Birthday Barbecue

We've lived in our house for almost 6 years and it seems that every Spring and Summer we're working on smartening up the back patio.  I consider the space another room in our house since we live in such a warm climate and use it year round.

This year we decided to re-arrange the Pottery Barn Chesapeake sectional sofa to create a more functional seating area.  Here are the before pics from last summer... boooooring.

The new set-up works great for entertaining.  Which brings me to the Birthday Barbecue we hosted for our family to celebrate my husband's b-day last weekend.

We offered some light hors d'oeuvres of nuts, veggies, chips & onion dip before dining el fresco on some BBQ chicken, pasta salad and homemade cornbread.  The pillow covers are from Etsy.com.

You can't have a party without some cocktails!  I always set up a "help yourself" bar to help create a casual experience and allow guests to feel at home.

Sunflowers in a mason jar make for such a bright and cheery centerpiece.  They are bold and make quite a statement in an outdoor area to help anchor the space.  The rule of thumb is to work in odd numbers when creating a flower arrangement.  I used 5 sunflowers here and filled in the blank spaces with Yellow Calendula that I picked up at Trader Joe's for around $10.

How cute are these coastal candle lanterns and rustic jute table runner?  Homegoods!  $9.99 each!

These wine barrels are my new babies.  Andy found them on Craig's List for a whopping $60 each.  Here they are being used as tables for the birthday cake and some flowers.  But we have plans for these babies this summer.

I try my hardest to prepare EVERYTHING the day before or morning of any party.  That way I can fully enjoy our friends and family instead of running around like a stressed out lunatic in the kitchen.  It was such a relaxing evening.  The chill summer tunes were cranking on the outdoor speakers, Andy at the grill, the kids playing in the backyard, me... drinking wine.  Great night.

And great cake!  I'll share that with you later this week.

I'm sharing today's post with the Summer Spruce-Up Series and the Outdoor Extravaganza linky parties today!

Homemade Cornbread Muffins

So my man is 34.  He's finally catching up to me!  Well, not quite.  He's not one that is big on being the center of attention.  But he knows his woman loves to throw a party so he agreed to a small family gathering in the backyard for a classic BBQ.  The skies were blue and the weather was just right.   On the menu: Barbecue Chicken - Peas & Pesto Pasta Salad - Spring Salad - Homemade Cornbread Muffins.  It doesn't get more traditional American than that!!!   

These muffins were delish and of course the first to get gobbled up by the little people.  They were the perfect compliment to the sweet BBQ chicken.  Mouth watering good, if I do say so myself! 

What you'll need...
12 servings

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 pound unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs, room temperature

How To...

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners or spray muffin tins with cooking oil.

Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.

In a separate bowl, combine the milk, melted butter, and eggs.

With mixer on the lowest speed, pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and blend until just combined.  Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure all the ingredients are completely blended.

Spoon batter to the top of each muffin tin.  I like to use a large ice ream scoop so that each muffin is the same size.

Bake for 30 minutes, until the tops start to brown.  Test with a toothpick - if it comes out clean the muffins are done.

Cool and remove from pan.

Click here for printable recipe

Be sure to check back this week for the yummy cake I baked for the Birthday Boy and how I decorated the back patio!

Sharing with these fab blogs...

A Humble Creation * Boogieboard Cottage * Coastal Charm * Suburbs Mama * So Much Better With Age * Craft-o-Maniac * Creating My Way to Success * i Should Be Mopping Up the Floor * Lines Across * The Dedicated House * Huckleberry Love 

Coo-Coo for Cookbooks!

Did everyone have a wonderful Mother's Day?!  I can hardly believe almost a week has already past.  The boys and I crashed Andy's business trip in Santa Barbara this week.  We had the best time and you know time always flies when you're having fun.

Today I'm sharing some of the super sweet and thoughtful Mother's Day gifts I received from my family.  Barefoot Contessa Cookbooks - The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, Parties and Family Style.  I literally read each of these like a novel in one sitting.  There are so many amazing recipes and entertaining tips not to mention the incredible food photography - OBSESSED! I suspiciously suspect the hubs was hoping to benefit from a gift like this.  He's such a great taste tester.

Are you aware of the HAPPY CHIC collection by Jonathan Adler available at JC Penney? I heart everything in the collection.  Especially these Apple Bookends.  How perfect are these for cookbooks in the Kitchen??

Our kitchen was looking a little sterile so having my cookbooks displayed on the counter adds  decoration to the countertops and easy access to my fav recipes.  Decor meets both form and function!  High Fives all around, Ladies! 

Here are a couple pics from our Santa Barbara trip.  I made the rookie blogger mistake of forgetting the camera up in the room every time we went out.  Wooopsies.  Thank God for iPhones.  I'll be sure to take better pics next time since I think we're going to make it a habit of tagging along whenever there's a business trip to SB!

We spent the majority of our days swimming in the wading pool at the hotel.

Andy's birthday is tomorrow and we're hosting a little BBQ in the backyard.  Everything on the menu is sure to come from my new Barefoot cookbooks.  I'll be sure to share next week.  Have a great weekend!

Hanging Mason Jars

I should buy stock in Mason Jars.  All different shapes and sizes are literally stock piled in our garage.  They're so versatile... and cheap!  You can pretty much find them at any hardware store sold in packs of 12 for around $10.  We use them in the kitchen for storing cut up fruit and leftover marinara sauce, we also use the 8 oz size as drinking glasses for water, milk, beer and wine.  We use the pint size jars outside as candle lanterns to light the patio and porch.  They're also great for storing leftover paint in the garage.  I could go on and on.  But today, I'm using a large pint size mason jar to hang some flowers in the guest bedroom.

You don't need major skills to make a hanging mason jar.  All you need is a jar and some wire.  For this project I used some rustic wire from the craft store.  It's easy to bend into all kinds of shapes and strong enough to support a relatively heavy item.

First, cut about 2 feet of wire.  Fold it in half and twist it making a little loop.  Then wrap it around the bottom lip of the mason jar.  Twist the wire around so that it fits nice tightly around the mason jar.

You can keep twisting or trim it like I did here.  Lastly, bring the wire around to make the hanging part and pull it through the original loop you made.  Twist it tight around the loop.

It doesn't get much easier than that!

Hope all you moms out there have a fantastic and relaxing Mother's Day!

Sharing with these fab blogs...

Suburbs Mama * So Much Better With Age * The Blackberry Vine * Clean & Scentsible * Homework * i Should Be Mopping Up the Floor * The Dedicated House * Huckleberry Love * Serenity Now * The Shabby Nest * Thirty Handmade Days * Truly Lovely * Simple Home Life * Happy Hour Projects