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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What a fun brunch! All of that food looks delicious especially that cake! Wow! I love that it has cookies n’ cream filling. Yummy!! 🙂
Suddenly my cuppa tea isn’t all that exciting…that cake looks INCREDIBLE!
When I first read “Ryan and Les’ son and daughter, Chris and Jenna” I thought… wait, Ryan and Les have children together?? hahaha it’s definitely a Monday morning…
How fun!! That cake is rocking my socks, too.
Haha, in the second paragraph, I totally read it to mean that Ryan and Les had a couple of kids!
But seriously, that looks like the most amazing brunch I have ever seen. Lucky!
That looks like so much fun! And that cake… to die for, yum!
Looks like a great weekend. Of course Sadie wants in on the action – that little lady likes to party! 🙂
That picture of you and Ryan is so cute! Framer, for sure. Also, I am seriously impressed by that cake! Wow! 🙂
Happy early birthday to Ryan! That feast looks soo delicious. And I’ve had a similar recipe to that French Toast Casserole. It really is that good!!
Les’ son is a hottie! I’m totally (happily) married, but I’m OK with him popping up on your blog from time to time! 🙂
haha! i’ll be sure to spread the good word. 🙂
haha I agree with Lindsey! Noticed no ring, what a hunk! Ow ow!! I’m totally single and willing to move. 😉
I thought the same thing. I am happily married but he is a cutie!!!
Everything looks so delicious!!
That’s great you could all get together to celebrate! And happy almost birthday to Ryan, October is the best birthday month!!!
Looks like a wonderful spread of food with wonderful family!
Wow! Looks like quite the feast 🙂 I think Ryan’s grandma is just adorable! Love that you get book ideas forum her and Bernie! lol
Yum! Brunch/breakfast foods are my favorite. Looks like you guys had an awesome spread!
That looks like quite a spread! Happy Birthday to all of them!
I simply cannot get over how amazing that cake looks! Whoa!
Hey Julie 🙂
I was just wondering how you deal with food splurges …. bc I’m my worst critic. So when I indulge, I feel so guilty. I’m not insinuating you shouldn’t ever indulge I just find myself being very critical of my own indulgences and then I try to over compensate to make up for it.
I got a surprise grooms cake from slice of heaven too!!! I’ve read your blog for a while but somehow missed that!! Small world! They were fabulous!
That spread looks amazing! I always love family get togethers like that; there is never a lack of fun or delicious food!
Happy birthday to Ryan!
What a great spread! That french toast casserole looks insanely delicious!
That cake looks awesome!
Oh my gosh. That cake. That looks unREAL. I think I’m going to move to Florida right now so I can get my hands on one of those.
All of that food looks so good! And I love their kitchen!
Sadie looks much smaller standing next to you on the couch than I thought she was! She reminds me so much of my boxer, Kemah.
That food looks amazing!
Holy cow! That’s a tall cake!
MMMmmmmm yummy spread!!
Looks like you had a wonderful weekend:)
Happy Monday!
What a fun way to spend the weekend! I love the pics of you and Sadie and you and Ryan..too cute! Just curious, but did Ryan’s grandmother have any good books she’d recommend? That reminds me…today is October 1 which means it’s time to vote for the PB Book Club!! 🙂
Holy mother of cake, that thing looks incredible!I am so glad you had a nice weekend spend with you family!
Wow, does Ryan look exactly like his mom or what! How sweet, I love family time!
WOW! Ryan’s Mom has an awesome kitchen, I bet she is an amazing cook! And his grandma and her boyfriend are adorable 🙂
I am dying over Ryan’s moms stove/oven!!! That WILL be in my dream house some day!!!
yum that looks fabulous! The double oven is pretty great too!
I thought I was the only one dying over that oven! I keep thinking about all the awesome meals I could make (sorry prego brain) =)
omg that cake looks amazing! You guys are so cute 🙂
Okay, so, my family gatherings look NOTHING like that!! I love my family to death, but we’re not the best cooks/chefs. Don’t get me wrong, I love my family (dysfunctional as they are!!) to bits, but I’m quite jealous of what you have going there!! 🙂
Happy early birthday to Ryan!! I can’t wait to see what you have in store for him for his birthday 🙂
That cake looks delicious!
That cake….WOW!!! Happy birthday to all of them! I love family gatherings!
Your mother-in-laws kitchen is incredible. I LOVE all the white!
That cake looks scrumptious!
Oh my goodness, every picture in this post (of people) is absolutely adorable! I swear you and Ryan are the most beautiful couple I have ever seen! And how his Grandma’s boyfriend is looking at her in that one pic? Adorable! Glad you had such a nice time 🙂
That cake looks delicious!
Brunch parties are always so much fun! We also do a HUGE Christmas brunch every year and it’s by far, my favorite party. So glad you had a great time Julie.
Seriously, that cake looks better than any cake I’ve seen in awhile!!
That’s my fav and “go to” brunch recipe! That casserole is heavenly. I have the recipe on the blog!
My mouth is watering! That french toast casserole looks delicious. I have always wanted to try one, but I usualy think of it the morning of.
The cake looks like it was good too 🙂
Your family [both sides] always does some of the best celebrations!!! Happy birthday to everyone 🙂
P.S. One of the layers of our wedding cake was marble and it was my first time trying it- chocolate + vanilla = best of both worlds!
Four layers?! Insane. Looks yummy.
That cake looks to die for and Ryan’s groom cake was awesome, too! I am definitely going to try that French Toast casserole, too. I would never make it for just me and my bf, but I do need a yummy and fairly easy breakfast item I can make guests when they stay over. In the past, they’ve seemed pretty happy with a simple egg + bacon + toast + smoothie breakfast, but I need to mix it up a bit and try something more special!
Cookies and cream filling? Yea, that sounds amazing.