Although it’s easy to forget sometimes, there’s lots of things in life to cheers about.
For one, summer is actually here {fingers crossed it stops raining!}, which means it’s officially outdoor patio, beach sipping, picnic season – the best season of all. It’s the time where you get to grab your best friends, find a picturesque view and cook up a little something to kick off summer right, which is exactly what a few of my favorite bloggers and I did last week!
Jess of The Golden Girl, Blair of The Fox and She, Lauren of Lake Shore Lady, Kit of The Kittchen, ,and Erin of Color Me Styled all got together at North Avenue beach to celebrate the first few weeks of summer in style. With a few goodies from Jewel Osco, and monogram amazingness from White Elephant Designs, we had the most gorgeous {and delicious!} picnic in the park.
I got to exercise my rarely used cooking muscles and whipped up a tasty modified trifle for desert. It’s basically the easiest recipe on the planet, and you only need a few tasty ingredients to make it – a win-win in my book 🙂
Modified Trifle:
– the juice of 3 fresh oranges
– 1 angel food cake
– 1 cup mascarpone
– 2 heaping tablespoons powdered sugar
– 1 teaspsoon vanilla
– 2 tablespoons milk
– 1 bar dark chocolate
– 1 box of raspberries of strawberries
1) Squeeze the juice from three oranges into your serving dish (or dishes if you prefer).
2) Cut angel food into 1-2″ cubes and spread out in serving dish as well (I’ve also done this with individual cakes which works too).
3) Mix 1 cup mascarpone, 2 heaping table spoons powder sugar, 1 tsp vanilla and around 2 table spoons milk (needs to be spreadable but not too thin).
4) Layer the mixture on top of the cake and add a container of raspberries or strawberries and chocolate shavings.
{Looking for more recipes? Check out what everyone cooked on their blogs!}
How cute are these napkins and cups from White Elephant Designs?! They’re perfect for a summer soiree or a cute photo shoot too!
And can we talk about these ladies for a sec? I feel so lucky to have all these inspiring friends in my life. They’re spunky, smart, and insanely talented to boot – and I am constantly inspired by their creativity and kindness. Thank goodness for girls like these to cheer a gal up after a long week – they’re truly the best 🙂
If you’re looking for the perfect way to celebrate summer, I’d definitely suggest a picnic in the park with your favorite girlfriends for a perfect afternoon.
In other news, I hope you’re all having a wonderful 4th of July week! Lets GSD, and then celebrate this weekend accordingly 🙂 xx
Special thanks to Jess of The Golden Girl and Mary M Cinema
Well, this sure looks like the perfect summer soiree! Glad that you ladies had fun – all that food and the drinks look amazing!
That looks like such a fun picnic! Love the monogrammed touches as well.
xo, Scarlett
The Trendy Chick
If only we were closer, I would LOVE to tag along to events like this. So fun!
Gorgeous! That looks like so much fun!
Well this looks like just a ton of fun! Picnics in the park are always fun 🙂
xo, Jessica || The Petite Diaries
This looks like such a fun picnic! We are having great weather here in the UK, which is quite rare and I'm thinking of having a picnic! Seems like you had fun! xx
http://www.from18tolife.co.uk
This is lovely but MAN it could use some diversity…
How stinkin' adorable! I am definitely feeling up for a picnic in the park right about now 🙂
Beautyosaurus Lex