Stylist. Photographer. Artist. Graphic Designer. Foodie. Fancy Pants.
Posts in Entertaining
I recently styled a photoshoot for the fall/winter issue of Nashville Lifestyles At Home (on newsstands now). They asked me to show how to throw a dinner party at home. I thought an at-home wine tasting would be a fun fall party that might be intimidating at first, but something that is really simple to plan and the perfect treat for friends and family moving into the holidays.
Thank you to everyone that came out to my Pie Party Workshop at Tin Cottage last night! I had such a blast meeting all of you, signing books, talking party tips and sharing pie with you. With over 10 of my favorite pies on display, everyone seemed to have a different favorite ... pecan, pumpkin, blackberry, blueberry hand pies, chocolate pudding jar pies and these Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pies—my new seasonal fave!
I'm thrilled to be hosting the Tin Cottage's first workshop on October 9! I can’t wait to share tips, recipes and advice on how to throw the Perfect Pie Party. Last week I shared picture's from Tin Cottage's new store as they celebrated their grand opening. This week I wanted to officially invite YOU to come to my "How to Throw a Pie Party" workshop. There is limited availability and tickets are selling fast so call and reserve your tickets today! For tickets, call Tin Cottage at (615) 472-1183.
I'm so excited for everyone to finally see this Fairytale Fern and White Linen Luncheon I recently styled for The Scout Guide Nashville. Check out their blog at nashville.thescoutguide.com/blog this morning for the complete shoot and story! Special thanks to Amy Cherry of Amy Nicole Photography for the beautiful photos.
Invite your friends and family to join around the patio and fire up the grill—it’s grilling season! There’s nothing better than the smell of a grill loaded with food at the end of a hot summer day.
My Ultimate (Skinny) Margarita has long been my go-to summer cocktail. It's light and fresh and I haven't met anyone that doesn't like it. This Pomegranate Mint Spiked Lemonade just may rival it. It's my new summer favorite and will be THE cocktail on all my backyard barbecue menus this summer.
Today is my nephew, Henry's, 1st birthday. Happy Birthday Chunk!!
One of the best parts of Christmas (besides all the sweets of course) is the Christmas music! From old Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby classics to new favorites by Michael Buble and Diana Krall, Christmas music can get even the biggest scrooge into the holiday spirit.
On the 8th day of Christmas my true love gave to me "8 maids a milking." What goes better with milk than chocolate?!
These chocolate eclairs are one of our family's absolute favorite desserts. My mom taught me how to make them (like a lot of the recipes on this blog) and I have to tell you, they take a little practice to make sure they come out perfect. The key? The more you make them, the more you get the hang of the correct consistency of the 3 different batters (dough for the choux pastry, the custard filling and the chocolate icing).
All that glitters IS GOLD! And the holidays are the perfect time to add a little glitter to your life.
Upon doing my research for my "12 Days of Christmas" blog feature, I quickly found out that a colly bird from the line "4 colly birds" is just a common black bird. Who wants a common black bird for Christmas!? Good thing my true love gives me five golden rings in the next line …
The holidays are all about getting together with the ones you love. I love entertaining and having people over but sometimes a big dinner party is overwhelming for not only you but your guests too (who might have several different parties to attend in one weekend). That's why I love having a small intimate cocktail hour where friends can just stop in and then head to their next affair.
Nothing screams the holidays more than iced sugar cookies. We've been making this recipe since I was a kid and decorating them all kinds of ways. Last year I made giant snowflakes and delivered them to our neighbors, Christmas trees for the guys at the Christmas tree lot and ornaments with guests' names piped on them for a holiday party.
Over the next twelve days I am going to take the Christmas carol "The 12 Days of Christmas" to inspire some magical holiday entertaining. From food to fashion, decor to design, it's going to be twelve days of creative ideas of how to brighten your holiday or throw your very own "12 Days of Christmas" themed party.
3 weeks of planning, 30 minutes of eating, 2 hours of washing dishes, a fridge full of left overs and Thanksgiving is officially over.
I'm not biased when it comes to pie. I've never met a pie I didn't like. That's why when I decided to throw a PIE PARTY with my good friends at StyleBlueprint.com, I wanted it to be all kinds of rustic chic. And, boy was it! Just think—a farm table in the middle of the woods covered in all different kinds of pies, wine and cider, and rustic winter decor surrounded by your favorite friends. Are you are starting to picture the wonderfulness a Pie Party can bring? Stroll over to StyleBlueprint.com today and check out all the beautiful photos and how-to's.
Now that you have your Thanksgiving Week Before Checklist completed, it's time for the short week leading up to the big day! In order to have everything prepared for Thursday, I have made a to-do list broken down by the day for the week leading up to Thursday and broken down by the minute on Thanksgiving Day to make sure that I get everything cooked properly.
We put up our Christmas tree on November 1st this year—a little later than usual … I think Jacobs would have it up year round if I let him. It made my beautiful fall table (check it out here), which I was planning on having up for Thanksgiving, feel totally out of place. Pumpkins and a Christmas tree? Not so much.
