4 Must-Haves for Your Next Summer Party

Don’t mind me, just casually snacking on chips & salsa + tacos all by my lonesome! Totally normal behavior for me, actually. Living in Texas, pretty much any time we have friends over, Mexican food is almost always involved. Just the way I like it! Another thing that is always a given is cute serving pieces and dinnerware. Today I’m teaming up with Pier 1 Imports to chat about what I think makes for the perfect addition to a Summer Block Party. I’m also sharing my secret to serving delicious Tex-Mex in a pinch!

4 Must-Haves for Your Next Patio Block Party

Shatter Resistant Dinnerware

When it comes to hosting anything outdoors, lightweight shatter-resistant dinnerware is literally the best thing ever. Not that I’m worried about things falling and breaking so much, but it’s the whole carrying plates and dishes all the way to the patio and back that keeps me a bit on edge. {And I feel like clean-up is just easier too!} I love Pier 1’s melamine pieces for SO many reasons. Mostly though, it’s because they don’t even look like they are made of melamine! The blue bowls above are part of the Carmelo Collection and are designed to resemble hand-thrown Italian stoneware.

Acrylic Wine Glasses

While we’re still on the subject of non-breakable things, who here has shattered at least 2-3 (or more) wine glasses before? Me!! Pier 1’s acrylic wine glasses are seriously ahhmazing. I also love that they come in a fun modern shape that you would never guess wasn’t actually glass until you picked it up for yourself.

Wine Charms

I’m always the person who ends up picking up someone else’s drink and taking a sip before realizing that it wasn’t actually mine in the first place. I thought I’d give these cactus wine charms a try and you guys, they’re game changers! I now make sure to pull them out whenever we have friends over & are serving vino. It’s also like a fun little hunt, wandering around trying to find your cactus charm. I can’t seem to ever remember where I set my drinks down otherwise!

Colorful Linens

I love mixing and matching colorful linens no matter the occasion. Come summer time, the brighter the better! Pier 1 Imports has so many colorful options to choose from that’ll spice up any block party. I love these striped pretties above because they’ll pair well with just about any color scheme. And maybe it’s just me, but using actual cloth napkins as opposed to paper ones just makes me feel fancier.

Ok, I lied. The fifth, of course, is tacos!

Truthfully, what’s a Texas Block Party without tacos? My secret to serving up delicious Tex-Mex on the fly is to order take out but serve it like you made it yourself. I love love love to cook (case in point here) but with hectic schedules, a baby bossing me around and last minute to-do’s before a party, sometimes having the food prepared for you is just what you need. There are so many taco delivery + take-out spots in Houston. And y’all, they are all SO good. I’ll run out and grab a bag full of tacos with heaping orders of chips & salsa on the side. Once I’m home I like to unpack it all and serve it up in my own dishes (like this taco rack) to make a pretty little setup. This way it almost looks as if you made the meal yourself, instead of zipping through a drive through.

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As summer kicks off, hope you all get to have as many tacos + block parties as possible! A big thank you to Pier 1 Imports for sponsoring this post. As always, all opinions are my own. Thank YOU guys for supporting the brands that make Lone Star Looking Glass possible.

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