A Picnic Wish List.

Image from the NY Times

With the warm weather that was bestowed upon us on Saturday, it got me thinking about future, warm Saturday afternoons and spending them in the park with a (well-designed) picnic and my man! The first thing to do is go shopping for some delicious and portable food to make fun, outdoor creations for the park. In fact, the NY Times Food section (compiled by Mark Bittman) had a fantastic and inspiring list of 101 picnic-worthy items to make in under 20 minutes. Not only is the food an important part of the picnic, but it's the other things that your bring along that make for a perfect day of alfresco dining with your shoes off and the sunshine above.

The second is a great blanket. The one Matt and I used all last summer is a wool army blanket circa Vietnam (or at least it looks and feels like it...sometimes it smells like it too). This is not conducive for sitting on grass that may be slightly damp from the evening before as there is no waterproof lining. Well, enter this great invention I saw at a shop in our neighborhood this weekend; a picnic blanket that is soft on one side (for sitting your precious bottom) and waterproof on the other (for protecting your blanket and your bottom from getting wet or muddy). Being waterproof also helps with dusting it off when you are done! Not only that, but this blanket comes in some cute patterns and prints.

The third thing you need are cute napkins and utensils (for the record, we usually bring paper napkins and white plastic forks but this IS my picnic wish list so why can't a girl dream?) with which to eat the delectable snacks you brought with you. Why not pick up this great set which, like the blanket, also fold up to make less space and create a pocket as to which not lose the cutlery? This is from Etsy designer Noei and she makes them in two other fun print combos (though this is my favorite).

And finally for the perfect picnic, you need something to hold it all! Here is a great set from none other than Martha Stewart. All of this talk about outdoor eating and warm Saturdays makes me wish for 5 days to go by quickly as I heard that Saturday is supposed to be perfect picnic weather. Time to dust off the frisbee and unravel the kite string – spring is here! Photo below was taken by me (those are Matt's legs and hands) on our first time out with the kite last spring; it was a perfect outing of dark pretzels, great beer, lots of wind and a bright new kite!