Last Minute Wine and Cheese

 

I went out to the deck, after a long stressful week, with a new magazine to wait for Lee to come home from work.  All of the sudden I realize it's the first evening that it's warm enough to actually sit out and relax!  I jumped up and checked the fridge to see what we had for an appetizer. Just a little bit of cheese, some dried cherries and crackers.  Yes!  The bottle of wine we chilled a few months ago is still waiting for us. 

No planning, no elaborate prep, but 15 minutes later I decided to cut a few hosta leaves and add a centerpiece to the table because it looked so nice.  As I was cutting the leaves Lee pulled up. Perfect timing!

We even got our daily exercise in on our walk to Giuseppi's to pick up a dinner to share.  Lit a fire, invited the neighbors over and stayed outside till 11pm eating chocolates, drinking wine, and catching up with friends.

"The little things?  The little moments?  They aren't little." -  John Zabat-Zinn 

Part Three - Baby Shower - Beaded Bracelet Theme - Food

Melissa and Elena chose an appetizer and salad menu.  They had so much fun (with lots of help from family and friends) and we ended up with a huge selection of tasty treats for lunch. I'm sorry, the pictures just don't do the food justice but I wanted to share a few anyway.

We created an interesting display with tiered servers and boxes tucked under the baby flannel tablecloth to make "lifts and levels".  A garland of hydrangeas flowed down the table, tucked in and around the dishes.

We had a really long table full of food!

 

A beautiful and tasty appetizer made with Olive Tapenade. Click here for the recipe. It's really easy.

Caprese Salad made with fresh mozzarella, grape tomatoes, and fresh basil.