Ideas for a Coastal-Themed BBQ

One of my favorite places in Oregon is Cannon Beach. Cannon Beach is a charming small town on our Oregon Coast. It is a favorite day trip/weekend trip for many who live in Oregon. It’s simple charm and its beach-worn patina are what make it appealing. Flowers grow beautifully here, so you will see many large flower baskets around town. There are lots of craftsman cottages that sit on the beach. All these things make Cannon Beach a dreamy and whimsical place! One of my dreams is to own a little cottage down at Cannon Beach decorated in beachy, coastal decor that we can share with family and friends. And since the blues and whites of coastal decor are always pleasing to look at, I decided to work that coastal inspiration into our fourth. Of course, that meant a day trip down to Cannon to find party inspiration!

As part of preparation for the BBQ we made a day trip down to Cannon for some coastal decor and a little ocean air. The drive down to the coast is lovely country scenery with plenty of green hills and trees. When we arrived, we started off with a lunch break at Mo’s on the beach for their famous chowder. It doesn’t get much better than eating a bowl of creamy clam chowder while watching the ocean. Mo’s is very popular, and they have locations in both Cannon and Seaside (about 5 miles down the road). We chose to eat outside and enjoy the sea breeze and tide. For those who don’t want their hair blowing around you can eat indoors as well. They also have a large selection of other seafood dishes such as a hot shrimp melt or shrimp tacos. It a must-stop if you are down there.

After lunch, we first went to a favorite store, Sesame and Lilies, where I browsed their beautiful home decor. It is a combination of modern romantic, coastal, and vintage that is broadly appealing. The store has many beautiful and unique collectibles as well as new modern pieces. It was here that I picked up this lovely salad serving set that I spied on a table there. The coral-style handles on these salad serving pieces make them perfect for the salad bar at our BBQ. And even better is the tray to set them on. This makes it visually appealing and more sanitary than setting the serving pieces directly on the table.

After grabbing a lavender latte at a local coffee shop, I stopped into a souvenir shop for some large sea stars to put on the tables at the BBQ. The above photos show the striped table runners are from Pier 1 that came in red and blue. Of course, they were just perfect for a coastal BBQ, and I decided to put big shells and sea stars down the middle of them. Don’t they look perfect paired up with the blue and white table linens?

Later, after our leisurely stroll through Cannon we decided to head over to Seaside about five miles away. We spent the rest of the day here and finished with an evening picnic on the beach. It was a perfect day! I look forward to putting things together for our coastal themed BBQ. In my next post I will share our coastal BBQ menu, plus a free downloadable menu you can use for your fourth. I will also be sharing the recipes I use. Have a great week!

#july4bbq #homedecor #coastaldecor