A Summer Picnic with Martha Stewart

I have to admit that I’ve always held picnics up on some sort of nostalgic, romanticized pedestal, pretty much my whole life. One of my favorite picnics to date was adventuring off into the back field behind my friend’s house for a girls-only picnic one summer afternoon following the third grade. Her grandmother had helped us pack up our basket with lemonade, little sandwiches, a gingham blanket and mini heart-shaped brownies and it was one of the best afternoons in the history of ever. I can’t even tell you exactly why, but since then picnics have always felt sort of magical to me. So a couple of weeks ago when I had the chance to plan a picnic for a few of my favorite ladies and my awesome mom, you can bet I jumped on that pronto!

The folks at Martha Stewart offered to let me take some of Martha’s gorgeous summer picnic wares from Macy’s for a test drive and my mother and I spent the evening before prepping all of the food. We tried a few new recipes and also rocked out some old favorites like fruit salad served up with wildflower honey. Of course I’m pretty sure no picnic is complete without a cheese board of some kind so you know I didn’t let that slide. Otherwise, it was just a group of the best girls on the face of the planet, sunshine, lemonade, wine and one wonderful afternoon I absolutely want to relive again sometime soon!

p.s. Here are all the yummy picnic recipes we made for the day! While everything was amazing, the fresh pea hummus was a major hit in a big way. You have to give it a try! It’s so easy to make and perfect for summer parties and picnics. Oh, and the deviled eggs. Those were a crowd favorite, too!

Oh, and of course a huge thank you to my awesome mom and also my lady friends Darlene, Erica, Carolynn and Alice for celebrating the sunshine with me! xoxo