I'll have what she's having

Food, flowers, mezcal, and the kind of magic only women can make

Another Saturday, another brunch—it’s officially becoming a thing. And honestly? I’m obssesed.

Brunch is my favorite kind of hosting. It’s not too early, not too late, and you get the best of everything: sweet dishes, savory spreads, and yes—booze. It’s the perfect setup to spend time with friends, let the kids run wild, and hit pause on the chaos of the week. After a full schedule of school drop-offs, work, meals, and routines, a Saturday brunch feels like a deep breath. A chance to reset, reconnect, and indulge.

So I summoned the girls for a Saturday brunch—one of those cozy, beautiful, slightly chaotic mornings where the kids have their own setup (movie and snacks) and the moms get their version of quiet time. Not quiet as in silent—just kid quiet. Cue laughter, clinking glasses, and nonstop grazing.

My parents are still visiting, so of course, I recruited my mom. She’s a magician in the kitchen and wildly artistic, so I gave her a challenge: make a lemon tart topped with pavlova. I had seen the inspiration on Instagram—fluffy, floral, and golden—and she took it from there. I also texted my friend Christine, a literal garden queen, and asked if I could “borrow” some of her edible flowers. She delivered, as always.

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The Menu

• Whipped ricotta and Greek yogurt with raw honey and crushed pistachio, served with homemade seed and dried strawberry crackers

• A tapas-style platter with prosciutto, soft cheese, smoked cheddar, arugula, and toasted baguette slices

• Babaganoush served with dill pickle chips

• Marinated cherry tomatoes in olive oil, balsamic, garlic and maldon salt flakes with burrata and basil
• A crisp salad with endives, celery, fennel, mandarin, and feta, tossed in a honey mustard shallot vinaigrette

• Roasted cauliflower with chimichurri

• And the star of the show: a lemon curd and Biscoff cookie tart, topped with pavlova, edible flowers, golden glitter, pistachio powder, and honeycomb squares

• For the kids i made homemade pizza Margherita, plus everything in the menu was kid friendly.

The table looked like a fairy forest. And that was just what I made.

As always, my friends showed up with homemade magic. Christine brought a bottle of her pineapple magnolia kombucha and some jam squares. Anna arrived with a rich date chocolate bread, and Isa gifted us her stunning homemade lilac syrup—left to steep for 36 hours, a natural lavender hue glowing in the bottle. By then, it was official: this was a fairy reunion. Everything was either hand-grown or handmade, and the energy felt exactly like that.

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The Drinks (aka: The Vibe)

Unplanned but perfectly on theme, our cocktails matched the garden-party feel:

1. A floral pineapple magnolia kombucha + Tito’s vodka to kick things off

1. A blush-toned pink lemonade with lilac syrup + Ungava gin

1. And the finale: a frozen mezcal mango margarita with chamoy, spicy, sweet, and addictive

Chamoy is a beloved Mexican condiment made from pickled fruits like apricot or plum, blended with chile, salt, and lime. It’s sweet, sour, spicy, and salty all at once—and often drizzled over fruit, snacks, or in this case, blended into a frozen cocktail brought straight from Mexico. It was perfection.

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The menu slayed. The company, even more so.

These brunches fill me up—creatively, emotionally, and yes, physically. There’s something powerful about sharing time and space with other women, especially now that we’re all in the same motherhood chapter. Everyone brings something to the table, literally and figuratively.

It felt effortless. It felt real. And it reminded me that these gatherings are more than just meals—they’re joy rituals.

My heart is full. My stomach too. And I already can’t wait for the next one