A Small Birthday Party For a Friend

We have a very closed knit Filipino group here because there are only a few of us, so we really treat each other like brothers and sisters. We make impromptu plans all the time and this is one of those times. The only Filipino adult guy (there is one teenage boy too) is having his birthday on Sept. 15th and the Friday before that, Riza, who lives about an hour away, was coming to drop off her little girl and she said she will bring a dish to share. So I offered my house to get together for dinner and since Gary's birthday is coming, I decided to just have a little surprise birthday party for him. And that is how this came about, a busy day for sure since there really wasn't any preparation beforehand.

 

 I was organizing the kitchen a little bit when I saw these salad plates in the rack on the kitchen counter. I had forgotten about them and never really used them yet. I thought they would  be perfect for this time of the year.

 I know I have plain yellow dinner plates so I pulled them out of the dining room French cabinet. The yellow placemats are cheap ones I bought from the dollar store. I planned to take them to Cape Coral to use when dining on the deck since we have yellow chair pads there, but let me use them here first.

 Behind the salad plates are the words written, "222 Fifth Demure Turquoise".  I like the paisley design on them. These are probably my most practical napkins. I bought a dozen of them on Ebay before we moved here and I like how thick they are and how easy they are to care for, no ironing needed. The silver plated napkin rings are from an antique store downtown. I think I paid $3 for 7 or 8 of them.

"Shells" flatware, also from Ebay.

 The goblets with fleur de lis on them were from Horchow. I like them very much but I always forget to use them because they are not stored with my other stemware.

 Name tag holders are from Southern Living at Home, which is now Willow House. They can also serve as napkin rings.

 I made a simple centerpiece since I know I was going to serve food on the lazy Susan. I snipped some sunburst from my bush outside which is forever bursting with bright yellow flowers, and just stucked them in an Italian vase. Birds S & P shakers and a blue candlesticks holder, same tinge of blue as the goblets.

The covered tureen serves white rice, which is a must for a Filipino meal.

 The table for the kids.

 I like how colorful the plates are!

 Emerald green goblets for their drinks and bird house name plate holders.

 

 Aren't these  just the cutest napkin ring holders? So appropriate for a kids' table.

The little yellow lantern I won just by sharing the photo on my FB.

 I laid the dessert and tea on the kitchen table.

 I baked a Coconut Cream Pie, which was so good! I have the recipe below if anyone is interested.

 

 

 

 I just bought this pie or cake  server from a store downtown that was closing, for $2.00. It was new, still wrapped. Is that initial a "J"? Perfect for John! I like how heavy it is.

 The teapot is also 222 Fifth, "Adelaida green and white". I have cups in the same pattern but I forgot to take them out. I did not have a matching sugar and cream servers so I used another set that blends with it.

 I baked some brownies to drink with our "Pear and Guava" tea.

 

 

 

Here is the recipe for the pie, if anyone is interested. I got the recipe from Facebook.

Coconut Cream Pie (Princess Pie)

Crust:

1 c flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 tbsps. sugar
1/2 c chopped pecans (optional)

Mix and pat in an 8x8 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 min, until just beginning to turn golden. Do not overbake. Let cool.
 Layer 2:
8 oz cream cheese, room temp
1 c powdered sugar
1 c whipped topping

Beat together sugar and cream cheese. Fold in whipped topping. Spread on cooled crust.
layer 3:
1 small package coconut cream instant pudding
1 -1/2 cups whole milk

Mix until thickened. Spread over cream cheese mixture
Top with remaining tub of whipped cream
Toast 1 cup coconut. Sprinkle on top. Refrigerate
　

Thank you so much for stopping by.

You are all so appreciated and especially the hostesses for all their hard work organizing these parties. Thanks a bunch!

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