Entertaining

Food, Family, and Friends . . .

I enjoy hosting parties for my family, and occasionally, my friends. In this section, I'll give you tips, pointers, and ideas on how to make your party as fabulous and as fun as mine! :)

Pre-Christmas Brunch (December 21, 2013)

I hosted my first Christmas brunch and what a great success it was!  :)  Check out my pictures below.  

Brunch plate:  Mini quiche, potatoes, ham, bacon, sausages, pancakes, egg, and southern grits :) YUMMM!

Me, sitting by the tree. :)

Me and my mother. :)  

From left to right:  my sister, my mother, and of course, me. ;)

My aunt Sandy and my uncle Bo - glad they come join us. :)

My stepfather and my mother - both looking gorgeous!  :)

My sister, me, and my stepfather :)

Fall Harvest Tea . . . (October 12, 2013)

Like always, I have a tea party each October to welcome fall and the changing seasons.  I know the beginning of Fall is in September, but September is sooo busy for me, I can't find the time.  The theme of this year's party was harvest.  I served foods that reminded me of fall harvest - potatoes, carrots, pumpkins, etc. . .   I had a great tea party with my family.  Just being together with the ones I love is truly a blessing.

I decided to use my little brown teapot as a center piece.  The color really made the table look and feel like fall.

Dainty sweet potato tartlets with wiped cream was a great idea for dessert.

Fresh apples really helped bring out the color of my tablescape.

I got those little plagues at Wal-Mart for only $.98!  What a steal. 

 I chose white candles because they went well with my white plate set.

Yummy Fresh apples.  I love this time of the year because you can always find great apples! 

Homemade pumpkin cookies and yummy cranberry scones are great with tea or coffee.

This was high tea, and so serving real food, not sweets, was appropriate.  I made foods that reminded me of fall.  Remember to have plenty of vegetables!

Sweet potato tartlet about to be devoured!  ;)

Mother's Day Luncheon

We decided to do something a little different for my mother this year to show her how much we really love her and appreciate her!  She's the best and without her, I don't know where I'd be - or if I'd be for that matter.  ;)  I put together a charming little lunch for her consisting of fresh, premade wraps on different types of wrap breads (wheat, spinach, plain and tomato), Zuppa Tuscana soup that I got from Olive Garden, hotwings that I made quickly, chips, and for dessert there was ice cream and cake!  On this day, my mother got to sit back and relax as we showed our appreciation to her!  I hope your Mother's Day was as great as my mother's!  ;)

Love,
Torri ;)

My mother with a basket full of gifts from Estee Lauder - her favorites!

Easy, but charming little luncheon!

Fall Dinner Party (2012)

I've been having this blog now for 3 years, and for all of you who are following or are checking in know that each autumn I try to do a dinner party to welcome in the season.  Autumn's my favorite season of them all.  I love the colorful leaves, the harvest vegatables, and or course the two most important holidays - Thanksgiving and Halloween.  Important because in my family, I am the one who hosts them both!  :)  Anyway, this year I decided to do a fall party that was very comforting.  I thought outside of the box and came up with a menu that was surely liked by my family - my sister's yummy Italian lasagna, served with a fresh salad, corn, buttered french bread, and hot, cripy onion rings! For dessert I made a delicious blueberry cake.  What a great dinner to welcome autumn!

 

 

Blueberry cake (see recipe section to get this tasty cake recipe)

POPCORN BOXES = PIZZA & MOVIE NIGHT!

I got this cute little popcorn box at Target for only $1.00. I bought a couple of them, and in doing so, I got inspired to host a popcorn/movie party for me and my friends. :) These little boxes were the highlight of my party....

..... but the food that I served - hotwings, pizza, veggie dip and veggies -were the star! The movie I chose was something I had seen already, but one that my friends hadn't. It was "Predators!" It kept our attention and kept us on the edge of our seats! Point of this post is that anything as silly a $1.00 popcorn box can lead to an AWESOME gathering for you and your best buddies! :)

Fall Tea Party--Tea by Candlelight

The perfect Fall Tea Party table! :)

Simple Easter Tablescape (Easter '10)

I've never really done an Easter table before, but this year, I decided to do something a little different. Since Easter is the first holiday of spring, I suggest that you decorate with all things spring--flowers, pastel colors, baskets, etc... For my table center piece, I used two flower girl planters that my mother made for me awhile ago. They looked beautiful with the pink candles. I'm so glad I had the idea to spread the Easter grass around the table and the plates. I think it just added more fun to my decor. :)

The Perfect Thanksgiving table

I was a little uncertain how I would create an inviting, attractive Thanksgiving table this year. I got my inspiration from Ina Garten (one of my favorite Food Network chefs), who said that a table top should reflect the season. Since Thanksgiving is in the autumn of the year, I wanted to create a table using fall colors and things that remind us of the harvest. Deep oranges, browns, yellows, reds, and green gave my table scape that warm, harvest feel that I was looking for. The candles that I lit added a romantic, inviting feel to the occasion.

Fall Tea Party

I love tea and tea sets! And my love of English traditions and culture, combined with my love of tea and tea pots, inspired me to host my very first tea party! I wanted this party to be a particularly special one for my family, especially for my aunt, Sandy, who's going through a lot since her husband recently found out that he has cancer.

For my tea party, which was on on October 31 (Halloween Day), I pulled out my best tea set--my pristine white, rose print set, with gold trim (reminiscent of a Royal Albert that I once saw). The theme of my party was relaxation and comfort, and I decided to serve foods that reflect both comfort and warmth.

Main Menu:
--Zuppa Toscana Soup (courtesy of Olive Garden Restaurant)
--Petite Tarragon Chicken Salad Sandwiches
--Petite Turkey and Baby Swiss Sandwiches

Sweets:
--English Strawberry Scones w/ strawberry jam and butter (you'll find the recipe here)
--Belgian & English Butter Cookies

Drink:
--Tea (Tazo, English Grey, Chai, Green Tea, & Ginger)

It is important when having a tea party not to over do it with the food. Keep everything simple and in small portions. For example, sandwiches should be cut into small, dainty pieces. It is also important to have various types of teas. Remember, it's a tea party and tea should be the highlight of the evening, as it creates great conversation and taste! :)

You'll find pictures from my October 31 Tea Party below:

A patriotic table

My inexpensive, Memorial Day, tabletop is festive and patriotic!