4th Of July Brunch

This year I wanted to do something fun and festive for the 4th of july, so, I decided to host a brunch for my friends. As a good little hostess, I combed through Pinterest to find recipes and inspiration for the party. I found basically every food item you could imagine colored red, white and blue. I chose crepes with assorted toppings and a layered red, white and blue smoothie. 

Holy moly it was a lot harder than I thought!  I forgot how manipulative Pinterest was. They get into your head and feed you lies like “Once you’re done, it will look exactly like the picture!” or “If you just follow the recipe everything will turn out fine.” Then reality will slam you like a short order cook making flapjacks  when your red, white and blue smoothie actually is a pink, white and blue smoothie because you added strawberries not cherries. Lesson learned. 

 Making crepes is actually pretty easy, I used this recipe Basic Crepes. I would recommend to make extra batter the first time just in case you burn the first few. No judgement. Before the party I pre-made all the crepes, then microwaved them before serving. I found this way easier instead of cooking by the stove while the party was going on. For toppings, the options are endless. I bought powdered sugar, fresh strawberries and bananas, nutella, whipped cream, and different types of syrups. Talk about a sugar rush!

 While scrolling through Pinterest I found this adorable festive Spangled Smoothie. I felt like I was up for the challenge, but the first red flag I encountered was not having the right ingredients. Living on an island we don’t have many options in our grocery stores so I couldn't  find acai juice or frozen cherries. So I had to get creative, instead of acai juice I used coconut water and I swapped frozen cherries for frozen strawberries. While making these smoothies make sure you have enough time, every layer requires 30 mins to freeze. If you rush, the layers will melt together and it will look like a very depressing 4th of July. Take your time and enjoy!

For the party decorations, I pulled out my 6 foot long collapsible serving table and placed it on my outdoor lanai. At Target, I found a simple white tablecloth with matching red and blue plates and napkins. After everything was set up and decorated I would say it was definitely Pinterest worthy. The crepes were delicious and the smoothies looked perfect with cute little straws. At the end of the day everything worked out perfectly except for the part where all my friends didn't seem to realize it was the 4th of July and forgot to ask their parents if they had any plans with their families, yep they bailed on me an hour before the party. But that’s a whole different story, anyways.. I hope you enjoyed my tips for your own party. Happy 4th of July!