Mother's Day + Landscape Updates.

Oh, hello. Is there anyone still out there reading? I've been slack lately, but honestly, it's been kind of nice to step away from the blog for about a month. I was thinking about giving the blog up completely, but just this morning decided against it. I probably won't be posting as frequently as I used to, but hey, something is better than nothing, right? Right. On to Mother's Day...

This was our third year in a row hosting a Mother's Day brunch at our house (2014 / 2013). We love hosting get-togethers at our house. It lights a fire under our you-know-what to get projects done and we get to hang out with people we love! A winning combination. 

I decided to go a little fancier this year and broke out our special china. I used cloth napkins and our gold silverware, which were both given to us as wedding presents. Peonies were ridiculously inexpensive (3 stems for $4!) at Harris Teeter over the weekend so I scattered them around the house. All beverages and glassware were set up on the bar, which I failed to snap a photo of. 

On the menu:

Fresh Fruit

Rosemary and Pecan Encrusted Bacon

French Toast Casserole

Shrimp and Grits Pie

Mimosas

Bloody Mary's

Cucumber + Mint Infused Water

Coffee

I'm definitely framing this pic.

Everyone left around 4:30pm and I immediately changed into my comfy clothes. Exhausted doesn't even begin to describe it after a weekend of non-stop activity. I poured myself another mimosa, plopped on the couch, painted my nails, caught up on my tv, and didn't move until bed time. 


Going back to house projects, this year prior to our brunch we focused on our landscaping. Cameron is pretty obsessed with our yard (there could be much worse things for him to be obsessed with!), even to the point where he looks up #yardwork on Instagram. He's going to kill me for saying that, but I think it's cute. 

The first thing we did was rake all of the old pinestraw out of the beds. In the backyard (first picture below), we installed gardenias, hydrangeas, geraniums, and impatiens. The two tall skinny trees (crepe myrtles) were already there. 

Up front we installed boxwoods, "purple pixie" loropetalum, white lantana, and plumbago. It will look really awesome once they start to grow!

Now I'm banning any kind of yard work for atleast a month. You hear that, Cameron??

Mother's Day Brunch Menu + Some Pics.

Breakfast casserole

French toast casserole

Pimento cheese grits

Our Second Annual Mother's Day Brunch was another success! Hooray! Last year's menu was so well received, I decided to do the exact same thing. If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it. For the first time, maybe ever, Cameron and I were ready to receive guests about 30 minutes before they arrived. Usually, we're scrambling to finish cleaning or cooking, even after guests arrive! 

The bar set-up

Fur-moms need love, too!

My beautiful, sweet, and giving momma. 

The Mr. and I

Hope all of you moms, soon-to-moms, and fur-moms had a wonderful Mother's Day!

Now April, we're ready to meet your babe!!

Supper Club, needtobreathe, and Mother's Day Brunch Menu.

Friday night we had Supper Club at Emily & David's house. All of the food was so tasty and my chocolate brownie trifle was a hit! The bowl was pretty much licked clean by the end of the night!

Saturday we spent all day cleaning the house and getting it ready for Sunday. Drove to Folly Beach to celebrate Cameron's grandma's husband's 90th birthday, then went to La Hacienda for some pre-concert drinks with Justin and Jenny.



 

After the nastiest margaritas I've ever tasted and a refreshing beer, we headed to the Performing Arts Center. It was our first time seeing a show at the PAC and we both thought it was awesome! Intimate and amazing acoustics. We had great seats, right in the middle, but being in the middle, it was a longgg walk through people to go to the bathroom. Needless to say, we did not drink that much.

 

The opening band, Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors, were AWESOME! Think Lumineers sound. In between bands, Jenny and I stood in line to meet Drew and get his autograph so we can say we met him before he made it big. Because they will. 
Please excuse my double jointed thumb.

 

 A few pics from the needtobreathe concert:

 

On Sunday, we invited our parents, my sister, and our grandmother's over for a brunch! I was so excited to pull out all of our new plates, platters, etc!

 

Here's what I served:

 

French Toast Casserole

 

Breakfast Casserole

(or Egg Bake, as Cameron's family calls it)

 

Pimento Cheese Grits

(All thanks to Natalie for telling her readers about the ones that she ordered at a restaurant last weekend!)

 

Fresh Fruit Salad

I received so many compliments so I'd say it was a success! I'll never make grits without pimento cheese again!

 

Hope all of you blog (and fur) mamas had a wonderful Mother's Day!