Saturday, May 10, 2014

Southern Garden Party Recipes

Today I'm sharing with you my favorite recipes for hosting your own backyard garden party, or any party for that matter. Many of these are my tried and true favorites. If you come to an event of mine, they are almost guaranteed to be on the menu!

Sangria
1 bottle (750 ml) red wine (I use syrah/shiraz or cabernet sauvignon)
1/2 cup triple sec
1/2 cup brandy (optional, I didn't include this)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/3 cup frozen lemonade concentrate
1 cup Sprite
Sliced oranges, lemons, limes

Empty bottle of wine into pitcher or drink dispenser. Add triple sec, brandy (optional), orange juice and lemonade. Add sliced fruit. Allow to sit in the fridge for a few hours or overnight for the flavors to meld. Add Sprite just prior to serving. Serve over ice and garnish with fruit. This recipe is easily multiplied to serve more. 


Pimento Cheese Sandwiches
Make this homemade pimento cheese and spread onto white bread, cut off crusts and slice on diagonal. Serve!


Cucumber Tea Sandwiches
Chive Cream Cheese and Cucumber Tea Sandwiches
via
Chop large bunch of mint and dill. Combine with a ratio of 1:1 of softened butter and cream cheese. Add salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Allow mixture to sit for a few hours in the fridge. Spread thinly on white or pumpernickel bread and top with thinly sliced cucumber. Cut crusts and slice sandwiches. Recipe modified from Epicurious.


Glazed Ham Biscuits
 Fill biscuits with ham, cheese, and honey mustard before baking! Recipe.


Curried Chicken Salad Croissants
Recipe to come.


Buffalo Chicken Dip Bites
Make this buffalo chicken dip recipe and bake in ready-to-use phyllo shells.


Pigs in a Blanket


Mac & Cheese Cups
Three-Cheese Mini Macs


Baked Brie Bites
Preheat oven to 400. Fill frozen phyllo shells with small amount of raspberry or mixed berry preserves. Top with 1/2" cube of brie and a pecan half. Bake in oven for approximately 8 minutes. Recipe


Watermelon Pops
Watermelon!
Slice watermelon and cut into triangles. Insert popsicle stick into rind, serve!


Sugar Cookies

Enjoy!!

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Bright Backyard Engagement Party

This past weekend we hosted a big engagement party for Kevin's sister Marielle. She and Chris got engaged a few months ago, but this was the first time everyone was able to get together to really celebrate! They are planning a destination wedding at the beach next April, so this was a great party for everyone that could make it.
Engagement Party Invitation via Etsy
The party was held on Sunday afternoon, it was a beautiful day and actually almost hot!  We were so glad that there wasn't rain, especially since most of the party took place in the backyard.  When I started planning, I wanted to go with a garden party theme, incorporating bright fun colors. I think we achieved that pretty well. Everyone had a great time and commented on all of the details. 
Drink table outside on the deck
Tables on the lawn
Beautiful peonies in mason jars for flowers
Drink station with lots of DIY details
Mimosa bar!
Sangria, yum
Custom reusable cups for the party!
Flowers in mason jars on each table
Gorgeous coral peonies
Tables on the lawn, and lawn games in the background
DIY chalkboard sign
Playing cornhole
Family at the party
The newly engaged couple!
Dessert table, with custom sugar cookies
Beautiful cake with custom cake topper
Cutting the cake
Advice cards for the couple
It was a fabulous party, I know that everyone had a lot of fun! :) Congratulations Marielle and Chris!!

Sources: 
Invitation: Etsy
Cake: Simply Cakes, NC
Rentals: Party Reflections
Cake Topper: Etsy
Cups: Stadium Cups
Flowers: Fifty Flowers

More posts to come featuring the recipes and DIY projects that made the party a success!

Monday, May 5, 2014

Busy Weekend!

Whew, that was a whirlwind weekend! We spent the day yesterday with family and friends celebrating Kevin's sister's recent engagement. We Marielle and Chris a big engagement party at our house. It was a lot of fun and complete with lots of little details (more on those to come in the next few days!).

Here's a sneak peak into some of the pictures from yesterday:

And I definitely could NOT have pulled it all off without the help from my amazing friend Kelsey from Southern In Love!!! Everything went so smoothly with her assistance :)

Hope y'all had a great weekend. We missed the Kentucky Derby... but I hope you had a chance to enjoy the great weather and sip on a cocktail, or two!