Summer Entertaining – Sunday Morning Coffee
Welcome to Sunday Morning Coffee. This is a place to share, learn, explain, dream, and have fun. Today I am sharing my weekly thoughts about entertaining, decor, crafts, and all of our projects at home, including summer entertaining.
Volume 16
It’s a new month and I have a new theme … Summer Entertaining! It’s the perfect time to be thinking about entertaining and I started last night tonight! We had a wonderful party with friends last night and it was amazing.
A Little Bit About Me
Summer Entertaining
Entertaining is my passion. I love everything about it. The ideation. The prep. The cooking. The decorating. Arranging the flowers. And enjoying a magical evening with family and friends.
I love the challenge of creating new entertaining spaces, over the top decor and fabulous food.
But most of all, I love the look on my guests face when they walk in and the party begins. When my guests arrive and it has all come together, it literally feels like magic. And that is the moment when I realize it was worth the work and that I want to do it all over again.
Last night I hosted a party for 12 people in our Waco home who were very instrumental in helping me with the Waco home remodel. I wanted to do this dinner to thank all of them for their help! I had hoped to do this a year ago but the timing didn’t work and I wasn’t traveling anyway.
But here is the thing. this dinner was so special that I have decided to do this dinner four times a year. So who will be invited?
All of you.
Huh?
Make sure to be following the blog next week when I share how you can be one of my guests at a Dinner with Friends.
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Around Our Home
The Open Floor Plan in Our Waco Home
I have been in Waco this week and it is so nice to be back. Chip and Jo have brought so much to the city and the transformation has been incredible. We had fun this week shopping for items we needed for the dinner. I love the antique shops here in Waco!
This past week was busy getting prepared for the Dinner with Friends that I hosted last night. I thought about hosting the dinner on our porch but the weather did not cooperate. It was rainy and humid and not great outdoor weather.
We had dinner in our dining room and it was incredible. The table looked amazing and I can’t wait to share with you how I managed to get 12 people comfortable at our dining room table. Hint: new wood tabletops!
When I planned the remodel for this home and was determined to do an open floor plan, I had no idea how great it was. The fact that we could serve seven courses and easily transition the food and table clearing with the kitchen right next to us was incredible.
We had so much fun preparing this dinner in our kitchen and it worked so well!
This week I will be sharing the Dinner with Friends. The first post is all about the prep for the evening. The second post shares the food which includes all of the recipes. On Wednesday I will be sharing the final dinner, how we made it work and my plans to invite all of you to one of my dinner parties.
I cannot wait.
A Tip For Your Home
Shop for Vintage Entertaining Accessories
Since our Waco home is an airbnb the kitchen is well stocked. But it did not have nearly enough dishes and glasses for a seven course dinner for 12 people.
I know I could have bought all new dishes and glassware, but I wanted to do something that was more fun and a lot less expensive.
So I shopped vintage.
You can do this too! This week I will be sharing everything we bought. It is all amazing and I absolutely love it.
Reflections on the Week
My Favorite Table Centerpiece Ideas for Outside Dining 
My Favorite Baskets for Craft Room Organization 
My Favorite Glassware Sets in the Dining Room 
My Favorite Pink Dinnerware in the Kitchen 
Spring Refresh with Decorative Serving Trays 
Easy Healthy Snack – Protein Balls with Peanut Butter 
It’s Time to Plant a Backyard Garden 
We Got a New Mattress and We Love It!
This past week was wonderful for so many reasons. I collaborated with one of my dearest friends, KariAnne Wood of @Thistlewood. She is AMAZING and one of the kindest, hardest working people I know.
We thought it would be fun to do a week of spring refresh for each of the rooms in our house. Monday was the living room, Tuesday was the kitchen, Wednesday was the dining room, Thursday was the craft room and Friday was outdoors.
We each chose one simple item and styled it in the room and had so much fun! It’s amazing how one item can change up a room, refresh it so easily.
As I have shared with you before, one of the ways that I earn money is from working with brands. This past week, I had the honor of working together with Hoover who wanted to include a giveaway of the Hoover SmartWash Pet Complete Automatic Carpet Cleaner. I was thrilled that this was part of our collaboration and I want to share with you the heartwarming response that I received from the giveaway winner. It literally brought me to tears. First, let me explain the way a winner is chosen. All of the giveaway participants are asked to follow both my Instagram account and the product sponsor, in this case, Hoover’s Instagram account and to leave a comment on the post. When the timeline for entry ends, I use a website called random.org to randomly generate a number from the total number of entries and that is the winner! The random winner in this case turned out to have made the sweetest comment ever. She rescues senior dogs and currently has 5. At one time, she had 9! As you can imagine, senior dogs often have special needs and need a lot of care. Her job was eliminated over a year ago and she has not found work yet. And, her vacuum was on its last legs leaving her carpet, well, with 5 elderly dogs, you can imagine. When I reached out to let her know that she had won the giveaway, her response literally brought me to tears. She was so grateful and winning the giveaway brought her so much happiness. The winner is happy, the brand is happy and that makes me so, so happy!
Speaking of brands, I also worked with Purple Mattress this week. Their mattresses are incredible and I would love it if you could head on over to my Instagram and if you like what you see, give this post some love.
My Favorite Things
Summer Entertaining
Inspired Gatherings – Outdoor Entertaining
French Country Cottage – Courtney Allison shared Outdoor Entertaining.
Homestoriesatoz – Beth shared some wonderful patio decor ideas for entertaining.
Oldsilvershed Sandra Cavallo shard her patio set for dining. Isn’t this incredible?
Accounts I Love to Follow on Instagram
Good Things From Martha
Martha shares incredible resources and tips about sprucing up your outdoor spaces. With my theme for May being all about Summer Entertaining, I am sharing with you her article about 10 Beautiful Outdoor Spaces That Will Make You Rethink Your Current Backyard. I am so excited to get outside and start entertaining with my friends and family and I found this article so inspiring. What are you most looking forward to about summer entertaining?
What’s Ahead
Things I Love For Mother’s Day
You all loved all of my Mother’s Day Gift Guides so much I am sharing them again. Just click on each one to go to the storefront to find links to all of the items. Don’t wait too long to buy these!
What’s Ahead
As I mentioned, this week I am sharing all of the details from our Dinner with Friends. We are also sharing a new craft, and an Al Fresco Dining surprise.
Catch up on Sunday Morning Coffee
- Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 15 – Projects at Home
- Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 14 – How to Get Ready for Summer Days
- Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 13 – The Best DIY Projects
- Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 12 – Just Do It Yourself
- Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 11 – Creative Inspiration
- Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 10 – Inside the Life of a Blogger
- Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 9 – Live Your Best Life
- Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 8 – Living Green
- Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 7 – Why I Love to Entertain
- Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 6 – February is All About Living Beautifully
- Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 5 – Our Beach House in Ventura, CA
- Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 4 – The Story of My 100 Year Old Home
- Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 3 – I Think I Might Be Martha’s Biggest Fan
- Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 2 – A Tribute to My Mom
- Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 1 – How Chip and Joanna Influenced My Life
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For more real-time updates, follow me on Instagram @My100YearOldHome
I’m super excited to see all of your Summer Entertaining ideas! Thank you for sharing a variety of projects that are actually doable AND pretty. I definitely hope that you share how you created the personalized glass plates. 🤗 In fact, I’m already looking forward to that post!
Thank you!
Patti McMains
Thank you so much Patti! Check back tomorrow for details on the plates 😉
Details for the personalized plates? I looked everywhere. Thanks!
Marnie, check tomorrow’s post for all of the details on the plates!
Where did you get those beautiful individual plates with each guest’s name etc. on the, what a wonderful surprise for each guest. the table is beuatiful
Natalie, check tomorrow’s posts for all of the details on the plates!
Leslie,
Thank you so much for your Sunday post! I also enjoy having many dinners as you, so it’s always a great read with new ideas to gleam! I’m always looking forward to Sunday Coffee with you! Thanks for all the time you put into this post!
Warm regards,
Teri
Thank you Teri, I am so happy that you enjoy what I have to share and appreciate the time and effort that go into my posts. Have a wonderful week ahead!
I love your garden in your home , it’s beautiful for entertaining friends and family , we are still limited to who we have visiting due to covid restrictions let’s hope by the summer we can celebrate in our garden which my husband has worked so hard on during lockdown , thanks for showing us ur beautiful crafts🌸💗🌸💞
Thank you so much Helen and I hope you are able to celebrate in your garden this summer. A beautifully tended and loved garden is such a lovely place to entertain.
Leslie,
You are so creative and talented. Thanks for sharing your wonderful ideas. I enjoy relaxing and reading your Sunday Morning Coffee blog.
Joanie
Oh my gosh Joanie, thank you so much for your kind words!
I found today’s post very difficult. In Ontario, Canada we have been in lockdown for a month and have at least three more weeks to go. I haven’t seen friends or family in forever! I have my fingers crossed that we might be able to expand our bubble beyond our household by the end of May. Vaccinations are slow to be rolled out here. I don’t foresee anything close to normal entertaining like you have created until July or August. For now I will live vicariously through you. But…it is so hard.
I am so grateful and feel so lucky to have been double vaccinated back in March. I completely understand how frustrated and isolated you feel, I was there, trust me. Here in the US, states are opening at different rates as vaccinations roll out and I can’t begin to describe the feeling of relief and freedom that comes with that second vaccination. It will happen for you!! Until then, I am happy to provide a view of your near future! Hang in there Donna 💗
I’m really anxious to see the new table tops and the new table in use….And the place settings….And the menu….just excited about the whole thing!
Table tops and place settings are on the blog today Debbie. Menu and recipes on Tuesday!