Mother's Day Brunch || Taking a Look Back

In case you aren't aware, Mother's Day is just around the corner!
Seems like we are full speed ahead on 2016, doesn't it?

I wanted to share with you a wonderful Mother's Day event that we had at our church,
Family Life Assembly, last year.
My sister, Lisa, headed this up & it was a really fun day!

The concept was this:  the ladies from our church were assigned a table & they were to decorate it
in any way they wanted, working together with others from their family (or those that they were partnered with) to set a lovely table to accommodate their group & invited guests.
It was so fun to see the creativity & all around pretty tables!

Before we get to pictures of the individual tables, I'll share a few pictures of the buffet.
What a delicious variety we had!

We certainly didn't go hungry!

Now, take a look at all these pretty tables!

Each guest at this table enjoyed eating from delicate china 

& got to take home a lovely potted Gerbera Daisy.

Lots of pretty details to take in here.

Aren't the springy yellow plates such a great pop of color?

Love the accents of bunnies, birds, & vintage doilies ... even some pretty pearls on display.

This table had such pretty flowers, fresh cut from the garden & what a gorgeous candelabra! 

How fun was this table:  watermelons!

The watermelon fruit basket, napkins & crocheted napkin holders were perfect accents.

Lastly, this was a garden-themed table!

My sweet daughter-n-law, Abigail, had the vision for our table & I have to say, it came together

just perfectly!

We had great fun shopping & gathering the supplies to make this just right.

 

After we had lunch, each lady got to take home a prize ...

they just had to put it together first!

There was a station set up complete with all the ingredients to make 'cookies in a jar' ...

flour, sugar, chocolate chips, & so on.

Each of the ingredients were layered in a quart jar, topped with the lid & the recipe tied on top.

(Wish I had a picture of the completed jars!)

We had a game & another couple activities ... 

& 2 moms were given a daily survival kit, filled to overflowing with all sorts of goodies.

Here are a few pictures of my sweet momma, my lovely girls, & my sister ...

And our lifelong friend, Ms. Robin.

 God sure blessed our family with these two ladies & I love them like they're mine.

 Thankful for Paula ... a friend to my mom & to me!

 What a beautiful group of ladies!  Such a honor to make a special day for each of them.

Aleisa, in good company ... a Richmond momma & a Greenwood momma ;) 

Abigail & Robin ... lovely x 2.

Robin & Paula ... appreciate their influence in my life.

What a really great day!

I wanted to share this last year right after our event, but time got away from me ...

but here it is now.

It's always fun to look back on good times with family & friends through events like this.

Spending time together & making memories ... priceless.

And if you are looking for something a bit different to do with the ladies at your church, 

whether it's Mother's Day or anytime during the year, this one is lots of fun.

Just takes a bit of planning & arranging ... all of us are creative & this provides a fun outlet for it!

Thanks for stopping in for a visit!

Toodles ~ 

Who doesn't love a good party?!
You can find me here linking up with these great blogs.
Monday           Amaze Me Monday     Coastal Charm    The Dedicated House
                     I Should Be Mopping the Floor     The Hankful House     The Modest Mom
Tuesday         Titus Tuesday  A Stroll Through Life
Wednesday   Raising Homemakers        Savvy Southern Style      
                              The Thrifty Home   A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Thursday    Between Naps on the Porch    Katherines Corner 3D Lessons for Life
           Hope in Every Season   A Delightsome Life     Lamberts Lately  
Friday      Rooted in Thyme  The Thrifty Groove   Farm Blog Hop   Flea Market Friday   Missional Women
 Best of the Nest  Anything Blue Friday   French Country Cottage  The Girl Creative
Sunday    Nifty Thrifty Things   Simple Saturdays    Sew Many Ways

Banana Upside Down Cake

MIA much?
Guilty as charge, folks.
Caught red-handed.

I miss blogging so very much, but I just haven't been able to carve out any time to get on here!
I probably should just quit pretending to be a blogger
(which makes me giggle cause I am so not a legit blogger) but just when I think I'm going to pull the plug,
I say to myself:  who makes the rules in the blogosphere anyway!
Right?!
So, here I am again ... rolling at my own speed.


Thought I'd share a new recipe with you today to make up for all the nonsense.
What's life without a yummy new dessert recipe every now & again?

I wish I would've taken time to arrange the bananas all perfect-like, but ... I didn't.  Oops.  Didn't effect the taste one bit ;)  See ... told ya.  Pretend blogger.

 

I ran across a Banana Upside Down Cake recipe the other day & within a few hours,
it was in my oven, on my table, & in my belly!
I think you need it in your life too, so here's the 411:

Ingredients:

Toppings (bottom of the pan)

1 cup brown sugar

6 Tbsp. butter, melted

4 bananas, sliced into 1/4" pieces

Cake

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup mashed banana (about 2 medium sized bananas)

1/2 cup milk

1 tbs vanilla

1/3 cup oil

2 eggs

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. 

Coat a glass baking dish with cooking spray.

(I used a 8x11 baking dish.)

Melt butter & pour into baking dish.

Sprinkle in brown sugar & then banana slices.

In a large bowl, thoroughly combine all dry ingredients.

Add in the wet ingredients and mix until completely combined and no lumps remain, 

being careful not to over mix. 

Pour cake mixture on top of bananas. 

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cake cool for 5 minutes in pan then turn out on a large plate or platter.  

Cake is best served warm out of the oven but will stay moist and fresh stored in an airtight container.  

*Tip:  I made this with gluten free all-purpose flour, 2 cups.

Serve this with a scoop of vanilla ice cream & you'll be loved for life!

This is a comfort food kind of dessert & I'll definitely make this one again.

Enjoy!

Who doesn't love a good party?!
You can find me here linking up with these great blogs.
Monday           Amaze Me Monday     Coastal Charm    The Dedicated House
                     I Should Be Mopping the Floor     The Hankful House     The Modest Mom
Tuesday         Titus Tuesday  A Stroll Through Life
Wednesday   Raising Homemakers        Savvy Southern Style      
                              The Thrifty Home   A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Thursday    Between Naps on the Porch    Katherines Corner 3D Lessons for Life
           Hope in Every Season   A Delightsome Life     Lamberts Lately  
Friday      Rooted in Thyme  The Thrifty Groove   Farm Blog Hop   Flea Market Friday   Missional Women
 Best of the Nest  Anything Blue Friday   French Country Cottage  The Girl Creative
Sunday    Nifty Thrifty Things   Simple Saturdays    Sew Many Ways