When it comes to planning a bridal shower, it’s the little extra details that make all the difference in creating a special experience. When my fellow bridesmaids landed on a mimosa bar for the shower, I decided it would be fun to jazz up the rented champagne flutes with a little extra flair. Using embroidery floss and an easy-to-find tutorial from Pinterest, I made tassels in coordinating corals, peaches, and lilacs. Using wine charm findings I attached the tassels with an extra piece of embroidery floss. The result was a bright pop of festive color on the champagne flutes, and an easy way for guests to locate their drinks!
I shared a few sneak peeks of a bridal shower for one of my best buds this weekend if you follow me over on instagram, and I have loads more to share here today! I had so much fun planning details for this shower because there are few people in this world that would appreciate them more than this bride-to-be. It was also so much fun because of the all-star bridesmaids involved — these girls pulled out all the stops: from stocking a candy buffet fit for Willy Wonka, to hand-making favor boxes out of coordinating cardstock, to arranging gorgeous blooms brimming with bright pink peonies (this gang was so on top of things that we all showed up in coordinating outfits without even planning!). My favorite detail was the mimosa bar, stocked with Pop-Fizz-Clink drink stirrers and signage from Laura Hooper Calligraphy and a wall of cascading tissue bursts in peaches and pinks and lilacs from Shop Sweet Lulu. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day, it was a sun-shining, mimosa drinking kind of a celebration!
I have started a fun little summer challenge: on Tuesdays and Fridays I have been hitting up the Copley Square Farmers Market on my lunch break and try to make a dinner completely out of ingredients from the vendor stands. There is one particular vendor that makes amazing fresh pastas which has been a great base to feature all of the delicious crisp veggies I have been able to get at the market. So farmers market pasta is becoming a new staple.
It’s the same process each week: boil water for the pasta and steam the veggies on top. Then in a pan, melt 1 tbsp of butter and sauté the veggies and a few minced shallots: add 1/4 cup of white wine and reduce the mixture. Then toss the pasta in with a few tablespoons of the pasta water and coat with the sauce and vegetables. Then top with a fresh squeeze of lemon juice, salt and pepper, and Parmesan cheese. This week I made it with English peas, heirloom carrots, and yellow summer squash, but have also tried garlic scapes, zucchini, and broccoli. It’s healthy, local and so tasty! 
This was one of those weekends where I totally forgot to break out my real camera because I was too busy having fun. Hurricane Arthur did little to deter my patriotic celebrations — I went to a friend’s beach house and we had a rainy night in with a lobster dinner, my frozen berry cheesecake jars for dessert, and a whole lot of cards against humanity. Once the weather cleared up we hit the beach for some book reading and sun bathing — it was bliss. I am having some major Monday-blues after such a good long weekend — anyone else? 
Sometimes a few simple ingredients can be combined to make something wow-worthy — and I totally feel that way about this easy to make summer salad of grilled peaches and arugula. I made this salad for a summer rosé party held by The Urban Grape, and it was a hit — the sweetness of the grilled peaches is a perfect balance for the peppery arugula and tang of reduced balsamic. Check out the recipe below and be sure to click over to Boston.com to read the full article with smart tips from Hadley & TJ of The Urban Grape to throw your own rosé party!
Ingredients:
- 6 Peaches
- 1 cup of Mozzarella balls
- 8 cups of Arugula
- 1/8 cup Pine Nuts
- 1/3 cup Balsamic Vinegar
Peel peaches and cut into wedges. Heat grill and lightly coat with cooking spray to keep peaches from sticking. Grill peaches until marked on all sides. Set aside to cool. In a small saucepan, heat the Balsamic Vinegar on a medium-high heat, and let it reduce in half, about 5-8 minutes. As the Vinegar is reducing, toast pine nuts lightly in a small pan (be careful not to burn). In a large bowl, assemble arugula, layer mozzarella and peaches on top, and then sprinkle with pine nuts and dress with the balsamic reduction. Toss to serve.
Photography: Brian Samuels Photography
One of the easiest dishes for entertaining is kabobs — they’re easy to prepare in advance, are pre-portioned, and look really beautiful when plated for the table. When working on a summer rosé party held by The Urban Grape, I made a simple rosemary sirloin version that’s perfect for summer entertaining. Check out the recipe below and be sure to click over to Boston.com to read the full article with smart tips from Hadley & TJ of The Urban Grape to throw your own rosé party!
Ingredients:
- 1 lb of sirloin tips
- 1 large red onion
- 1 zucchini
- 1 red pepper
- Fresh rosemary
- 2 lemons
- Salt and pepper
Marinate steak overnight in a sealed plastic back with the juice of two lemons, salt and pepper, and 3-4 sprigs of rosemary. Soak wooden skewers in water overnight to prevent burning. When ready to assemble the kabobs, begin by preparing the vegetables; slice a zucchini, peppers and red onion into large chunks. Alternate the vegetables and meats until the skewers are full. Use fresh rosemary sprigs and remove the needles from the bottom half of the stalk to create. Press the sprig into the first few pieces of meat and vegetables to thread the rosemary through the skewer. Grill kabobs to desired wellness and serve on a bed of arugula.
Photography: Brian Samuels Photography
I had the pleasure of working with some really creative folks a few weeks ago on a rosé wine tasting party held by The Urban Grape. Helping to style a shoot like this really doesn’t count as work because I got to hang out all day with amazing company, eat a tasty lunch al fresco on a gorgeous wrap around porch, and learn all about (and taste!) delicious rosé wines on a warm summer day. I shared a few of my favorite outtakes from the day here, but click over to Boston.com to read the full article with smart tips from Hadley & TJ of The Urban Grape to throw your own rosé party.
Wine: The Urban Grape
Photography: Brian Samuels Photography
Flowers: Boston Pollen
Glassware: Farm & Fable
It was a very festive weekend — we celebrated my little brother’s high school graduation with a big backyard fiesta! I think my sister and I started planning this party almost a year ago when we realized our baby brother’s graduation was impending — we love to throw a good party and this was a big reason to celebrate. The theme was inspired by some mexican blankets that we found at a thrift store for a few bucks a piece, and thought they would make awesome table linens for a summer fiesta. We had a taco bar for dinner and a make your own margarita station with festive drink stirrers. For decorations I ordered tons of papel picado and we strung the banners all along the backyard fence and above the bar. Of course it wouldn’t be a fiesta without a few piñatas too (and I brought some confetti cannons which were a hit!). It was a perfect day of food, family, and fun.
If you follow me on instagram, you may have seen my little brother graduated from high school this week (cue the tears!). He’s the baby in the family, and is lucky to have two big sisters and a mom that L-O-V-E -love throwing parties, so you better believe we’re going to be throwing the biggest and best graduation party for him to celebrate. He requested a taco bar which lead to an obvious theme of fiesta! — so I’ve been busy crafting up piñata-inspired details this week to make sure it’s a fiesta to remember. Using tissue paper, I cut 1.5 inch strips in different colors and used fringe scissors to create the piñata-like texture. Next, I used a glue-stick to coat the non-fringed edge, and began to wrap it around the party horn whistle (I got these at a party store and removed the paper wrappers that came on them). Keep wrapping until you get to the end and add a little extra glue to ensure it’s sealed, then repeat with additional colors layered on top. I replicated the same process for drink stirrers, just wrapping a bit tighter around a small skewer, and used a few extra tiny scraps to make some tooth-pick flags for garnishes; can’t wait to use these at the party this weekend!
A few weeks back I popped into Olives & Grace in the South End and stumbled upon Sfoglini pastas in the shop. My siblings and I essentially considered everything bagels our main food group for most of our childhood, so I had to grab a bag when I saw they made an everything bagel-flavored pasta. Fast forward to my crawl along the Vermont Cheese Trail a week later when visiting the Cabot tasting room I secured some everything bagel cheddar cheese. It was carb and cheese kismet — frankly it would have been irresponsible not to dream up a way to combine these two everything-bagel-flavored treats. Sometimes a great idea just presents itself to you, and Everything Bagel Mac & Cheese was one of those great ideas. I modified my usual mac and cheese recipe, and just swapped in the everything bagel flavored ingredients (and just because that wasn’t enough, I crushed up bagel chips in lieu of bread crumbs). I’m a certified crazy person for even thinking something like this up, but oh man was it tasty. (Full disclosure: next time I’d probably hold back on the bagel chips because it tasted a little bit like mac and cheese combined with stuffing due to their texture — not that mac and cheese stuffing sounds like a bad thing). So, there you have it. In case you thought making donuts into s’mores was the fattest idea a person could ever have — I’ve topped myself once again. 
