Jul 84 min read

BRUNCH WITH FRIENDS AND TABLESCAPE IDEAS

Hello. Hi. Hey, y'all. I'm Diana Claire, and this is me in my happy place. A table set for entertaining, homemade food straight out of the oven, new friends on the way, with the windows open listening to the sound of our trickling creek. Oh, and a clean kitchen, I might add because I clean as I go... a critical life skill I learned while making far too many quiches and scones back in the day. And now, writing this at the end of the evening, reflecting on the food and fellowship, I may be tired, but boy, am I content.

Several months ago, when I wasn't feeling up to even making a grilled cheese sandwich, I came to the realization that I'd never entertain again. It broke my heart, and I cried. I cried off and on for days because entertaining is in my blood, and I couldn't imagine the thought of never entertaining again. From many evenings in my youth helping my mom host dinner parties (I learned from the best!). To my ten years feeding people and making everything surrounding them beautiful while they stayed at the B&Bs that I ran. And all the years in between as a food blogger and a businesswoman, I never shied away from having people over and cooking up a big meal, complete with beautiful dishes, tablecloths, and interesting touches such as mini charcuterie boards at each place setting, my signature candies sprinkled around the table, and the perfect background music always playing.

Today was the soundtrack from a favorite movie of mine, Miss Potter. If you haven't heard the soundtrack yet, I highly recommend it for its whimsy and beautiful arrangements. It is magical and works well for any engagement and all sorts of guests.

Even Heidi wanted in on the action, or more likely, the possibility of some tasty morsels making their way to the ground. I can't believe I'm even here now. But these last few weeks, I've felt better, and I decided to host three ladies from our church and serve a beautiful brunch. My cancer markers have been down, and besides a pretty constant pain in my stomach, which I recently learned is a hernia (yay, me- ugh!), I've had much more energy. So the invitations went out. And my prayers focused on me making it through it all.

It was a beautiful day, not too hot out yet, as our porch really holds the heat once the sun comes out, thanks to our skylights. I just opened all the windows up and was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable it was with the breeze, good conversation and of course, some yummy food.

Each place setting was carefully laid, complete with chargers and my new ruffle plates (all items will be listed below with links to where I purchased them). I even graced each place setting with its own vase and a beautifully fragrant rose from our garden. And, although we have hydrangea growing right out the door from here, I was pleased with these faux blush-colored hydrangea that perfectly fit into a long, wooden planter box that I found last year at a local orchard's gift shop as my centerpiece. These complemented the blush-colored napkins I already had and couldn't have matched more perfectly with the new table square I bought from Pottery Barn. Isn't this pattern gorgeous? Perfect for a ladies' get-together.

I decided to serve some pretty simple food that would hopefully taste delicious, and it did! I went simple with the beverages, serving just orange juice and still water in pitchers on a heart-shaped piece of Corian that my mother had purchased when she had the blue Corian countertops installed in our kitchen almost 30 years ago. So cute! And one can never go wrong with a parfait to grace the center of each place setting. Layer in your favorite fruit, vanilla yogurt, and store-bought granola. Pretty and delicious.

The main dishes consisted of a French Toast Bake recipe that I found online and a Green Chile Egg Bake. I got the recipe from my friend Sue over at Welcome Heart. If you haven't visited her site or private Facebook group, I highly recommend you do. She is an incredible hostess and woman of God, and she encourages thousands of women and me daily to open our homes up to people and share God's love through hospitality. She is also a great writer and wrote for the magazine I used to publish, Oh Wondrous Grace. What a fantastic lady.

So, now to the links. I love it when bloggers and YouTubers add links to products and recipes in case I see something I like or want to try, so I'll do the same here. Nothing is monetized on this blog, and I don't make any commission on Amazon links. These are just the products I love, and I want to share them with you in case you love them, too.

Recipes:

Croissant French Toast

https://nomastehungry.com/croissant-french-toast-bake/

Note: This wasn't my favorite recipe, but it sure was pretty. It called for croissants, but my grocery store was out that day, so I used a loaf of brioche bread instead. This could have been the reason why I wasn't as fond of the recipe as I thought I'd be.

Green Chile Egg Bake

https://welcomeheart.com/eggs-are-everywhere/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3JFu_VNJ1gmFuLIeKwQUle_jjhulIbTvI4PruRXQN2q9D_xsaLrhKUel8_aem_OnkSnyyjMXMPzaJLNrJ7og

Note: This recipe is delicious and brings me back to my youth as it was big in the 90s. I'm so glad to bring it back as it is effortless to make and will be on my lunch menu rotation due to its high protein and simplicity. Please give this one a try for your next get-together.

Tablescape:

Table and chairs: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071CFYL71/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Stem Glasses: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B095RYQRP3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Dessert Bowls: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B189PS51/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Mini Vases: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CZMQFT9W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Chargers: https://www.potterybarn.com/products/chateau-wood-charger/?pkey=s~charger~45&position=0

Ruffle Plates: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CD5QLWTP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Table Square Cloth: https://www.potterybarn.com/products/liana-crewel-embroidered-table-throw/?pkey=s~table%20cloth%20square~20&position=0

Napkins: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09B7WSC8J/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Flat Ware: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08R5YSVF1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Pitcher: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B095SCBK6G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Basket for Casserole: https://www.basketlady.com/products/wicker-casserole-basket