FRIENDSGIVING IDEAS WITH MACKENZIE-CHILDS

A little over a month ago, I was able to attend a trip to upstate New York to visit the MacKenzie-Childs headquarters. This was such a special trip for me because I was introduced to this brand from a friend  when we were in high school. Since then, I have always admired her and her mom’s love for all things MacKenzie-Childs. 

After visiting the headquarters, my love and appreciation has only grown. We were able to see behind the scenes of how each beautiful piece is made, and we got to work one of the artist to paint our very own piece. If you missed that footage, I saved all of those details in my highlights on Instagram. From the CEO to the design team to the artist that make each piece, I was seriously blown away by their passion for this company. This spoke volumes of how much they value what they do and what the vision is behind this brand. 

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What I love most about MacKenzie-Childs is that their pieces are timeless. Each piece is designed with meaning and meant to bring life to a table, kitchen, or foyer.

 

After that trip, I was so inspired to add some key pieces from MacKenzie-Childs to my own home and very inspired to host my own backyard friendsgiving. I was ready to showcase all of these pretties. 

 

So, let’s chat about what items that I added to my cart to get this backyard party started. 

With MacKenzie-Childs signature pattern being the Courtly Check, I definitely added some of those key pieces to my collection. But, what I was drawn to most of all was the Sweetbriar Collection. This is their all white design. It has beautiful yet subtle details in each piece. I also added some of their fall designs to my cart like the acorn napkin ring holders and lots  of hand painted pumpkins. 

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Parties are my favorite to plan. After buying lots of eucalyptus from Trader Joe’s, I started creating this tablescape with the Sweetbriar Collection. I added pops of the Courtly Check with these adorable cake stands and casserole dish. And, these MC pumpkins added the perfect touch— love the stripes and dots so much. 

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Sweetbriar Collection:

Courtly Check:

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Pumpkins:

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Some more key items in making this tablescape come alive is the FOOD. I promised y’all that I would share a couple of my mom’s signature, holiday recipes. And, I have to start with the cornbread dressing. Hers is BY FAR the best that you will ever taste. And, each person at this table would agree. Only one is family so they aren’t being bias. 

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Cornbread dressing recipe: 

 

2 boxes Jiffy cornbread

2 large chicken breast 

1 large box of chicken broth 

½ bag of green onions – chop 

½ cup of creole onion mix { this is only sold in the south- it is a combination of chopped onions, bell pepper, celery, parsley and garlic} 

 

Bake the cornbread according to the directions on the box. Boil the chicken, green onions and creole mix in half of the chicken broth until chicken falls apart. Shred the chicken and put it back in the broth to boil. Mix it together with crumbled cornbread and add the left over broth if needed. 

Double the batch if needed too. 

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Her next recipe that is actually passed down from my grandmother, Pearl Aguillard, is another favorite— Dirty Rice. Most kids LOVE it. It’s easy yet so tasty. It pairs really well with corn. 

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 Dirty Rice:

 

4lbs ground meat

½ bag of Green onions- chop 

2 cups of creole mix- same as above recipe 

Tablespoon minced garlic 

¼ cup to ½ cup of Kitchen bouquet – judge how much 

½ to entire box of beef broth – judge how much 

4 cups of cooked rice 

Tony’s seasoning – judge how much based on your preference 

 

Brown ground meat. Add all garlic, green onions and creole onion mixture. Add the rest of ingredients and cook for about one and ½ hours. Adjust broth amount as needed when mixing in the cooked rice. 

 

And, the last recipe that I’ll share for today is this blueberry tart pie. Y’all!! This is my first homemade fruit pie, and it was a big hit. And, I love how pretty it looks in my hand painted MacKenzie-Childs pie plate. 

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Fresh Blueberry Tart Pie: 

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1 pie crust— either homemade or buy the gourmet pie crust from Trader’s Joe’s—- bake it 

 

For filling: 

4 ounces cream cheese 

¼ cup of sugar 

⅛ cup of creme fraiche

¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract 

 

Blend well and add to the cooked crust. 

 

For topping: 

4 cups of fresh blueberries 

¾ cup of Trader Joe’s Blueberry preserves or any blueberry preserves—- melt the preserves and coat fresh blueberries 

Pour blueberry mixture over the filling. 

Refrigerate tart for 1 hour. 

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And, I can’t forget to point out the gorgeous pieces displayed on my cart. From the Courtly Check everyday bowls to the large pumpkin to the exquisite hand-painted glassware, I loved every detail. I’m sharing more pictures than I normally do for a blog post, but I just adore the details in each MC piece. 

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Glassware:

Sweetbriar Collection:

Courtly Check:

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And, lastly, I wanted to give you a peek at how I styled my key pieces in my house after the backyard party. Each item pairs perfectly with all of my boho decor in our home. I just love how this entryway turned out with the MacKenzie-Childs pumpkins, Courtly Check cake stands and Sweetbriar cake stand. This will stay like this through the Thanksgiving holidays. 

 

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Sweetbriar Collection:

Courtly Check:

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Hope that this inspired some of y’all to add some Courtly Check or Sweetbriar to your life. I seriously can’t wait to share how I style these MC pieces for Christmas. Eek!! 

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