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Article: Caroline’s Essentials For A Backyard Picnic

Caroline’s Essentials For A Backyard Picnic

Caroline’s Essentials For A Backyard Picnic

The warmer weather and longer nights have me itching to get outdoors after work and spend time in our garden and wander around our veg and flower beds to see what’s popping up. It’s also that time of year where we find ourselves eating more meals outside. So this weekend, as a nod to the unofficial start of summer, I put together a picnic for Jeffrey using some fresh vegetables and herbs from the garden, my new favorite bamboo servingware, cozy bedrolls and cushions and, of course, a bottle of rosé...

When I’m preparing a picnic, I like to bring along dishware that’s lightweight, easy to travel with and reusable. And this collection of bamboo servingware checks all the boxes. Each piece is handcrafted by artisans in Vietnam using sustainably harvested bamboo and is free of any toxic varnishes and paints. It’s also a great alternative to single use paper plates, bowls and cups, and I love how durable each piece is, while still feeling elevated. I can easily carry bowls and plates around the garden to different picnic spots, but it also travels well to the beach, park, lake or on road trips. I have an ever expanding collection of handmade ceramic tableware that I don’t always want to bring outside, so this collection is the perfect alternative.

The bowls and plates come in a variety of sizes – from little bowls for nuts, dips and fruit, to larger salad bowls, plates and trays. I use this tray when picking fresh greens from our garden. In this case, I harvested a variety of lettuces, peas and dill for a mixed green salad and tossed it together with avocado and olive oil in this salad bowl using these bamboo salad servers.

For serving drinks, I like to use these bamboo mugs. Since bamboo is naturally insulating, these mugs keep cold drinks cold and hot drinks hot. Plus, each one comes with a cork lid which is great for transporting and preventing spills. Since we were in our garden, I set up an outdoor “ice bucket” by filling our old stone bird bath with ice. It's a fun alternative to an ice chest when gathering al fresco.

Setting up a picnic, no matter the location, always feels like a mini vacation to me and the goal is to make it comfortable enough to want to linger for a while. The Tensira bedrolls are great to have on hand this time of year, whether you’re taking a trip to the beach, heading on a road trip or enjoying the sun in your garden.  I laid out two twin sizes side-by-side which gave us the perfect amount of space to spread out our dishes and still lounge.

I layered the bedrolls with a variety of cozy cushions to lean on and, turns out, they're great for sleeping on too. And what's a picnic without a basket... this one is great for hauling all your linens to and from the house. I also brought along this super soft, handcrafted throw in case our evening picnic turned into a night watching the stars. 

Who doesn't love a good napkin refresh with the change of season, and I just made a new batch which I'm really excited about. Playing off the mix and match idea from my last collection, these new designs (here and here) blend well with those but add a more summery pop. They're 100% organic cotton and block printed by hand in India. They pair nicely with rhubarb tarts and chocolate chip cookies ;)

As we move into the summer months, I'm looking forward to seeing what we can rustle up from our kitchen garden and enjoy the warm evenings under our trees. And so keeping a selection of outdoor essentials on hand makes impromptu gatherings that much more effortless and enjoyable. I hope you all get to enjoy the great outdoors this weekend. I'll live vicariously through those of you who aren't in torrential rain showers like we are here in NY today. 

Sending lots of love,

1 comment

Love everything!

What white shirt are you wearing? Is it available in your store?

Many thanks!

Sutten

Sutten E Wasserman

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