Belated Happy Dads’ Day to all the fathers, single parents, and guardians out there!
To celebrate my hubby’s second year as a Papa to our babycat, I pulled off a surprise breakfast picnic for him on our roofdeck. We are both such fans of picnics for its (seemingly) carefree vibe and (seemingly) easy prep and setup.

Picnicking in our favorite spot in Ateneo for our first wedding anniversary, way back 2010
Throwback pic: Picnicking at our favorite spot in Ateneo for our first wedding anniversary, way back 2010

Now how did I execute this surprise? Two things.
1. Send hubby off on an errand the night before (despite his grumblings and protestations) so you can prep.
2. Wake up earlier than everyone else to set up (and pray to the gods that it doesn’t rain and no one wakes up while you’re still setting up.)
Yeah, that was basically it. But for the past two weeks, I had been planning the whole surprise in my head, typing down notes in my phone and listing down whatever I needed to buy at the grocery for it.
I made sure that our menu was satisfying but very easy to prepare.

Omelette in a cup

Smoked salmon and cream cheese skewers

Ham and cheese skewers

Peach halves

Breakfast rolls

Orange riesling mimosas

Freshly brewed coffee

The night before, while hubby was on a forced errand, I chopped up some ham bits, spring onions, and tomatoes for the omelettes. I also skewered the smoked salmon and ham already, and kept them in the refrigerator on our roofdeck (it pays to have a ref on the 4th floor when the kitchen is on the ground floor). I also chilled the dry riesling, peach halves, milk, and orange juice overnight as well. I then brought up everything I would need—plates, French press, cups, pitcher, utensils, linen, table napkins, eucalyptus stems for my centerpiece—to set up as quickly and as quietly as possible the next morning. The only thing left for me to do for the morning was to nuke the omelettes in the microwave and set the table.

Enough with the lengthy descriptions, on to the photos!

The breakfast picnic spread
The breakfast picnic spread

I inherited a teakwood picnic table and benches from my parents (although my mom would say it’s just on loan…) (hi mom!), so I just covered it with my (favorite) toile tablecloth.
Up close
Up close

The eucalyptus stems are faux from Dapitan, and I covered the vase with black kitchen towels. I didn’t want to make my setup too feminine and colorful (so no flowers), because I was setting it up for the hubby. Plus he loves black.
The menu, handwritten on ivory card stock
The menu, handwritten on ivory card stock, which I just leaned against the vase, and the ingredients for my orange riesling mimosas

A closer look at the menu
A closer look at the menu

The French press is my HFD gift to the hubby, because our cat had broken three of our coffee-machine pots already and hubby had been drinking instant coffee since then. Poor guy.
The French press is my HFD gift to the hubby, because our cat had broken three of our coffee-machine pots already and hubby had been drinking instant coffee since then. Poor guy. (Not that our instant coffee is BAD, it’s actually pretty good.) Shameless plug.

The omelettes in a cup. Super easy to make, and that's saying a lot given that it's ME we're talking about.
The omelettes in a cup. Super easy to make, and that’s saying a lot given that it’s ME we’re talking about.

For the omelettes, all I did was brush a bit of oil on the insides of the cups, cracked two eggs into each, beat them with milk, then zapped them in the microwave for two minutes (your microwave has different features than mine, so just check if the egg is semi-cooked and still a bit runny). Then, I just dumped into the cup all the chopped ham, spring onions, and tomatoes (sprinkled with a bit of truffle salt to taste), and nuked them again for a couple or so minutes more. DONE. And it was GOOD.
Eggs, rolls, OJ for the most important meal of the day
Eggs, rolls, OJ for the most important meal of the day

Peach halves—which I just poured straight from the can, and the skewered smoked salmon and ham
Chilled peach halves—which I just poured straight from the can, and the skewered smoked salmon and ham

What made the preps so easy is that I included dishes in the menu that would enable me to just serve straight from the packaging—ergo, smoked salmon, cooked ham (make sure it says ‘COOKED’ on the packaging!), cheese, cream cheese, and peach halves.
Oops, my first guest is a sorta pissed I woke her up from deep slumber.
Oops, my first guest is sorta pissed I woke her up from deep slumber.

The celebrant and the still-sleepy babycat
The celebrant and the still-sleepy babycat

Throwback Item! Remember the glass Magnolia milk bottles of our childhood? I scored this plastic version when I bought bread from some small grocery before, and this was the freebie. It didn't matter if I didn't like the bread—I NEEDED TO GET MY HANDS ON THAT BOTTLE.
Throwback Item! Remember the glass Magnolia milk bottles of our childhood? I scored this plastic version when I bought bread from some small grocery before, and this was the freebie. It didn’t matter if I didn’t like the bread—I NEEDED TO GET MY HANDS ON THAT BOTTLE.

My orange riesling mimosa: more like Buck's Fizz, as it's equal parts OJ and wine. Hubby loved it!
My orange riesling mimosa: more like Buck’s Fizz, as it’s equal parts OJ and wine. Hubby loved it!

And now, for the requisite iPhone pics—!
Top view, as posted on Instagram
Top view, as posted on Instagram

After breakfast, playtime ensued. I brought up babycat’s rolly crate of select toys and musical instruments, and laid out the hubby’s exercise mats.
IMG_8125
Post-picnic jam
Post-picnic jam

She told me to put Mickey and Minnie on the hammock
She told me to put Mickey and Minnie on the hammock

Teaching her how to do a selfie. Tsk tsk.
Teaching her how to do a selfie. Tsk tsk.

All in all, it was a pretty good Father’s Day morning! No need to have an occasion to eat out under the sun. We can make this a Sunday morning tradition.
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Then again, I’d rather sleep in on Sundays, so, Father’s Day picnics it is.