MOTHER'S DAY WITH MacKenzie-Childs

I love any excuse to gather people together, and with Mother’s Day approaching… celebrating my mom is the best reason of all. We plan on hosting a big family gathering on Mother’s Day and I am so excited! My mom and I have a tradition we like to follow every special occasion! She is such an amazing cook and takes care of all the cooking. I on the other hand, have always been the decorator at heart. I really enjoy setting the formal table and getting all of the details and decor just right. So I think we make a pretty good team :). This year was especially fun because we decided to use a MacKenzie-Childs Collection and it was absolutely beautiful. I am also so excited to share a little extra special something with you today from my family to your’s on the blog… (keep scrolling to see)

BTW….The first piece I ever owned was the Courtly Checked Everything Bowl and it is so special to me. It has so many uses and makes me smile every time I look at it.

Serving Dishes

These handmade Serving dishes are the perfect pieces to display my Mom’s beautiful recipes. The dishes were displayed so perfectly I didn’t want to eat anything… but I did… and it was delicious! Lol

Table Settings

These dishes are just gorgeous. It made my job of decorating the formal table a breeze this year. I chose the Sweetbriar Collection from MacKenzie-Childs this year and couldn’t be happier. These pieces are so special because every single piece is handcrafted from Terra Cotta by 11 different artisans and just one piece takes up to two weeks to create from start to finish. Which means no two items are exactly alike and basically a “one of a kind”. If you’ve been following me for a while you might have seen my trip out to Aurora NY to visit the actual MacKenzie-Childs production facility. It was such an amazing experience to see all the pieces being made, pressed, glazed, painted…all by hand. I have even a greater sense of appreciation seeing how much time, effort and love it takes to make one single piece.

Accessories

TIP: Even if you aren’t in the market for all new dishes… a fun easy and affordable way to update any table-scape is by picking up new napkins and napkin rings, a flower vase (I actually repurposed the Courtly Canister for my flowers) or even candles! You don’t have to spend a lot to give your existing table a makeover!

I’m so proud of my mama for following her passion. She’s one of the most amazing, caring, thoughtful, loving people I know…and she’s one of the best cooks around! Her cooking is not only delicious and healthy…but each dish looks like a piece of Art!

She just recently started a her own instagram account! You can follow my mom and her love for cooking at: @semraskitchen.

My moms recipe

Mediterranean Lentil Salad

2 Cups cooked lentils

1 Red bell pepper diced

1 Cup each red and green grapes

2 Persian cucumber diced

1/2 Cup Red onion finely chopped

1/2 Cup chopped fresh dill

1/2 Cup feta or goat cheese

1/2 Cup slivered almonds toasted

Dressing

1/3 Cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 Tsp ground pepper

1 Tsp kosher salt

Zest and juice of one lemon

Cook lentils in boiling salted water until tender and cool
Cut grapes in half
Whisk lemon juice, olive oil, Salt&Pepper
Place all the ingredients in a large salad bowl
Toss with the dressing and serve

*Shortcut: use Trader Joe’s steamed lentils.

Bar

You guys, how cute are these!? “Hair of the dog” phrase with the cutest pictures and pom pom’s. So cute and really great quality! One of my favorite pieces is this Ingenue Dish! It serves two purposes, one of which I didn’t even know I needed in my life until now! You can use it as a garnish dish OR you can use it as a Champagne/Chilled Wine rest to catch the condensation. Genius!