It seems to be that time of year again in my neck of the woods...outdoor entertaining! It has been exceptionally warm on some days this spring with one day hitting 80 degrees! Despite the weird adjustments to the weather, having our first outdoor event is always so special (we hosted this before Easter--just blogging out of order). Cleaning up the yard, uncovering the patio furniture, and seeing our outdoor hanging lights light up again gets me excited to host friends and family outdoors.
We will be out of town with our in laws this Mother's Day so we decided to host a little dinner for my mom a few weeks before Mother's Day. I set up a table outside with some colorful accents and flowers for our small family gathering.
I really love using wrapping paper lately to add a splash of color and pattern to the table. This green striped one has already been used for our Saint Patrick's Day party and for my sister in law's baby blessing. I am getting a lot of use out of a $3 roll!
My decor rule is stay within a certain color scheme so that when I purchase things like wrapping paper table cloths, paper straws, and napkins, they can all be used interchangeably with one another.
I have quite a lot of serving pieces that I have collected over the years so a new item has to really catch my eye in order to come home with me now. My newest addition is this tiered server that is part of the Martha Stewart line at Macy's. The major selling point was that the three pieces come apart making for easier storage. Grapes have never looked so glamorous.
We hosted this dinner the day after my sister in law's baby blessing so I decided upon a simple dinner menu. Tortellini with chicken, spinach, and peas, tossed in olive oil, garlic, and Parmesan.
My sister in law brought a salad served with the tastiest dressing, Simply Dressed Balsamic. It had a delicious sweet creaminess to it. I went and picked up the dressing literally the next day and have been having it on my salads every day since.
We usually eat dinner pretty early and get to enjoy the light of the sun setting.
Many of the flowers are in bloom, filling in the garden beds well. It is hard to be patient every year as the plants take time to grow. I am finally feeling settled in the plants that I have and that they are showing a sense of establishment.
And then we ended the night with a family race. By far the cutest and funniest thing ever.
