Happy Weekend!

After a cold, wet, grey week, the sun is finally shining today in Rome! I had to capture and share with all our breakfast this morning. Normally Jasper and Liv eat at a small table in the kitchen, but this morning, I made Martha Stewart's delicious Perfect French Toast recipe for breakfast, and Shana set the dining table and added a tray of fresh fruit, freshly squeezed orange juice, coffee, tea, and most importantly, sweets they brought back from Dean & Deluca in NY. It is such a beautiful day, and the natural sunlight pouring in through their huge windows brightened everyone's mood. I would like to think that I would have breakfast like this every morning with my family, but with getting the kids off to school, maybe every Friday would be a more realistic goal... At home, my mom and I usually indulge on Sundays! I have always loved setting the table. My mom is known for setting the table a day ahead of time when she has guests over, and I always loved when she did so. There is something about having a set table that brings a feeling of warmth into the house.

As I anxiously await spring in Rome, I will share a few of these fabulously chic spring/summer table settings. There is absolutely an art to setting a table- in my opinion, flowers are a must, and often less is more (no one wants to feel cluttered while they eat- clean and fresh is ideal). I also love the idea of putting out fresh fruit in glass jars on the table for brunch. Hopefully this inspires a fabulous Sunday brunch to end the weekend!

New York style maker Mona Nerenberg

Ina Garten

Ina Garten

Tory Burch

Rachel Ashwell (generally not a fan of pink used in a table setting, but for an outdoor dessert and tea with a group of girls, I would be perfectly happy at this table!)