Friendsgiving brunch

A couple of weeks ago a few friends and I got together for a Friendsgiving brunch. Any excuse to get together with the girls, dress up, eat delicious food and sip on mimosas (my favorite part, duh) is good with me! Our vision for this brunch was to stick with the fall theme. Let's be honest, seasons barely exist in LA. It goes from really hot, to warm during the day and cool at night, to really hot. In a way, we need to fake it. And coming from Montreal, I need to find some excuse to wear half of my wardrobe (i.e. my 100 jackets and knits). So fall theme it was!

Once we decided on a theme, we discussed the details. What kind of menu we wanted (aka meeting mostly my food requirements since I'm always the pickiest!). What kind of drinks we wanted (anything with prosecco- duh!). What we should wear (give me all of the cozy sweaters). And how we should decorate the table. And, if I say so myself, it came out pretty amazing.

So let's get into detail. First and most importantly was the mimosa bar. Of course, I start with the alcohol. We created a very DIY Pinterst-esque bar, with freshly squeezed orange juice, grapefruit juice and lemonade, and Danzante Prosecco. The Prosecco was bubbly and dry (pro tip: If the Prosecco is too sweet, it can really ruin the taste of the mimosa). This was the perfect prosecco to drink alone or to add a splash of juice (OJ was my preference).

Camille hosted us at her home. Her house is pretty perfect. The dining area is bright, clean and spacious. We decided to keep the decor relatively neutral. The color palette was mostly white, light blue, silver and gold. All of the pieces were from West Elm Los Angeles and it made me fall in love with the store all over again. It's incredible the difference nice dishes and serving plates make when hosting.

I've been looking to invest in new dishes lately and I'm considering purchasing the ones we used- simple and classic. The coasters were my fav and such a good stocking or secret santa gift idea.

Natasha did all of the cooking, which is a really good thing considering I'm an awful chef. Not only did she do all of the cooking she also did all of the food shopping at Whole Foods beforehand.  Whole Food guarantees you'll find all of the ingredients on your list without having to run all over LA (and with the traffic who has time for that?). Plus you know it's all going to be fresh and delicious.

She prepared a vegetable frittata, an arugula salad (with the best salad dressing ever), smashed potatoes, and a beautiful fruit salad. While she was working away in the kitchen and I was stealing bites of the potatoes, I actually picked up a few really good tips from her. For example, when building a fruit salad, start with the heavier items first and then add something green at the end to switch up the texture and flavor (like rosemary). Another tip was to add various things to water for some flavor (and makes it seem much fancier). She took a clear pitcher from West Elm and added rosemary and pears.  Brilliant! 

The girls all wore pieces from Splendid. When trying to decide which clothing brand to work with on this brunch, Splendid was all of our top picks. It's probably because they make the best fall clothing (you guys know how obsessed I am with the Dune and Sherpa jackets). 

Camille, Christine, Natasha and I were thinking of making this kind of blogger brunch a series (different homes, different occasions etc). What do you guys think?? xoxo

Prosecco: Dantanze Wines

Decor: West Elm

Groceries: Whole Foods

Clothing: Splendid

Camille's Blog: Charmed by Camille

Christine's Blog: Daily Kongfidence

Natasha's Blog: Nosh With Tash