Monday, July 14, 2014

A Birthday and Barbecue


Our sweet Rosy turned three and we had a very low-key birthday party for her this weekend, which means we had family over, I made a few bouquets for the table, and cooked a meal.  It was so nice!  The more birthdays we have for the girls, the more I'm gravitating towards simple parties as they seem to be a lot more enjoyable for all! Plus it was so nice to have the family all together and visit.



I have several old tablecloths that belonged to my grandmother and I love pulling them out for special meals. I brought a card table in and "attached" it to our dining room table so we had enough seats for all the adults.  Then we had a separate little table for the sweet little cousins.   


 There was a time I thought I would never say this (believe me), but one of my favorite things about having friends or family over is cooking a meal for everyone.  Since we're in the midst of a hot July, I decided on a menu of summer barbecue dishes.  We don't eat a lot of pork, but I cooked this pulled pork with spicy peach-mustard sauce (using recently made peach jam) from the cookbook The Art of Preserving, and it was so delicious.  (I'm sorry, I can't find the recipe online anywhere, but the cookbook is worth purchasing if you like to can!) 


Three-color slaw (recipe here)... 


Potato salad (recipe here)... plus sweet pickles and sliced tomatoes from the garden.  (Not pictured, because I get so busy I always forget to take pictures of all the food!) 


  For dessert I made a cake that I saw in my Pioneer Woman cookbook.  Her recipe uses strawberries, but my parents have wild blackberries blooming all over the farm, so I used the blackberries instead.  These were so good!  They are a little tart, but after sitting in a little sugar... oh my...


Now my picture really does not do justice to how good this cake is.  (Not to mention I assembled it in a hurry with everyone in the kitchen watching - ha!)  But here is the link for the recipe and you can view The Pioneer Woman's beautiful photos instead.  ;-)  The cake was a winner.  So delicious and easy too since there wasn't any frosting.  

Just a note on the recipe - I used a dark chocolate almond spread instead of Nutella and I decreased the amount of sugar in the whipped cream to 1/4 cup and used organic granulated sugar instead of powdered.   Also, I baked the chocolate cakes the night before to save time, and put them in the freezer until about 15 minutes before I was ready to assemble the cake.  It worked perfect!

Last night I received a text from my sister-in-law and it was a picture of Rosetta from the evening.  She said, "You should put this picture on your blog!"  It was a picture of Rosetta wearing her pretty birthday dress, grinning ear to ear... and her dress pulled up (unbeknownst to her) with a chicken in her arms.  It's rare to be outside and see Rosetta without one of her chickens, even in a pretty dress!  Too cute!  (And I did want to put the picture up, but decided I probably shouldn't have a photo of Rosetta with her panties showing on the internet!  ;-) )

Hope you have a wonderful week! 

26 comments:

  1. I love that first photo of your sweet little girl! She's a charmer, all right. It's also nice to see you using your grandmother's tablecloths. My sisters and I are in the process of emptying our parents' house following my father's death in April. We've found more than one drawer of vintage linens for tables, dressers, etc. I look forward to using some of them, and seeing you do the same is encouraging, for I'm wary of ruining them. Thanks for sharing your family's special celebration!

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  2. Happy birthday to your sweet Rosetta.
    I too like the idea of family get togethers to celebrate the birthdays. My favorite part is dreaming up a theme and the food for the gathering.
    Looks like you and your family are having a lovely summer.

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  3. Happy birthday Rosetta! What a nice meal and party for her- so sweet. My twin girls are almost 9 months old and it's crazy in a few short months I have to start planning their first birthday party! Eeekkk!

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  4. So sweet! Her dress has a vintage look to it. Love the colors and the pattern. Looks wonderful on her. Where did you find it? Happy belated birthday! Looks like it was a memorable one.

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    1. Thank you! My mom made the dress - I just love it. :-) You can find the pattern here: http://theredfeedsack.blogspot.com/2014/07/vintage-look-dresses.html

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    2. I wondered if she did. Do you know if she got the fabric locally? BTW, your Farm Fresh post was inspiring. Love how you repurpose and reuse with such simple vintage style. Thanks so much for sharing.

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    3. I think she bought it at Wal-Mart! Thanks for your kind words about the flower cart. :-)

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  5. That is exactly what a tiny girl's birthday should be. So much nicer than something held in a restaurant! Love Pioneer Woman cookbook and I must try that cake with the changes you made to it.

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  6. Happy birthday to Rosseta. Everything you cooked looks amazing and very delicious! And this cake is mouthwatering!

    Carpet cleaners Beckenham

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  7. This has it all, warmth, togetherness, sweet, and sweets, and adorable birthday memories too . . .

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  8. Little Rosetta looks so sweet! There is a reason you have a blogger award and this post is one of the reasons. All the over the top kids parties don't hold a candle to this sweet little party. The table, food and family are why your blog stands out. You have all the right ideas to your " keeping it cozy" blog title! I bet the picture of Rosetta and the chicken is adorable! (those are the best) The picture of your cake looks perfect to me! Thank you for writing this fun blog! Happy Birthday Rosetta!
    Patty

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  9. Nice to have a summer Birthday with picnic food, family and the cutest Birthday girl ever. Kathleen in Az

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  10. You are a woman after my heart! Rosetta's party is how I used to have my children's parties when they were little, simple and wholesome. Your table looks beautiful and Rosetta is adorable! And don't you just love the Pioneer Woman?

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  11. Happy 3rd birthday, sweet girl. My baby is soon to turn three as well... how time flies. I was just on your mom's blog and saw where to get the pattern for this dress. So - right!! It's beautiful, they're beautiful.

    Enjoyed reading here today... lovely photos all around. And - oh, the cake!! my Lordy!!

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  12. Happy Birthday to Rosetta! Your party menu looks so good that I think I should host a dinner just to try them out ;) Beautiful girl, sweet dress! Deni

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  13. Happy Birthday to her! The cake looks AHHMAZING! Blackberries are my absolute fave,so thank you in advance for supplying the recipe ;) I have the very same glass tumblers (the green) pictured above (sidenote haha) Anyhow, I completely agree on gravitating towards a more intimate party, having 4 children and close family, it already seems like we have these big parties and its much more cost-effecient. ~Ashley shehimthem.wordpress.com

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  14. Happy Birthday to her. So sweet. :-)
    I love blackberries, they are my very favorite berry.

    Thank you for sharing.

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  15. Wow, that potato salad looks delicious!

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  16. I, too, agree with a lot of the comments that we LOVE how you keep things simple. I think when things are over-the-top it leads to just giving up and not doing anything.
    Johanne

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  17. I would have loved to see that photo of Rosetta, but completely understand you not wanting it 'out there.' You make everything look beautiful. What a wonderful celebration!! Happy day.

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  18. What a sweet birthday! Sounds just perfect for your little one. That cake looks delicious too!

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  19. Happy birthday to your darling girl! The food looks incredible and your table is so pretty.

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  20. Oh Rosy, what a cutie pie. Happy Belated wishes to you little one! I absolutely love the last picture of her with her cake and candles. So special. Did your mom make the pretty floral dress for her birthday? I know she has sewn in the past for the girls. What a pretty floral dress. Your simple dinner looked wonderful Andrea. I will definitely be checking out the recipes.

    Debra

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  21. Your little girl is so cute! I loved your salads and I'm speechless about this amazing cake. Looks killing delicious. Well done!
    Dry carpet cleaners Battersea

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  22. This is the first time I have ever commented on a blog......and I just had to tell you how much I love, love, love your whole blog.....every word. Thank you so much. Joy

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