Second Annual Summer Ahoy Dinner

This is a tradition now for us. We began it last year and like the idea of kicking off the summer with a dinner that celebrates vacations, camp jobs, warm weather and taking things a little slower. Mom's menu for our second annual event was spectacular.

Hors d'oeuvres:
-  Fresh asparagus wrapped in parmesan dusted puff pastry
-  Seashells filled with seafood salad (eaten either with a small fork or gulped down ala oysters)
-  Baked dill pickles (fried, we all agreed, would have been the bomb, but we're all eating better, and these were pretty doggone good = we ate them all)

The joke at my parents' house is that you have to arrive on time or, better yet, early if you want to get dibs on Mom's pre-dinner fare. It's always just as good as the meal itself.

Dinner:
-  Ceasar salad
-  Cioppino (Mom's made with clams and mussels in the shell, salmon and shrimp)
-  Biscuits made with fresh rosemary

Dessert:
-  An assortment of gelato and sherbet with vanilla Pirouette cookies

And always lots of good wine. It was a feast worthy of our Summer Ahoy tradition! Thanks, Mom!

For place cards this year, I must admit nothing was gelling. I googled and shopped for inspiration. Pinterest gave me one idea that I wound up settling on. They were cute. Nephew Grayson loved licking his lemon, which set us in stitches, only making him do it more. For that it was worth it!

Here is the Pinterest inspiration:

And here are mine. 

Instead of names, I used plastic initials. 

And for the mast, I used coffee stirrers instead of skewers. 

I think the inspiration sail is made from fabric, 

but I love the paper samples in my Repro Depot book, so I went the paper route.

Harleigh and Kasey will be working together again this summer. 

They are both core leaders at Camp All-American, each leading and discipling a group of counselors.

Got the house ready for Memorial Day today.

Found this mini bike (about 7 1/2" long and 5" tall) online at Cost Plus World Market. 

I knew I just had to have it. How cute will it be to decorate for all the holidays???

Didn't have time to find a teeny tiny flag to give it a Memorial Day feel,

so I opted for this basket of flowers.