seasonal

A Dose of Pretty

~ Paris ~ Leave a comment

{My current dessert of choice: chocolate covered strawberries.}

This week felt like summer. The days were warm and sunny, making me excited for summer vacation to finally get here. While we’re still over a month out til then, I’m excited to savor the last bits of spring, including celebrating both my birthday as well as my son’s. It was a lovely reminder, however, to start making plans for the next season. After all, I love having things to look forward to. And while I don’t have plans for a big international vacation or tropical destination this year, I am excited for lazy afternoons with girly classics on in the background {e.g.: Legally Blonde, Mean Girls, Miss Congeniality, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, etc.}, curling up with a good book in the early evenings, taking fun day trips to some of our favorite places on a random weekday, and spending more time in the kitchen making treats for my family. I hope you have a great weekend and some fun summer plans you’re looking forward too as well. x

{Blush pink + amethyst-hued irises.}

{Matching boba teas with the sweetest motto – to enjoy life one teaspoon at a time.}

{Backyard blooms: oversized white peonies that just blossomed and smell incredible.}

{Signs of Spring: homemade iced chai on a warm afternoon.}

{The prettiest lavender pathway on an evening walk this week.}

x Paris

Entertaining: Picnic at the Beach + Potato Burgers

~ Paris

With today being national picnic day, an entertaining idea I wanted to share for celebrating properly is: a picnic at the beach, complete with potato burgers!

Years ago, I decided to throw a picnic at the beach. We tend to always eat out whenever we go out of town, but there’s something so charming about bringing your own favorite snacks to enjoy al fresco. During a trip to Bodega Bay, we wandered up to the ocean side of the southern tip of the bay – Bodega Head – where we settled down in a picnic table, assembled our burgers, snacks, and drinks, and attacked our lunch before wandering north on the Sonoma coastline. It was the perfect way to end the summer, and while I adored the potato burgers we made – a throwback to a high school trip we made where we picked up potato patty burgers to snack on while visiting Alcatraz – the best part of the whole thing was enjoying our lunch with the prettiest view of the water. And the seagull posing for our photographs was just icing on the already indulgent cake {as you can see in the final picture}.

Snacks:

Potato Burgers
Potato Chips – we used plain + sour cream & onion
Shortbread Cookies
Strawberries
Apple Mango Sparkling Cider
Water

Ingredients
{Makes 1 Burger}
One Hash Brown Patty
One Potato Burger Bun
Garlic Herb Lemonaise, ~ 1 Tablespoon or to taste
Butter Lettuce, 1 Leaf
Tomatoes, sliced – 2 slices

Recipe

1. Grill your hash brown patty the morning of your picnic to keep it warm.

2. Spread the lemonaise {which is a lemony mayonnaise} on one side of the bun.

3. Top the other bun with a butter lettuce leaf, tomato slices, and the hash brown patty.

4. Top off with the other bun and serve with your favorite snacks such as chips, berries, and cookies.

5. Enjoy!


  x Paris