The V Spot

Rants, observations, and home decorating... from a woman with no time for a blog.


Mother’s Day Wrap-up. No pictures of people, but pictures of Pom-Poms. Duh.

20 Comments

I just washed and put away the last champagne flute from our annual Mother’s Day Brunch. This is the 5th one we’ve hosted, and each time it gets a little easier to put together.

I change the theme and/or color scheme each year.  I was going to do this turquoise and apple green, with pops of tangerine last year, but I got derailed by my Robin’s egg blue and brown chandelier idea.  (Ooh! Shiny! Where was I…?)

Oh yes, the colors.  It didn’t work out exactly like I envisioned.  For one, there were too many “pops” of tangerine and it looked like an accident as opposed to an accent. Oh well.
Because I was trying to use what I had, I opted to spray paint the tissue paper pom-poms I made, rather than buy the expensive colored paper.  These worked out to about 40 cents each, rather than $2 each.

Handsome Hubby used some fishing line and hung them up for me.
I was able to put less on the table because there was so much happening above it.  (Actually, one should put less on the table since there was so much happening above it…)

I used a glass vase, tangerines, and iceberg roses from my yard for a quick and simple flower arrangement.  I’ll show you how simple this fruit/flower thing is tomorrow.

Knowing well in advance what colors (or theme) I want to use in our Mother’s Day Brunch or in Thanksgiving, (which we also host) allows me to pick up items I need well ahead of time and for a lot less money.  In January I spied this apple green paisley fabric on clearance.  I was able to pick up several yards for pennies on the dollar and just hold onto it until May.
(Later this week, I’ll show you the super easy way to recover ratty looking outdoor furniture with fabric and a glue gun.)

That little turquoise coffee table was a roadside rescue that my sister brought me.  Have I mentioned how very much I love spray paint…?

However, all the decorating and details in the world don’t matter if you don’t have good food.

We always serve a French Toast (stuffed with cream cheese, sauteed pears and rosemary) and these baked eggs in a polenta & bacon crust….

…and for the past 3 years, Handsome Hubby has made old fashioned chicken fried steak and country gravy.  (I just pretend I don’t see him cook the steaks in real lard….)  Sooooo good

We also serve up fruit and baked goods, etc. The key to a successful buffet is making sure the food comes out at the same time.
We choose dishes that can be prepared in advance.  I do whatever I can to prepare my dishes (the eggs & French toast) ahead of time.  Once guests arrive, I try to grab a glass of champagne and stay out of the kitchen as much as possible.
(Obviously I’d jump back in if HH needed me, but he’s pretty on top of things.)
One of the things we do is figure out what time we want to eat.  Then we subtract the cooking times from the “eating time.”  That way we know what goes into the oven when and it all comes out at the same time.  (Having double ovens is very helpful on days like these.)

Our guests were to arrive around 10:30 (I love how he called it “show time” He’s so cute.)   We wanted to serve brunch at 12:15.  HH makes a list to keep track of what time to put the different dishes in the oven.  (He’s very organized.)

Viola! The food is all ready at once and served up hot.

See the empty plate on the top tier?  Yeah, that’s where the 4 pounds of strawberries were going to go.  Except that I forgot to put them out. Dang it.

Now here’s irony for you.  On Mother’s Day, I got a cute picture with my Handsome Hubby…

…but not with my boys.  I don’t have a single photo of me with the boys from Sunday.

And I got a cute picture with my sister and my dad…

…but not with my mom.

Whatever.  Next year I’ll do it better.

Comments

  1. It all looks great! As usual. 🙂
    I can’t believe you FORGOT the strawberries. Seriously! LOL
    The chicken fried steak looks freaking amazing.

    Reply

  7. You are quite the entertainer. I may have to find out where you live and be your neighbor or something 🙂

    LOVE turquoise and orange together! I can’t wait to see more pics of the center pieces tomorrow.

    Reply

  9. I love that you took a picture of the party prep, decorations, etc and not of you with the boys or your mom. Too funny. Looks like a blast. I should try to host something similar next year.

    Reply

  11. Everything was beautiful and sounds delish. Bummer about the strawberries, I always forget one thing for Christmas dinner, usually the fried corn or rolls. Oh well…

    I love setting fruit in my vases, whole or sliced I don’t care I just love the uniqueness of it!

    Reply

  13. The food looks AMAZING! Chicken fried steak is my favorite. I would love to do a brunch like this for Mother’s Day. It is such a great idea. I also adore the idea of spray painting the poms. So smart.

    Reply

  19. Too much orange…I didn’t look like it. I loved the tangerines 🙂 Everything looks lovely right down to the food. My favorite is the list with HH keeping track of the times…love him.

    Reply

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