C & C Hosts a Baby Shower

Happy Thursday! We're almost through the week, and this girl (Katie) can't wait for the weekend to get here. Last weekend I had the pleasure of hosting a baby shower for a long-time college friend. I love entertaining and it was a fun reason to plan and execute on a brunch menu for 18 people. 

Not really being a crafty person, I relied on beautiful flowers (from Trader Joe's), a few paper products (from Shop Sweet Lulu), and a big buffet of food and drinks to do the talking. 

Menu

Butternut Squash and Kale Strata (it needed a little more than the prescribed time to cook)

Gluten Free Greek Yogurt Blueberry Muffins

Watermelon Salad with Mint Leaves (Next time I'd use less onion and dressing than it calls for)

Yogurt and Granola Bar with Fresh Berries

In addition to making the granola for the brunch, I also decided it would make a great party favor. In retrospect, I might not have conquered making ALL of this by myself. Making that much granola is no small undertaking - I had enough granola for an army of hippies. All that being said, it was DELICIOUS, and I think people were excited to take some home. In addition to eating, we played one game (in addition to not being crafty, I'm not really into shower games), where people had to match the baby names to their celebrity parents. I gave away nice lip balm as a prize. 

The guests and the guest of honor were happy, so I'd consider this baby shower a success! 

C & C in the Kitchen - Ladies that Brunch

I recently had some friends (all of which I met through blogging) over for brunch. I do love to entertain in our home...especially if it involves setting the table. It's like when Regan and I were little and played Barbies...we'd spend hours "setting up" our rooms and homes for the dolls to make sure everything was just right. 

But this isn't Barbies, and once I set up, I had to fill the plates too. Game on. One of my friends is vegan, so I got to try out some new recipes, all of which I'd recommend to you! Dishing Up the Dirt has been a go-to lately and the Almond Amazeballs did not disappoint. Next time I'll add more coconut oil or almond butter to make them a little less crumbly. I could have eaten all 12 of these by myself. 

For the main course I made a sweet potato oatmeal breakfast casserole. If you like oatmeal and sweet potatoes this is for you. Instead of the topping (I didn't have a vegan butter substitute), I just used crumbled pecans. This was actually better as leftovers than day-of. I took it to work for breakfast the next few mornings. 

Last, but not least, we had to get our fruits and vegetables. Everyone likes fruit salad and you can never go wrong with a smoothie. The Perfect Green Smoothie (also from Dishing up the Dirt) is my new favorite. 

Add a good dose of gab to the meal, and we could have sat at the table all day. Any favorite brunch recipes?