Good Tuesday morning friends! Hope your week is off to a good start so far and hope you had a great weekend..the sun is shining so no complaints here though we could use one good hard rain, things are looking very dry around here. Moving along…..last week I hosted a small, intimate birthday luncheon for a very special friend. We both agreed a small get together would be nice and nice it was.

I had fun planning it out though I  wish I had taken more “prep” pictures with the food as I really liked the menu a lot (guilt free)! I really need an in house photographer lol.

I started, naturally with blue and white in mind, had a beautiful arrangement of  fresh hydrangeas made in one of my blue and white planters which was a wonderful starting point. The favors were mini myrtle topiaries and they were just darling. I wrapped them in green burlap and gingham ribbon. Here is what was on the menu-

 

Starters-

Frose (my favorite summer drink, one fresh grapefruit, ice, peach seltzer and Rose all in a blender..yum)!

I served these amazingly good super healthy crostinis (below)  and a bowl of strawberries when they arrived

Lunch-

Chicken Paillard with arugula salad

Grilled asparagus

Fresh tomato, cucumber and corn salad (all bought from the farm that morning)

Dessert-

A fresh fruit tart

A big bowl of fruit

 

And here is a peek into the afternoon-

The setting was my covered porch, it was a a beautiful summer day so it was the perfect spot…

And let the prep begin-

Simply drizzled olive oil over the asparagus, a pinch of sea sat and  pepper then threw them on the grill for about 4 minutes

Her gifts waiting to be given

Love any excuse to use my labels:)

Wrapped the little myrtles in green burlap and gingham ribbon

Chicken pounded out for the Chicken Paillard

Crostini prep

We are lucky and have two amazing Italian bakeries within 10 min, this bread was still warm:)

Sliced on the diagonal and placed on one of my favorite thick trivets, these are so great for crostinis

Here is the recipe from Pinch of Yum (click here to see it in its entirety)

Artichoke white bean basil toasts-

• 1 clove garlic
• 1 14-ounce can chickpeas or white beans, rinsed and drained
• a handful of fresh basil
• juice of one lemon (or two, if you love tangy like me!)
• a generous drizzle of good quality olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 heaping cup canned or jarred artichoke hearts, drained
• about 2 cups fresh baby spinach or other greens
• 10 small pieces of whole wheat bread, toasted

1. Pulse the garlic and chickpeas and about half of the basil in a food processor until finely minced and crumbly (see picture in post).
2. Cut the remaining basil into ribbons and chop the artichokes. Toss the chickpea mixture with the lemon, basil, olive oil, salt and pepper, and artichoke hearts. Taste and adjust to your liking.
3. Add the spinach or greens just before serving. Serve on the toasted bread. You can also serve this with chips or in a wrap… endless possibilities, really.

And the fun part….the tablescape- (for these pics brought out the big guns….my Nikon camera:)

This arrangement and the mini myrtles were my starting point….

Gotta love the mini white foo dogs, so cute:)

The charming little myrtle topiaires were a hit

The overall tablescape

Love my John Robshaw custom made tablecloth and matching napkins

Used my oversized silver planter as an elegant beverage tub and the big spray of hydrangeas are from my yard

And the cake is served:)

Birthday cake time! This was a slightly less guilt inducing cake than something chocolatey and decadent….everyone had a few bites

And lots of fresh fruit…. love figs when they are in season plus they are so pretty!

And of course another perk is having flowers from the day before to play around with plus the beautiful gifts brought over-

Isn’t this Mottahedeh tureen gorgeous next to these two jars with my hydrangeas from the lunch!

I was brought these gorgeous flowers…

Thankfully I always have lots of blue and white vases at the ready!

And love this beautiful dish that a friend brought from Ben’s Garden, went right into my powder room and filled it with soaps

And that my friends is a wrap. It was a lot of fun and I love that feeling when all the elements come togehter as you had hoped. I will be hosting another luncheon later this month and then am starting to even think about the Christmas party I am going to host this year. Always fun to start plotting and planning!

Thanks for stopping by, wishing  you a fabulous day,  until next time……

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