Hey there, Aerie fam! I’m Steph, the Associate Manager of Visual Merchandising. Over the past few weeks, virtual happy hours have proven to be an amazing way for people to stay connected, but I’ve been thinking… why limit the fun to just a few hours?
It can be especially difficult to be socially distant from the ones you love, and with Mother’s Day approaching, I tried to think of creative ways I could spend time with my mom.
My Mom, Peggy, is an amazing baker. Me? Well… not so much! However, one thing both of us loves is to BRUNCH and brunch together with our family. So, we decided to spend a morning together for our first ever virtual brunch!
First, we selected one of our family favorite recipes and planned our shopping lists to gather all of our ingredients. We made Ina Garten’s “Raspberry Baked French Toast” from her book Make It Ahead. This casserole is so delicious and flexible. You can substitute ingredients to your tastes/needs: blueberries and lemon zest would be yummy, sub gluten free bread for brioche… the skies the limit! We also picked this recipe because we would be making it separately, and I knew that it would be an amazing make ahead breakfast I would enjoy for the whole week.
It would also be really fun to both order take-out from your favorite brunch spot and avoid the messy kitchen.
When our brunch date arrived, we video-chatted and baked the recipe together step-by-step. It actually felt like we were working together in the kitchen, just catching up and enjoying each other’s company. We stayed on the chat for the hour while the casserole baked and had coffee – with a few cameo appearances from my Dad and brother!
Meanwhile, we prepared to brunch in style by each creating fun seasonal table settings. Just because we couldn’t go out, didn’t mean we’d be sacrificing on our brunch experience! In fact, just because we’re at home, we planned to brunch from bed! Honestly, what better way to brunch than in your favorite PJs or Aerie set?!
My Mom and I had a blast planning and making brunch together. It was so nice to start my day with her, and I was surprised that at the end of our chat it felt like we had just been together in the same kitchen for hours. Our virtual brunch was the perfect way to connect and celebrate our relationship. I can’t wait to hug her sometime soon!
Share with us how you are staying connected and how you plan to celebrate Mother’s Day.
Happy brunching! Xoxo.