Tea Party fit for a Queen!

In the last of our vignettes for the Lake Forest Womens Club review of our new book, Romancing the Home Entertains, we created a tea party on a living room coffee table. Perfect for small gatherings, the coffee table provides an intimate spot for friends to be together to celebrate a birthday, a promotion or just simply nothing! A gold tower held tea sandwiches and berry tarts. The spectacular rhinestone encrusted cake plateau was hand made by Eric Cortina and purchased by us at his Atlanta Mart showroom. It perfect for showcasing the small vase of flowers and the mixed assortment of dainty coffee cups. The beautiful blueberry tart recipe is in our cookbook and was made by my friend Lynda for the gathering. It looks beautiful and very regal in the cut glass compote. The antique silver teapot with the embellished bone spout added a special gracefulness to the table. It makes me wish that afternoon tea was an American daily tradition! We sure to visit www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com to see other beautiful tablescapes.

Pretty Food Presentations from our new book!

Presenting even the most simple food, such as the humble deviled egg, in a beautiful way elevates the dining experience to a higher level. These are some of my favorite pictures from our book "Romancing the Home Entertains". I love the roasted beet salad- roasted beets are sliced and then cut into shapes using a canape cutter and then skewered together with a green rhinestone florist pink. A little shot glass holds green goddess dressing for dipping.And I love the fresh chive blossom on the shot of dressing! Instead of slicing an egg into halves the long way, slice it across the middle and serve in an antique egg cup. Fresh nasturtiums and a little rhinestone alligator add to the beauty of the simple deviled egg plate. The beautiful nautilus shell - is a perfect vessel for berries or flowers. And finally, a simple strawberry tartare is glorious on Love Disarmed Ice Cream spoons and gracefully shares the limelight with a perfect rose. Please be sure to visit www.designsbygollum.blogspot.com for more beautiful food.

A Royal Breakfast

With the upcoming nuptials of the Royal family in England, no doubt many a table setting will be inspired. Again for the Lake Forest Women's Club book review of our new book, Romancing the Home Entertains, we created a Royal Breakfast. Menu cards were created using the Queen and King font from www.dafont.com and vintage crests and metallic ribbons. The napkin blankets were created by fringing cut squares of tartan wool from the fabric store. The napkin rings were made from old blazer crests hot glued on to old belt parts. At the store, we always try to have pewter and horn serving pieces available for purchase. We have used them on this table to add to the English effect. The tartan taffeta tablecloth is overlayed with red velvet placemats and the black and red buffalo chargers, found at a flea market years ago. Little primrose pots were placed in an old silverplate wine decanter holder for the centerpiece. This entire table is placed against a banquette, complete with crown embellished pillows and tartan throws. And of course we have to serve the awesome popover recipe that is found in our book. To view other tables on Tablescape Thursday, visit www.Betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com.

The Color Red

The red dresses that were worn to the Oscar's by Sandra Bullock and Jennifer Hudson were breathtaking. And when I walked by the bakery counter at Vanille Patisserie in the French Market in Chicago, I could not resist the decadent little red cheesecake. It made me think about the color red's impact when used in a home decorating scheme. The color red is a passionate color and adds drama every time it is used in a room. I was so excited to find this vintage , vivid red screen from France. It is the perfect red- hot, sexy, and makes a statement. We don't often have a lot of this color in the store, but I couldn't resist the series of the three monkeys behind the red drapes. And for the last dreary month of winter in Chicago, this needed little pop of red color in our front window makes us smile and know that red tulips will soon be blooming!

A Royal Dinner Party

Yesterday, Romancing the Home hosted an event for The Lake Forest Women's Club to review our new book "Romancing the Home Entertains. We set up several tablescapes to illustrate our book's content. This table was for a formal dinner party, but really showed the mixing and matching of china. We used vintage china , mixed with a new line of accent dinnerware that we have in the store. Taffeta was used under a gold bridal lace as the tablecloth. Vintage sherbet and champagne glasses served as votives and floral containers. We made the menu card from scrap booking supplies. The white and gold over sized napkins in the tiger print really updated the overall table, and are also available at the store. Be sure to visit www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com to see other tablescapes on Tablescape Tuesday.

Cocktail Party on the Cheap Side, but so very divine!

Nothing like having friends over for cocktails and having them bring the food! Plus our local grocery store was selling primroses for $1.00, and flowers for $4 a bunch, so even the centerpieces were on the cheap side! Seriously - last night the Romancing the Home girls came over to review our spring strategy for the store and each were asked to bring an appetizer, worthy of being in a cookbook and I think they over achieved! I had little goody bags for them, filled with some of my favorite things, including the little gold boxes of chocolates from Le Chocolatier at the French Market in Chicago. My friend Lynda was in town and created the stunning berry charlottes for each to enjoy. Tied with ribbons, they were a delight to the eye. Candy, Amy and Penny created the fabulous portable French cheese, olive and tomato shooters in the wine box. Pureed fresh grape tomatoes, topped with minced black olives and goat cheese, was delectable, and the Camembert Butter concoction, rolled in pistachios, was to die for. How very clever those girls were. Julie's risotto with shrimp and lemon aloli was yummy and absolutely beautiful on the silver platter. Katha choose to delight us with a pear, pancetta, and goat cheese appetizer, drizzled with honey and topped off the presentation with the ribbon dazzled pear! Laurell made her mother in law's old standby recipe of a delicious crab mold and presented it beautifully on a black and white antique platter. It tasted so good! But perhaps the most complex presentation was the wooden chicken with the Ritz cracker and cheese whiz combination. Penney spent hours putting together the little mini pizzas with the cheese whiz, olives and pizza sauce. And how clever she was - disguising that cheese whiz container with the wrapping and kale! Seriously- really- someone has to be kidding me!!! We laughed and I wish we had caught Penny's presentation on tape- Saturday night live- here she comes!

I am a lucky girl to have such a talented and fun crew to work with me!

Valentine's Treats for Two

Valentine's Day demands that you serve sexy, pretty food! Heart shaped ravioli from our local grocery store, chocolate dipped strawberries, and decadent cupcakes, resplendent with sugar flowers and blackberries. Add your own beautiful dishes and lots of candlelight! Chocolate dipped strawberries are best enjoyed by a roaring fire with chilled champagne. A simple dish of basil and tomato ravioli, shaped into little hearts is delicious and pretty served with a marinara sauce and freshly grated Parmesan. Vanilla cupcakes, filled with a raspberry filling, are garnished with sugar roses, calla lilies, and blackberries. Yummy little treats for your special Valentine~!