Showing posts with label Beer garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beer garden. Show all posts

Monday, July 6, 2009

Holiday Weekend, Part I

I hope you all had a WONDERFUL holiday weekend! Mine started out with a little get together on Friday afternoon- I invited a bunch of girls from my church over for lunch, and decided to go with a patriotic theme. Here's a shot of the spread:
I know- I'm such a dork... but I was having so much fun! I had a little beverage area set up on top of the microwave (space is in short supply at my casa).
But back to the food- I tried a couple things I hadn't done before. First were the Caprese Salad Bites. I think I saw them in a magazine (Martha? Real Simple?)... but for the life of me I can't remember which one! I used basil from my 'garden' and a flower cookie cutter to punch the mozzarella cheese.
There was also a ramekin of Balsamic vinegar and olive oil for dipping.
Here are the fruit kabobs that matched the theme.
And I tried this AMAZING bean dip from Smitten Kitchen. Oh my goodness, it was SO good! I stuck to the recipe when it came to the Cayenne pepper (thanks to my tender taste buds), but it was SO yummy and crunch! I also tried the whole-grain Tostidos for the first time, and am now a complete convert!
I also whipped up a batch of our family's Asian Chicken Salad... it's not summer without this tasty dish!
And I made cupcake pops.
The food was yummy, but I was also really pleased with my flowers. I went and bought a BUNCH of daisies at the florist, and you can see them on the table in the first photo. But I also tried out an idea I saw in Martha ages ago.
Yep- it's a toothbrush holder! I got this one at an antique store in Mason last summer, and am just getting around to using it. The holes for the toothbrushes make a sort of grid, which allows the flowers to look SO full! (Is it weird that I'm posing pics of my bathroom?)

After lunch, we headed over to the Beer Garden. Oh man, did we have a blast!
I always forget to hand off my camera, so my lovely friends provided me with these great shots.
So this is what I did on Friday... it was SUCH a fun day, and it was only the beginning of my weekend! Stay tuned tomorrow for tales from Coney Island!