Happy Memorial Day! We spent the long weekend grilling burgers and devouring red, white and blue sweet treats. We are excited to share our fabulous weekend with you.

Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day and originated in the years following the Civil War. It became an official federal holiday in 1971. Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries/memorials, holding family gatherings and participating in parades. For many, Memorial Day also marks the unofficial start to summer.
We had multiple Memorial Day celebrations- one with our family and one with our friends. Our family celebration began with a delicious cheese plate. The key to a beautiful cheese plate is choosing a variety of ingredients with different flavor profiles, colors and textures.

Use a wooden cheese board or Lazy Susan

Place the cheeses on the platter first because they are the main focal point

Scatter crackers and/or bread around the cheeses

Think about texture and color variation for the cheese accompaniments

Add Red and White Wine Crackers, Crisp Italian Toasts and/or Raincost Crisps

Remember to also add nuts, grapes, jam and cheese knives

Give your cheese 30 minutes to come to room temperature

For lunch, we created a gorgeous Memorial Day tablescape using red plates from Williams Sonoma, red napkins from Crate and Barrel and brown napkin rings from Crate and Barrel. The tableware perfectly complimented our table from Crate and Barrel.

Our brother-in-law, Brian loves to grill. We dined on cheeseburgers, turkey burgers, hot dogs and grilled veggies. We also sipped on a delicious pinot noir from Hanzell.

For dessert, we bought festive desserts from Whole Foods - an American Flag tart and red, white and blue mini cupcakes. The kids LOVED them. We usually made holiday inspired desserts from scratch, but sometimes even we run short on time and buy them.

Our friends, Ira and Taher, also hosted a barbecue in the city. We feasted on more burgers, TBM, salad and chicken. We also made chocolate covered strawberries with blue sprinkles to add some TWINSPIRATION to the party.

Thanks to Shruthi & Brian and Ira & Taher for letting us join your Memorial Day Barbecues. We can't wait for the next one.

"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God such men lived." - George Patton.

Red, White and Sprinkles