Our season for Al fresco dining is so short that we make every effort to eat on our front deck.
Unfortunately the backyard project is on hold until we can get some help and with the summer being the way it has been.... rain and then extreme hot temperatures....well, it seems that it is going to take longer than anticipated.
So for now we continue to enjoy Al fresco on the front deck.
The deck is still waiting for several coats of stain but until the temperature evens out that too is on hold.
So.... we are enjoying the summer, ignoring the unstained deck and living life outdoors.
I find the description of Al fresco dining as party-like to be so true.
Somehow getting the table set outdoors, no matter how casual, it has an immediate festive feel.
Yep, those are plastic salt and pepper mills on the table...
but don't forget..... it is a style of dining that is casual.
And in the summer heat I am all about casual.
And the food is fairly casual too...
Bruschetta pasta with grilled steak and a salad make this an easy meal.
and as the darkness sets in you feel like you have created your own outdoor oasis.
Once dinner is finished we grab the muskoka chairs and pull them around the little fire pit to finish off the evening ....
An perhaps by September we will finish our Al fresco evenings for 2013 on a back terrace by the edge of the forest....
In the meantime....
although we are missing some of our favourite regulars from the table.....SARAH...ANDREW.... next time!!
I am sharing this over at:
Elizabeth and co.
Common Ground
Savvy Southern Style
French Country cottage
It looks wonderful - cozy, comfortable, and like you are eating in a treehouse. I love the atmosphere the candles give to the table. We eat out on the screened porch at the cottage, but not at home (hubby does not like eating with any bugs).
ReplyDeleteIt looks very relaxed and comfortable. I am sure you have wonderful meals there.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Wikipedia definition, I thought al fresco was Italian - I looked it up and from what I can gather it is both Italian and Spanish!
I love dining outdoors in summer. Your deck and table look so inviting. I love the lanterns and the casual air about the whole scene. I hope you can get your new patio done before the leaves fall so you can enjoy it a few times. Although sitting out with cozy blankets and a fire would be nice too. Enjoy and have a lovely weekend.
ReplyDeleteHello fellow Canadian! Your outdoor dinner party pictures look so inviting and make us feel like we were sitting around your terrific table enjoying that delicious looking food and wine while we laughed the night away with you! So casual yet so festive with all that candlelight!
ReplyDeleteDD
We try to eat outside every chance we get! Its been the rain this summer, not the heat (which is unusual) that's keeping us inside. I think your front deck is so pretty, Donna. I think this is the first time I've seen it! You do have such an inviting space.
ReplyDeletexo,
Ricki Jill
I don't know if it's that you live in the country - or your incredible photography skills - but God do I wish I were having dinner with you on that deck!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Donna - absolutely beautiful!
XOXO
Have I ever told you I love your sense of style! The table and setting are perfect, the food looks delicious and best of all, I know the conversation will have been brilliant as well! Wish I was there!
ReplyDeleteWow, this is beautiful!!! So grownup.
ReplyDeleteI had to look up the Muscoka chair, because I know them as Adirondack. So it seems that New York claims them as originator, but it is a Quebec vernacular to call them Muscoka. I could not find if the chairs slightly differed in interpretation. I remember that they use to be always dark green. In the years in which my father worked there, I did not acquire that terminology in my Ontario and New Brunswick summers.
Any way beautiful. With some of the newer melanine plates one cannot tell they are not glass unless one touches them. Don't put them in the microwave ;) But you probably know it will blow out the microwave's magnitron. I've done that:( Another reason I didn't install a permanent one in my kitchen.
Wow! It's really fantastic, Donna! Are you going to lend me one of these pictures for my outdoors post in August? Have you seen my post, asking pictures? Here you are
ReplyDeletehttp://marinainblue.blogspot.com.es/2013/07/our-little-details-nuestros-pequenos.html#comment-form.
Love your outdoor dinner!!
Hi Donna, been on vacation for a while and now so overwhelmed catching up on everything...love your lanterns and porch...you made me hungry and seems I'm too far away to come over for left-overs..lol
ReplyDeleteIsn't eating outdoors just the greatest? Imagine my shock when I met someone who DOES NOT eat outdoors... and seemed to believe that was the norm for most people...apparently her whole family doesn't eat out doors...... She found my admission that I love to eat in the fresh air disturbing. All these years......lol
ReplyDeleteImagine! I thought the idea of a family picnic had been around forever. My grandmother and my mother always made a big deal of getting us altogether for a family picnic. I loved it as a child and still love it today. I sort of think eating outdoors in Al fresco style is just an extension of the picnic.
DeleteHopefully they will try it.
Everything is perfect! What is in the large lantern? It is beautiful, but I can't decide what is in there and what is making it light.
ReplyDeletePS...your menu is my favorite!
How glorious! Our "Al Fresco" window is very small as well, I love your outside space, so inspiring.. Those ferns are lush btw :)
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