Wedding Preparation - Cake Table and Flowers

Pulling all the elements together for the cake table - calling  all cupids and cherubs immediately to report for duty!



Sweet statue from Joy at SavvyCityFarmer- Had to find the girl something appropriate to wear,
so I layered her with an old piece of trim from a vintage dress.

This little cupid will be holding a plate of sweets or maybe a candle- haven't decided yet.

A killer cake plateau for the 3 tiered wedding cake

Hand embellished with vintage rhinestone jewelry.

To die for- tablecloth puddled on the floor.   burlap and tulle petals.
so romantic and available at Romancing the Home in 2 sizes - 92 inch and 122 inch rounds.
This table is 48 inches round and allows for the perfect amount of puddling.

Just look at the detail - fluffs up beautifully after 5 minutes in the dryer on fluff cycle!

reporting for duty!

salmon and rose cockscomb, white hydrangeas, queen annes lace and pink and yellow dahlias-
ordered from the flower vendors at the Lake Bluff Farmers market this morning

20 bundles of these colors coming

lots of white hydrangeas in my garden right now!

Pretty combination

another cherub box ready to hold chocolate dipped pretzel rods.

 

It's just one week and 2 days until Amy and John's wedding reception and there is a lot to do today. This morning was the Lake Bluff Farmers market, so I needed to order flowers for next weekend from the flower vendors. Just coming into season are dahlias, large specimens of queen anne's lace and cockscomb. So I placed a special order for each of these and then purchased  some of each  to take home and test  that they stay pretty and fresh from today until late Sunday.  The last thing I need on next Sunday morning - the day of the party- is to find droopy zinnia heads in the  arrangements for the porch. So this weekend is a practice run.  I love all the textures and colors together.   We plan on mixing them with pink and lavender mums and white pumpkins if I can find them.  The bar will be set up on our wrap around porch, along with a lot of wicker seating, so we want lots of fresh floral decor for that area of the party.  After  returning from the market this morning, I set up the sweets table with the fabulous new tablecloth that we sell  at the store.  I was a little worried that it would look too big on my 48 inch table, but it looks great.  I love the romantic puddles  of material on the floor.  Polished silver pieces are gathered for the table and will be labeled with post-its as to what sweet treat they will hold.  The rest of the day will be spent gathering and washing assorted vintage plates and glasses for the bar and food tables. We are using a mix of dishes, however they have to look romantic and blend together.  I'll let you know what I find!



Wedding Reception Preparation Begins

Time to repair the broken arms and wings and clean out the cobwebs!

Freshen up the front flower beds !Cut back the dying summer flowers and plant a few new perennials for next year!

Fertilize and pamper the new  roses so we have plenty in 2 weeks!

Ask Laurell to perform a "little paint magic" and make all the candlesticks look vintage!
Awesome job - this thing used to be a horrible shade of blue.

Start gathering the props- velvet pumpkins, rhinestone pins - ribbon flowers-
to enhance the silver, blush and gold  tablescapes.

Frames ready for Laurell's aged mirrors - being used as the serving trays for the food.

Little gold etched votives enhanced with rhinestones for the food tables.



Little hand colored  and glitter embellished cards to identify the food on the buffet. Graphic is from the Graphics Fairy.

We used colored pencils, rhinestones and glitter to personalize the cards.

Let the Eat Cake martini from Tori Spellings new book - CelebraTORI
vanilla vodka, cranberry juice, pineapple juice, half and half with a white icing and pink sugar rim
Angel Food cake with vanilla icing top as garnish- how cute and girly!

 

 

Amy's (one of our  Romancing the Home girls) wedding reception is  in 2 weeks and the entire Romancing the Home staff is hosting  it for her and her new husband John!  Everyone is involved in the food preparation and decor of the event.  So for the next 2 weeks, I'll be sharing our progress as we prepare for the party. It's time for me  to do those chores one puts off -like getting  the summer cobwebs down! As the party is at my home,  Mr. RTH spent the weekend in the garden, freshening up the borders. We finished  the music  playlist for the party- full of new and old love songs- with input from everyone.  Downloading the menu card from The Graphics Fairy, we typed in the names of the foods and printed them on parchment card stock. Hand colored and  glittered, they are now  ready to identify  the items on the buffet.  Laurell came over yesterday with the  mirrors that she had antiqued for the old gilded frames that will be used as  the food trays.  While she was over, we found this delightful "Let them eat cake" martini in Tori Spelling"s  new book - "CelebraTORI. We decided that they would be perfect for the sweets table - so things keep changing as we go!  We are having so much fun planning this!

Tiny Tomatoes

The arbor that was built last summer from juniper trees removed from our yard

The arbor covered with tiny tomatoes this summer!

Tomatoes have grown all the way to the top of the 9 foot structure!

Red currant, baby yellow Roma's, and cherry tomatoes for dinner tonight!

 

 

Remember the arbor that Mr. RTH and our friend, Dave, built for me last summer?  Well, this year we decided to plant red currant, baby Roma, and cherry tomatoes on it. It all started with  Mr. Coykendall, at Blackberry Farm, who gave me a heirloom red currant tomato plant to bring home.  I must say that this little little little tomato really packs in the flavor.  I love roasting these on the vine to accompany a main dish.They are very sweet and have that old fashioned tomato taste from our childhood.  Who would have guessed that 6 little tomato plants only 10 inches tall would have grown this tall and this big  in several months?  Mother Nature really  is awesome!

Easy Sunday Morning Brunch

Love the rhinestone collars for wine bottles or decanters - available at  the store

My favorite champagne glasses- Palais by Bayel in France

Puffed and golden brown just out of the oven

 

I wanted to prepare a simple -no stress- brunch for Sunday morning. So I assembled an Overnight

Raspberry French Toast the night before that was so easy.  The next morning I took the casserole out of the refrigerator and added the crumble to the top along with the fresh raspberries and popped it in the oven.  The smell was divine as the French toast baked.  Asiago and Parmesan scrambled eggs and uncured applewood smoked bacon were leisurely prepared while  the casserole baked. As a finishing touch, I sliced fresh oranges and added raspberries with a little Grand Marnier splashed into the bowl.

A little champagne poured into a glass and breakfast was ready!  Note:  this baked French toast is light, fluffy and very good. I think you could add pecans to the crumble topping and make it  even more deelish.  Any berry could be substituted. While I sliced the challah bread into slices, I think it would have been more consistent presentation if I had diced the bread  into cubes and made French Toast bread pudding- something I will try next time! But definitely a keeper of a recipe and one that can be easily adapted. We will be joining www.betweennapsontheporch.net for Tablescape Thursday.

 

Baked Raspberry French Toast

 

12 slices of bread

8 large eggs

4 T.  granulated sugar

1 1/2 t. vanilla extract

3 c. milk

2 c. fresh raspberries, cleaned

4 T.butter, softened

1/2 c. all purpose flour

1/2 c. brown sugar, packed

 

Butter a 9 by 13 baking dish.  In the prepared dish, arrange the bread in layers, cutting in half as needed for coverage.  In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla and milk. Pour over the bread. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. 

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees.  Remove the dish from the refrigerator and sprinkle the fresh raspberries over the bread.  Combine the butter, flour and brown sugar; blend with a fork until combined.  Sprinkle over the berry layer.  Bake uncovered for 40 minutes or until puffed and brown.

Serve immediately with syrup.



40th Anniversary Dinner at Everest

All of the tables are graced with special sculpures by Ivo Soldini, a sculptor from Switzerand.

Sun just going down as we finally arrived

darkness over the west side of the city

Dining room

Amuse Bouche



My souffle- New Wave Souffle- fromage blanc, compote of peach and pistachios



Mr RTH''s treat - Tahitian Vanilla and Strawberry Glace in Berry Coulis



A special treat given to us by the restaurant



terrine of chocolate crepe and banana brulee in maple caramel syrup

In House Chocolates - served to you with coffee after   your meal.

 

We planned  our 40th anniversary dinner at Everest Restaurant on the 40th floor of the Chicago Stock Exchange.  However, I must say that we could have almost  climbed Mt. Everest in the same time that it took us to drive into the city on Friday night.  It was the longest drive ever - over 2 hours and 45 minutes, so we had to call the restaurant and ask to move our reservation back an hour.  They were so understanding and accommodated our wishes.   As we finally entered the restaurant  ( it is very difficult to find - especially when the city of Chicago has closed all the streets around it to work on the El - and everything is one way - the wrong way- the GPS lady is going crazy telling you to "turn right here" and you can't- you finally find the special parking garage- enter the closed gate and find your way to the inner garage dedicated to Everest- enter a elevator to the lobby and exit to the street level to find another elevator to the 39th floor- exit the elevator and find the special elevator to the 40th floor where you exit and follow a series of hallways to Everest! See what I mean?) However as our "worn out faces" entered the restaurant, the restaurant staff greeted us with smiles  and handed us a martini  and  glass of wine immediately and told us they were sent by our friends- Mariterese and Pat.  What  special treatment and boy did we need them by that  point!  We were seated at a table by the window  just in time to see the sun setting in the horizon and began to enjoy a most memorable meal.  Lobster, fresh oysters, veal tenderloin, venison, special amuse bouches after each course and decadent souffles and creme brulee's were enjoyed while enjoying the Chicago skyline.  The service is relaxed and allows you time to enjoy every detail of the exquisitely plated dishes.  The meal was served over a 2  1/2 hour time, slow and leisurely.  The staff was attentive, but not pushy - just right service! We finished the meal with delicate chocolates from the dessert kitchen, each one a little work of art.  Unfortunately, my phone  pictures are not great  and do not do this place or the food justice.  But this restaurant is a beautiful choice for a special occasion. After a most wonderful meal, we  found our way back down the series of elevators and drove back in home in less than an hour! Love it when there's no traffic!