Yesterday my mother-in-law, Diane, and her boyfriend, Les, hosted a fall birthday brunch!
Les’ son and daughter, Chris and Jenna, and Ryan have birthdays within a couple of weeks of each other, so a birthday brunch was a great excuse to get everyone together to celebrate. (Ryan’s birthday is this Friday!)
Doesn’t the cake look amazing? Diane ordered it from A Slice of Heaven in Sarasota – the same place that made Ryan’s surprise groom’s cake for our wedding!
Brunch began around 10 a.m. when everyone started to arrive.
Ryan’s grandma brought her adorable Maltese, Dottie, who is very camera shy. If a camera is anywhere near her, she hides!
It was so great to see Ryan’s grandma and her boyfriend, Bernie. They are such a spunky and fun couple and I love spending time with them. Bernie regularly volunteers at the local library and they’re both avid readers, so I enjoy hearing their book recommendations.
Of course Sadie had to be part of the action at all times.
Naturally.
She also knows just who to go to for a sneaky bite of bacon…
Everyone filled up their plates within 30 minutes of arriving and lots of “mmms” could be heard around the table,
Diane is an incredible cook and I always end up in a food coma after any family gathering at her house.
The standout dish from yesterday’s brunch for me was the French toast casserole.
Diane followed Paula Deen’s recipe and it was irresistible. I went back for seconds and also included some of the casserole on my dessert plate later in the day. It was that good. It tasted a lot like an eggnog French toast casserole and I was in heaven.
Dessert came in the form of birthday cake that we ate after singing to the birthday bunch!
The cake itself was a marble cake with cookies ‘n’ cream filling and I had no trouble clearing my plate.
It was so great spend the weekend with family. Happy birthday to Jenna, Chris and Ryan!
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forget the food, although i am sure it was incredible (it looks incredible). ryan’s mom’s kitchen is to die for!!! that viking OVEN…i can’t even put into words what a fine piece of machinery that is. do you ever get to cook on it julie??? i would find every excuse in the world to do so.
Ryan looks a lot like his mom!
All of the brunch food looks delicious!
I am having TOTAL kitchen envy right now! Can I live in your mother in law’s kitchen? I’ll cook, I promise. 🙂
I would’ve made a beeline for the french toast casserole, too! It’s my fave breakfast food! The cake looks amazing!
Yummm! Her food looks amazing. The cake is awesome! Can I request that for my October birthday? I’ll actually be in the Orlando area next week..maybe I will make a sidetrip to Sarasota just for that! 😉
Wowsa! I thought the cake looked big from a birds eye view, then in the second picture realised it had like three huge layers to it! They would have been long pieces hahah 🙂
That picture of you and Ryan is adorable! You should frame it! 🙂
I am IN LOVE with Ryan’s Mom’s kitchen!! (sorry, comment is way late..just catching up )
A double oven?! Ahh….my dream!! 🙂
& yes, I agree with many people, that picture of you & Ryan is one of my favorites yet!
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