Nesting In The 21st Century

Muffins and Mimosas

We had a girls brunch on the first day of school.  Just a few of us, nothing stressful. It was so fun to get together and drink gobs of coffee and eat a smoked salmon frittata, coffee cake, fresh berries and jam thumprints for something sweet.  When all was said and done we sat talking until 1:30.  Only an hour and half before the middle school kids came home.

I think we are going to make this a yearly tradition.  Perhaps we will rotate homes.  It was fun to reconnect with the girls now that the summer is done.  We always do an end of year lunch in May and it seems fitting to do something to kick the year off.  It was especially great for the little guy.   He is really going to miss his siblings now that they are off to school all day  His little friend came and played all day. He really had a wonderful time.  I worry about what he will do with just me all day...who knows, he might relish the peace and quiet.

The funny thing was that when I invited my sister to come, she had already planned a little get together with her friends.  I loved what she called it "Muffins and Mimosas."  It is a wonderful thing to take the time for these types of things.  I find that life just flys by and if I don't really carve out the time and make the effort I miss some really great opportunities.  I never hesitate to plan a party or special get together for the kids but don't always do it for myself.  Yesterday was a great example of what a little effort can produce.  Everything was done in advance except the frittata and that was essentially a "dump and bake" deal right before the guests arrived.  Couldn't have been easier.  Those are the lessons I keep trying to learn.  Make the effort coupled with Keep It Simple.  The reward?  Good times with good friends.

Thrift Thursday & Odds and Ends

I decided to show off my latest thrifty find on this Thrift Thursday.  I bought this sterling silver server last week.  It was tucked in a corner of a thrift store, under a pile of odds and ends.  Serving platters, gravy boats etc.  It is monogrammed MHR as is the silver bowl I found with it.  This piece has a block type letter sort of old engravers type.  The bowl has a traditional script.  Both silver, both monogrammed and both $7.50 each.  Whoo-hoo.

I do get teased about the whole monograming thing.  I love monograms.  They don't even really need to be my own.  I love the way they look on flatware and serving pieces.  I have a whole collection of vintage monogrammed items.   I love that someone's history is being carried on.  Perhaps sometime a long time ago loved this serving platter and now I do to.  It is kind of neat.

I had a couple of e-mails asking for a close up of the package and the chair swag from the party this last weekend as well as the Nectarine Crumble recipe.  Here ya go.

Nectarine Crumble

8 ripe Nectarines, Sliced

1 stick Unsalted Butter, Chilled

& cut into cubes

Topping Mix:

1/4 cup quick cooking Oats

1/2 cup all-purpose Flour

1/2 cup Dark Brown Sugar

Large Pinch Cinnamon

Large Pinch Nutmeg

Preheat oven to 370 degrees

Blend Topping mix with butter cubes until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Arrange Nectarine slices in a shallow baking dish.  Top with mix.  Bake 25 minutes.  Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

You can use Peaches if you like.

Summer Party

Every year at the Pool and Racket club there is a Steak and Lobster Party.  It started out as a very picnic like event.  We would all bring our plastic plates and flatware and plastic cups.  In the past few years it has evolved a bit.  Groups who would like to sit together plan a themed table with non-plastic everything.  Last year there were lots of brightly colored "fiesta" tables which were so pretty.  We did a Dr. Seuss theme just for fun.   This year there was a wonderful table with a lobster theme complete with tiny red lobsters sprinkled down the center of the table and bright Gerber daisies in  a very tall vase.

We decided that we wanted an un-picnic theme.  Deep purple table cloths with tiffany blue accents and nectarine orange for punch.  It was a blast to put together and it was fun to work with colors which I don't have in my house.  The centerpiece was loads of nectarines which are so sweet this time of year.  I would have used peaches instead but they weren't as fresh and colorful.  The roses were from the grocery store.  I couldn't believe that I actually had three different shades of orange to choose from.  I didn't  realize that there was such a variety of colors.  At $9.99 for one dozen (in this case they call a dozen 14 stems) it was a bargain. 

The table cloths were fabric which I didn't even hem.  I used two different fabrics.  A shiny purple underneath and a more iridescent purple on top.  The bottom fabric was $2.99 and yard and the top $3.99 a yard at Hobby Lobby.  I bought 3 yards of each and it easily made a cloth for a table for 8.  A couple of purple candles from the Crate & Barrel outlet and dishes, etc. from  home and we were set.

I made little swags for the back of the chairs with wider ribbon and little monogrammed tags I made on the computer.  I did matching (but smaller) tags for the gift boxes.  I wrapped 4 x 4" boxes with Tiffany blue tissue paper and tied them with a bow.  The ribbon was half purple-half blue wired (Offay from the Michaels crafts store.)

Inside the gift boxes I put a cellophane bag with the topping for a nectarine crumble and the recipe.  All the guests had to do was slice the nectarines, mix the topping mix with cold butter, sprinkle on top and bake.  I sent them home with a little white shopping bag filled with nectarines.  The other boxes had gummy bears in them.  Each couple got one of each box.

I really enjoy doing this type of thing.  It is like doing all the fun stuff for a party without having to do the cooking.  It fits into my philosophy of making everyday activities special.  We had a great time and all felt pretty spoiled I think...I know I did.  Sometimes it pays to stop and smell the (orange) roses...and the nectarines.