summer entertaining Archives - Darling Darleen

Birthday Beach Dinner

Birthday Dinner at the Beach for my 15 year old!

When you live just a mile from the beach and you visit so often that it’s like your backyard, throwing a birthday beach dinner at the last minute is really quite easy. Stella’s 15th birthday crept up and with how busy her schedule is, we were planning her birthday party at the very last minute. In fact we weren’t even going to do anything, but she wanted something nice where she could hang out with her friends. So, dinner at the beach was my first thought and of course I had to put my own twist on it. Her 15th birthday beach dinner party turned out perfect. The weather was pleasant. The beach was not crowded–in fact they were the only ones on the beach the majority of the time. Many of the items– pillows, rugs, sheepskin, throws, lanterns, runner–were items from my house.

I bought the pallets at this location, and when you are done using them you can bring it back, and they will refund your money. Win, win. I then threw down an old vintage rug I had, along with pillows from the house. We brought the sheepskin throws for a cozy touch, and throw blankets if someone was cold.

We wanted to make sure we didn’t bring any glass or breakables on the beach. So the plates were melamine plates, melamine dessert plates and bowls, along with plastic utensils and cups. Since I was so late in putting this together, I decided to have the birthday beach dinner catered by Palmers Market. The food was amazing! After the dinner, the girls wrote birthday wishes on large Chinese lanterns and then we launched them to the sky. It was magical!

I am so happy Stella enjoyed her 15th birthday and was able to hang out with all of her girlfriends. Such a sweet magical birthday beach dinner.

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Summer Solstice Dinner Party

A summer solstice dinner party is the perfect way to gather friends and celebrate the longest summer day of the year! Also its the perfect celebration to launch the first part of summer. We had so much fun hosting a summer solstice dinner party this past June. This was a great excuse to throw an elegant backyard celebration of midsummer. The evening was the perfect temperature and the moon was shiny and bright…when they did finally come out! We asked guests to wear garden attire and be ready to enjoy an evening under the stars.

DECOR

We created an intimate table setting for the summer solstice dinner party with numerous white candles that were scattered down the length of the table and mingled in between seasonal cut flowers placed in mason jars. Many of the flowers came from the property’s garden. I made flower crowns for each of the guest, which they wore throughout the evening. The flower crowns also make for a beautiful table decoration, which we placed on each of the guest’s table place.

FOOD

The inspiration of the dinner party was to create a farm-to-table communal atmosphere of fresh herbs, meats, seasonal fruit and vegetables. We wanted to showcase summer produce and use them in all of the different food course. To create a communal eating atmosphere, we decided to serve all the food on charcuterie boards. The guests loved this and it encouraged conversation as they enjoyed the variety of food, dips, colors and flavors. Charcuterie boards are just so beautiful to look at and to eat!

To save money we decided to make the boards! We just cut two birch boards the length we wanted. We cleaned them and then once dried, used food grade mineral oil and rubbed on both sides. Then we applied olive oil on both sides. To keep the food course going, we would flip the boards to serve the next course. We used a separate board for the desserts.

Here’s the Summer Solstice Menu, which was so amazing and all made by my friend Ashley. No store bought dips or sauce! Most of the food was grilled. For the appetizer we served three different kinds of grilled flatbread, which was probably my favorite course. Then we served a fresh light salad, with the best salad dressing. For the main course, we served lemon salmon and grilled chicken with a variety of in-season roasted vegetables. Then a cucumber melon soup and finally an assortment of miniature desserts like lemon curd with berries, dulce leche cake and molten chocolate cake. So yummy!

Before the evening ended we wanted to do a send off with the large chinese lanterns to send well wishes. But it was windy, so we decided to send each guest home with a lantern to do with their family.

Summer Fruit Drink Recipes with 7UP + FREE Printable

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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by 7UP but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

When the weather warms up, the fruity drinks come out! Summer time is the best time to mix up fruit-infused summer drinks because this is the time produce is the freshest. We do a lot of summertime entertaining in our backyard, and I always like to have a drink table where guests can mix their own drinks. I usually fill a drink dispenser with 7UP, which is the perfect drink base for mixing with fruit and other ingredients. 7UP is neutral in flavor but still sweet, so it pairs well with punch, other sodas and fruit. If you want an alcoholic drink, it also works well with vodka or gin. Having a drink-mixing table with summer fruit drink recipes with 7UP is a great way for your guests to mingle and enjoy their drink of choice.

summer fruit drink recipes with 7UP, drinks on tray, mixed fruit drink ideas with 7UP found at Krogers, summer backyard party ideas, mixing drink table for summer barbecue parties, 7UP drink mix ideas || Darling Darleen

With just a little preparation, 7UP can help get your party started with these delicious summer fruit drinks! To set up a drink mixing table, serve your cut-up fruit in groups of families like citrus, berries, melons, etc. You can use large cutting boards to serve your oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit then use small decorative bowls work great for berries and a large decorative bowl for melons. Don’t forget fresh herbs; they add a flavorful depth to mixed drinks. Have a little jar of toothpicks out on the table, so guests can use a toothpick to put the fruit in their drinks. Simple, quick and easy.

You can pour 7UP in a drink dispenser or you can stop by your local Kroger store and pick up a 6-pack of 7UP wrapped in their limited-time only summer packaging, which is perfect for displaying on a mixing table! These summer fruit drink recipes with 7UP are easy to mix in just three steps! Make sure to download the free printable (link below) to use at your next summer gathering and display it on your drink mixing table as easy instructions for creating your own fruit drinks. Different fruit combinations are included to make it easy for your guests when they are mixing their drink. Have fun with it, and your guests will have fun mixing these summer fruit drink recipes with 7UP!

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