We celebrated our 1-year anniversary a little early with a trip to Napa and San Francisco last weekend — I was traveling for work in the area so we decided to make a mini-vacation out of it! I know most people visit Napa and drink their way through the region, but I think we actually spent more of our time eating our way through. We wandered through Oxbow Public Market and feasted on Hog Island Oysters (paired with a rosé of course) and then made our way to Gott’s Roadside for burgers (paired with a milkshake of course). And we did manage to do tastings at a few vineyards (Robert Sinksey was our favorite, they had tasty little snacks paired with the wines and the whole place had a laid back atmosphere). We ended our day strolling through downtown Yountville — I had perhaps the tastiest salad of all time at Redd Wood — an asparagus, bacon, and burrata salad, yum! Before we left to drive down to San Francisco the next day we made an obligatory stop at Bouchon Bakery, where I had a croissant for breakfast and of course couldn’t leave without picking up some macarons for the road!
I don’t know about you guys, but this past weekend felt like a summer weekend to me — we had our first warm night out on the porch with friends and sipped on some warm weather beverages. With Memorial Day coming up this weekend, I partnered with Seagram’s Escapes to put together a little DIY to get you in the summer entertaining spirit! I am a fan of all things nautical, and decided to customize some koozies to keep my cocktails cool as the temperature rises. Read on for instructions to create your own nautical drink koozies.
To start, use painters tape to mark off the stripes at consistent intervals on plain white drink koozies (I use the width of the tape to mark off where the next one starts to space them evenly). Once the stripes are taped off, paint the space between the taped lines and let it dry completely before removing the tape. Next, use a pencil to mark off your design — I used a stencil to draw an anchor for a nautical motif — and paint inside the traced shape. You may need to use two coats of paint when using a lighter color over a dark stripe. Be sure to let the koozies dry completely before using! If you’re interested in getting into the summer entertaining spirit, head over to the Seagram’s Escapes Facebook page and enter to win a Seagram’s Escapes party kit!
This post was sponsored by Seagram’s Escapes; all opinions and DIY ideas are my own.
Last week I had a pinch-me-is-this-real-life moment when I got the opportunity to interview the impeccable taste-maker and designer extraordinaire Jonathan Adler before his new store opening in Chestnut Hill. He was absolutely charming and kind and funny, and I may have tried to hug him about five times during our meeting because I genuinely want to be his BFF. Check out the pictures of the gorgeous new store (taken by my actual BFF who was there to make sure I didn’t totally embarrass myself), plus my interview with Jonathan where he dishes on his entertaining style, favorite hostess gifts, and awesome advice for young business owners:
K: Tell me about the new store, what makes this Chestnut Hill location special?
JA: Our other local store, Newbury Street, is like a jewel box, but this is big, there’s room to breathe in here. It just has the feeling of a place you want to hang out in, and it’s great to be able to do that here.
K: Tell me about your entertaining style, what’s your secret?
JA: The key is super-duper casual, very laid back entertaining. Keep it casual and everyone will have fun. Plus some mini-champagne bottles never hurt, those always get the party started.
K: Any tips for at-home entertainers?
JA: I always serve myself first. It makes people feel relaxed and at home; plus I get cranky if I’m hungry, so it’s better for everyone if I’m fed.
K: I can relate to that! Any particular party theme you’re known for throwing?
JA: I did a huge clambake last year and that was so fun — it goes back to the casual, laid back entertaining vibe. The key is to mix it up, mix it up with your themes, with your tableware, mix and match, and have fun with it.
K: One of my favorite parts about this new store is the Gift Bar right when you walk in — it is brimming with gift ideas for every occasion. Do you have a favorite gift to give from the collection?
JA: The Muse shakers are a favorite, they’re great because you have a set for everyone: Mr & Mr, Mrs & Mrs, or Mr & Mrs, and they go with everything.
K: Being in the business of creating beautiful giftwares, I can imagine you bring a stellar hostess gift when visiting friends — what are your go-to hostess gifts?
JA: I love to bring candles, coasters, pottery… the Muse candle is one of my go-to gifts. And one of the best host gifts I’ve received is a good book; it’s so thoughtful and leaves a great memory when you bring a book.
K: It took a lot of entrepreneurial spirit to get to where your brand is today; what advice do you have for young entrepreneurs starting out today?
JA: The best advice I can give is: Never ask anyone for advice, and never listen to the advice that people give you. If I had listened to the advice of others when I first starting out, I would have never gotten here. I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing had I followed the advice I received. Just politely say to those who offer it: ‘thank you for offering your advice,’ — and then don’t take it. Trust your gut.
There is no better day than Cinco de Mayo to add a little extra flair to your cocktail, am I right? Which is why I made some pinata-inspired drink markers for our margaritas this year. Here’s how you make them: first, trace the bottom of your margaritas glasses on a piece of card-stock and cut out the circle. Then cut into the center of the circle about halfway, and cut out a smaller circle a little bigger than the circumference of the glass stem. Using strips of colored tissue paper, use fringe scissors to cut fringe. Cover the card-stock circle with glue and then start to wrap the fringed tissue paper around the outside. Repeat and layer on each new color until you’ve covered the full circle, and tuck the ends of the inner layer underneath the center circle to finish. Then slip your little pinata-inspired drink marker on to the bottom of your margarita and get ready to fiesta (think about making them in different colors to help your party guests identify their drinks!).
I tackled my Mother’s Day shopping this weekend and am feeling pretty proud of my gift ideas this year! In my search for the perfect gift, I found a bunch of fun ideas from UncommonGoods, and rounded up a few to help you find the perfect gift for Mom! A few of my favorites are the succulent wall planter — which would look so great on the porch, and the mobile foodie kit filled with spices (plus I’ve been eyeing those starburst sculptures for myself too!). Any good gift ideas for Mom you’d add to the list?
My little sister is born on Cinco De Mayo, so fiesta is a bit of an eternal theme for her birthday celebrations. I sadly can’t make her party this weekend so I decided to send a little fiesta in my place with some festive wrapping. I used fringe scissors, washi tape, and ribbons to give them an extra special treatment — and I think it’s official: I won’t be able to wrap a present without fringe ever again!
This weekend I tackled a fun item on my 30 before 30 list: baking macarons from scratch! I took a class last summer (and marked that off my list too!) which was super helpful background when trying to recreate them on my own. The verdict: I was 50/50 on macaron success. I made a batch of lemon macarons that were a bust, they lost their shape and cooked unevenly. But batch #2 — a raspberry macaron with raspberry champagne butter-cream filling — came out great. They weren’t perfect, but they were tasty and looked pretty good! I filled up a footed bowl with them and brought them off to Easter celebrations.
Let’s talk about my new obsession: orange basil water. I’ve been trying to up my water intake lately to replace my love for diet cokes and coffees. But there’s only so much water a girl can drink, I need flavor! So I’ve been cutting up an orange and a few basil leaves and infusing water in a big pitcher in the fridge. It’s delightfully delicious and actually makes me crave water now — plus, how pretty does it look?
On Monday morning I did my normal check of the calendar to see what I had to look forward to the following weekend, and couldn’t believe Easter is already this Sunday. I can’t pass up an opportunity to get a little seasonal DIY in, and after getting some confetti from The Flair Exchange in the mail last week, I knew just the thing to use it for! I made some confetti-filled Easter eggs that I’m kindly referring to as ‘confetti bombs.’ The idea is to crack them up for a fun little confetti surprise — a good way to amp up your Easter egg hunt!
They’re simple to make; I started with eggs and lightly cracked the top of them on the counter, peeling back some of the shell to make a hole just big enough to drain the yolk through. Once they were emptied, I gave the inside a rinse and then popped them into cups of vinegar and food coloring. After the eggs are at your desired color, take them out and let them dry over night.
Then comes the fun part — filling them with confetti! I filled mine generously up with the confetti mixture until they’re almost all the way full. Then to close them off, I cut a small piece of washi tape in a similar color to seal them off (don’t worry if it’s not perfect, the tape will be on the bottom of the egg). From there you can put them on display and then when the moment is right, give those little eggs a smash for a pop of confetti! I guarantee this would be a hit with kids (given how much fun I had doing it as an adult!).
Last week I finally got a chance to try the new Harvard Square hot spot, Alden & Harlow, with my blogging buddy Elizabeth. I have been dying to try this place after seeing their plates pop up in my instagram feed since they opened. You know that anticipation you have when you really want to try something new? I had that waiting for this reservation to pop up on my calendar, and I have to tell you something: it completely exceed my exceptions. I’m still thinking about every bite I had a week later!
We started with the onion dip and homemade chips; onion dip is kind of a weakness for me — I could eat buckets of it — and this passed the test for some of tastiest I’ve ever had. One of my other favorites from the night was the butternut squash salad, topped with currants, pecorino, hazelnuts, and brown butter — I mean, this completely changed my perspective on vegetables — I can actually say that I crave vegetables after eating that.
The pickled corn pancakes with a maple glaze and grilled shishito peppers was another dish that I have major food memories about now, it was such a unique combination of flavors, something I would never think of! We also tried the grilled carrots, charred broccoli and squash hummus, and the slow roasted beef neck over parsnip puree, all of which were phenomenal. Oh and the cocktails! The cocktails were delightfully refreshing, I tried one with vodka, honeyed kumquats, cinnamon and lemon — holy yum. I absolutely can not wait to go back, and if you haven’t been yet, get yourself a reservation and prepare to be amazed!
