Hostess Envy Backyard Lunch

This past weekend, we went to check out the new house of our friends Tom and Allie and were treated to a barbeque lunch in their garden. Not only had they just moved in, but Allie is also nine months pregnant--and yet they still pulled off a casually elegant spread... and made it look easy.

Ideas I'm stealing: Allie served two side dishes--a veggie couscous and an edamame salad--on a single platter with a serving spoon on each side. And she wasn't just conserving space on the table--her plates and serving pieces were environmentally-friendly Bambu Veneerware.

Everything about their backyard was charming--down to their gardening tools. I'll buy these cute gardening gloves as a housewarming present the next time friends move to a place with a yard.

In the center of the table was an unfussy cutting board topped with an impressive selection of BBQ fixings, some standard--ketchup and mustard--and some a cut above, like this locally-farmed black pepper goat cheese.

Allie had placed clear glass bud vases filled simply with baby's breath throughout the house, creating a clean and airy flow from room to room.

HaoJan Creative Commons Flickr