I was in Oregon Wednesday through Sunday. I got a chance to hang out one-on-one with my dear friends Mary and Amber. But the main purpose of my trip was to throw my sister a bridal shower! 

Some of her bridesmaids came over Friday night and we surprised her with a mini-shower. They are sweet girls, it was fun getting to know them better over ice cream sundaes.

Saturday morning we had a nice brunch with homemade mini quiches, pancake stacks, a variety of pancake toppings, homemade biscotti, fruit salad, and a variety of drinks. I have to share some recipes that turned out well.

For pancake toppings, we had warmed nutella, sliced bananas, raspberries, blueberries, maple syrup, and honey orange syrup. The honey orange syrup was quite popular and the recipe can be found here. We had coffee and tea, but the sparkling lemonade and cucumber water were popular too. For sparkling lemonade, I filled a pitcher 2/3 of the way up with lemonade and added about a half cup of raspberries. I let that soak in the fridge for about an hour, then minutes before the guests arrived I filled the pitcher the rest of the way with sparkling water. For cucumber water, I thinly sliced about a quarter of a cucumber and added it to a pitcher of water (with room for ice) about an hour before guests arrived, then added some ice cubes at the last second. 

All the guests were so sweet and there was much laughing and storytelling.

It was so great to spend some time with the bride-to-be and check out the venue and other fun details. The wedding is just around the corner, I can't believe it!