peter, Paul and Mary
• Travelin’ Soldier – Dixie Chicks
• Undivided – Bon Jovi
• Rodeo – Aaron Copland
  
• Stars and Stripes Forever – John Philip Sousa

Give A Green Gift: Garden In A Box

Looking for a unique gift to send a client as a thank you? Here is a great idea that is completely green. Put together yourself or talk to your local gift basket company about sending a "green" gift consisting of a planters box, soil, seeds and gardening gear. Give the gift of life, plant life, that is.


CREATE THIS LOOK...


Planter: Smith & Hawken Windsor Window Box
Crafted from durable resin to lend the appearance wood without cracking or rotting.
Price: $169








Trowel: Smith & Hawken Trowel
Guaranteed for life, our English trowel is ideal for excavating, shaping and digging small holes for planting.
Price: $25








Hand Fork: Smith & Hawken Hand Fork
Guaranteed for life, our English hand fork is ideal for light weeding and digging in shallow soil.
Price: $25








Gardening Gloves: Essential WorkArmor Gloves from Target
Save Your Hands with this Gardening Glove Set. Great for the Green Thumb in Your Life. Made of Resin
Price: $29.99








Planter Starter Kit: Buzzy Porcelain Kitchen Herbs Grow Kit
This do-it-yourself growing kit makes it easy to enjoy cooking with fresh basil, parsley, chives, marjoram and thyme.
Price: $12.99

Urban Fitness

Condo living is becoming more and more popular in big cities. As a result, individuals are finding themselves in beautiful high rises with incredible views, but small square footage. As the norm, city dwellers also tend to be focused on fitness and health. This is one of the reasons they like living in the city because it gives them the opportunity and excuse to walk more rather than take a car or other form of motorized transportation. But if a city dweller, who is also devoted to fitness, wants to workout, and prefers the privacy of their home for additional exercise, how are they supposed to comfortably fit a home gym in such tight quarters? This is a question Life Fitness had when they went to Gabriel Prero asking for a new design for urban spaces. Gabriel Prero is an industrial designer, who turns incredible concepts into realities. With the task at hand, Prero came up with the below sleek and stylish Otto-Bench, which also doubles as an inconspicuous long modern ottoman. We're impressed. See what you think.

Get Hip Get Green Bags

You've probably already noticed or are already using these completely reusable bags for grocery shopping, packing a picnic, carrying books or whatever other useful need they are great for. Get Hip Get Green brings reusable shopping bags to a forefront of both “E”s: environmentalism and education. With three styles of bags that encourage users to get- hip- get- green and love-this-planet, Get Hip Get Green sells bags to help alleviate the amount of other bags that are regularly discarded and not recycled. The bags are great for multi-use. We even used similar bags last year at the Northwest Event Show, and we're still using them for various purposes to this day.

About Get Hip Bags...

• Each Bag comes with hangtag that explains just some of just some of the issues facing the environment today.
• Each Bag holds the equivalent load of 3-4 plastic bags or 2 Paper bags.
• Each bag is made from non-woven polypropolene and is 100% recyclable.
• Five of our Bags will hold the contents of a completely filled grocery cart.
• Each bag has a bottom stiffener that protects groceries and that can be easily removed for a quick wipe down.
• World wide we consume nearly 1 million plastic bags per minute. By using my bag you can help reduce this startling statistic.

Get your very own hip bag by clicking here.

Make Plans for the Ultimate 4th of July Shindig

Can you believe the 4th of July is only a few weeks away? There is not time like the present to start gathering ideas and making plans for America's favorite holiday. Here are a few simple tips to get your creativity and patriotism flowing...

It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t got a Theme!
The best part about the 4th of July is that the color scheme and entertainment are already in place. You know you'll be decorating with red, white and blue, and of course you'll be watching fireworks, so a lot of the pressure of planning the details are relieved. All you have to do is get the decorations ready and plan the ultimate summer menu. When it comes to the 4th, you can't go overboard, so we say bring out the stripes and stars and go flag and streamer crazy.

Plan the Menu
Did you know that on the 4th of July, 74 million families will barbecue their meal? You will probably contribute to that number so planning the ultimate BBQ meal is key. Prepare one or two meat offerings like southern-style sliced brisket, slabs of meaty baby back ribs or smoky-sweet chicken. Delicious sides like potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans and of course, corn-on-the-cob are traditional favorites. We also suggest making red and blue tinted cocktails for the adults and non-alcoholic kool-aid drinks for the kids. Head over to the Food Network and search under 4th of July for hundreds of recipes that you can easily prepare for groups large and small.

Take a Picnic to the Park
These days many people live in townhouses and condos so throwing a backyard bbq is out of the question. But just because you don't have a backyard, doesn't mean you should spend the day indoors. Head outside and pack up a blanket, food, and decorations and head to a local park. Start the partying early in the day and organize a group softball, volleyball, or bocce ball game and then stay for the public fireworks. It will be a lot easier to find parking if you head out early.

Go Coastal with a Beach Potluck
Fresh air, cool water and the sand in your toes! Call your friends, organize a potluck menu and gather together your beach gear. Everyone should bring their favorite dish along with their bathing suits, towels, blankets, frisbees, beach balls and – of course - the sunscreen. Grill hotdogs and burgers or have a traditional clambake! Finger foods work best here – like chips and fresh fruits as well as canned sodas and beer. Build a campfire (if your beach allows them) and roast marshmallows or make s’mores for a fun dessert treat. Don’t forget a trash bag! You definitely want to leave the beach as clean as you found it! If you live in Seattle, head to Alki Beach. For those willing to travel, head to Lake Chelan in Central Washington. Our pick...Wapato Point.

Above Photos from Pier 1

This Round Is On Me

How often have you played a round of golf, and by the third hole you begin to get anxious for the food and beverage cart to make a visit? It happens all the time. There is something about golf (perhaps it's all the yelling at the ball to stay in the fairway and not the bunker) that makes you parched after just a short while. If this sounds familiar, let us introduce you to the Designated Driver. The Designated Driver is a nifty golf club drink dispenser. The head of the Designated Driver Kooler Klub looks just like a real club! The shaft of the club champ fits easily into your golf bag and holds 48 ounces of cold or hot beverages (enough to satisfy a thirsty foursome). A keg-like pump mechanism on the cooler club dispenses the juice from the insulated drink caddy out the top.

The Designated Driver is available at After 5 Catalog and retails for $49.99.