May 2007 Entries
I received Dishing with style by Rori Trovato for my birthday from a modish girl friend and her husband. She knows that I prefer cooking books with lots of beautiful pictures. I am visual girl after all.
I read the book this morning. Wow, Dishing with style fits like a glove into my entertaining philosophy. And more importantly, the book delivers on its promises.
The chef and food writer Rori Trovato started up this project by acknowledging that no cooking book on the market:
teaches you how to do the one thing that has the greatest impact: to combine great-tasting food with great-looking food, to make guests say "Wow" as soon as they sit at the table, and then again when they take their first bites.
One thing that differentiates Dishing with style from other cooking books is the fact that:
Nearly every recipe includes two stunning options for presenting the dish to your guests. One is more casual, often family-style, perfect for Sunday suppers and backyard get-togethers. The other option is more elegant, usually served in individual plated portions, for dinner parties and more formal affairs.
- these are two excerpts from the publisher text
Categories:
EVERYDAY
DISHING tips
ENTERTAINING
DINING
posted @ Wednesday, May 30, 2007 8:38 PM | Feedback (1)
My husband and I both have our alumni meetings one week apart. He will go to his high school reunion. Mine is with my fellow friends of the actuarial department of Concordia University.
Before I became a designer, I was surrounded with probabilities and expected values. I got tired of it pretty quickly due to the lack of visual stimulations. At university, we had fun together and I can wait to see the entire gang after all these years.
Anyway, I saw on m.writes blog the details of the wedding of a friend of Marta. I collect the details that I deem perfect for a school reunion or a club event. The vintage photo book is such a hot idea that I must borrow it. Renting a photo booth makes it possible to fill up the book right away with different shots.
If you have a relatively small group or you can get a hold on many helping hands, it is feasible to hand make a copy for everyone. If you are a little bit crafty, I encourage you to try it. The reminiscences book will gather the then photos. Empty pages can be filled with new photos at the party.
Categories:
PARTY ideas
ENTERTAINING
posted @ Tuesday, May 29, 2007 11:46 PM | Feedback (0)
The newest trends towards men-only baby shower party and the even more popular parent baby shower party has contributed to the popularity of the dad diaper bag in the wish list.
Modern dads take care of their babies. But& men do not want to be seen with a female design diaper bag. So why not give a truly masculine diaper bag to the father to be.
I came across these dad diaper bags that are on sale. Available in camouflage or black color, this stylish shoulder diaper bag comes with a super comfy strap that goes across the chest with a padded back for extra comfort.
A padded changing pad, two handy clips for keys and a cell phone holder adds practicality to this bag. The Dude Shoulder Diaper Bag is currently on sale at wrapables.com for $39.95, a $20 savings.
A Brand from Two Dads
If you are looking for something even better, then check out the DadGear product lines. DadGear is born out of the mind of two dads to be who realized that the diaper bag market felt short of father expectations.
DadGear worked hard to ensure that their products don't look like diaper bags because this is not what men want. Their collection looks like normal backpacks, messenger bags and sport bags on the inside. The difference is in the inside. The bag interior is cleverly made for carrying around all the baby gear with lots of easy access features.
Categories:
BABY showers
ALL occasions
KIDS + BABY
GIFT IDEAS
posted @ Monday, May 28, 2007 1:21 PM | Feedback (3)
Fans of this cute Canadian-Italian male will be pleased to learn that a David Rocco’s Dolce Vitae CD will be available in stores across Canada June 12th, 2007. What you get is over 50 pages of photos from the TV series, 17 track hits and selected featured recipes.
If you love good food and traveling, you are missing something worthwhile if you did not watch David Rocco’s culinary adventures in Florence and Sicily. The reruns of season 2 are currently playing on Food TV Canada if you want to catch on.
I am a fan of David Rocco; he is so adorable on camera. Like I said on a previous post, his show is different from the typical cooking shows. David Rocco and his wife Nina produced the show in a more entertaining format. We get lots of awesome scenery videos on top of recipes. David Rocco’s Dolce Vitae TV series celebrates the Italian way of enjoying life.
There are several projects going out with David Rocco. Before the CD hits the stores, the launch of his revamped personal website will take place on June 4th, 2007. A cooking book is also in the making. I saw on Amazon.ca that the book is scheduled to be out by February 2008. I can not wait!
Categories:
EVERYDAY
FOOD + drinks
ENTERTAINING
DINING
posted @ Sunday, May 27, 2007 11:51 AM | Feedback (2)
The first rule when you having guests over at your house is to have a clean, well presented house.
On the style front, families with young kids have a harder time making it a reality. With both parents working, kids are often allow to play anywhere in the house. Parents and children naturally want to pass more time closer together. But having toys taking over the living room is no way to entertain.
The best thing to do is to design fabulous kid rooms with defined play area. You do not necessary need a larger home to do it although having more square footage always helps. I believed that with good planning and creativity, you can always find a solution.
Mothers put lots of efforts in creating fun bedrooms for her kids. My mother liked to redesign my bedroom every two or three years and I cherished these memories. But nothing beats the work of professional designed kid rooms.
Play rooms by Amie Weitzman
Design to inspire, an attention-grabbing blog that introduces us to the work of great interior designers, wrote about the kids' room portfolio of New Yorker Amie Weitzman. I share some of her projects with you.
Categories:
HOME decor
FAMILY style
KIDS + BABY
HOME + GARDEN
posted @ Saturday, May 26, 2007 12:05 PM | Feedback (0)
I want to share a smile or two with you. This is not really about at home entertaining but we are around the wedding season. I came by these comical cake toppers by Weddingstar today.
Whether you are a fan or not of bride and groom cake toppers, you have to admit that these ones are funny. I will never go for a comical formula myself but everyone has their own idea about what is the perfect wedding.
My wedding was about the Duchess-Empress Sissi (you know the one played by Romy Schneider) spirit: classical music, princess dress, a five-star dinner setting and a choreographed Viennese waltz for the first dance. My wedding cake was a sophisticated three-tiered ivory cake decorated with trios of creamy white roses sculpted in fondant. Frankly Considering the choices available at the time, my cake design was better off without a bride and groom cake topper.
If you want a bride and groom cake topper, take a look at Weddingstar's collection. The Reaching Bride and Helpful Groom cake topper and the Sitting Bride and Groom are sweet. The Golf Fanatic Groom and Exasperated Bride cake topper is hilarious. The Couple with The Groom "Taking a plunge" can be an inside joke.
Most of the Weddingstar’s selection is available in ethnic and multiracial models. Yes, you can mix and match the bride and groom. Beside the comical ones, other varieties are traditional, unique look and based on a theme. The Beach bride and groom cake topper wears a little bit less formal clothes and naturally, they are barefoot.
Categories:
PARTY ideas
BIG events
CAKES
ENTERTAINING
DINING
posted @ Thursday, May 24, 2007 8:27 PM | Feedback (2)
This hot and sunny day inspired me to write about party essentials around the pool or at a lake. I am taking about sophisticated party scene that you can set up at home. The look I am going for is part boutique hotel, part exotic vacation.
With design oriented stores for the masses getting almost the norm lately, it is possible to create a fabulous outdoor space on a small ordinary budget. I went to Crate & Barrel to dig up the inspiration shots. I love their collections.
Natural materials are a must for beach parties. Wood is instinctively associated with the beach. You want things that passed the Test of Time.
The furniture shown here is made of eucalyptus. If you like the eucalyptus aroma, hide some foliage under the bar just to tease the nose when you are near.
Basically what you need for a voguish beach party is a high bar table, large jars filled with prepared cocktail mixes, one or more galvanized party tubs and nice outdoor dinnerware. Filled jars and party tubs allow you to have fun with your guests. Get some bamboo service trays and bamboo dishes to add an exotic touch.
Categories:
OUTDOOR
HOME + GARDEN
posted @ Thursday, May 24, 2007 12:29 PM | Feedback (0)
I said it before but let me repeat the principles behind successful design. What you need to do is to create several depth levels and to guide the eyes towards your focal points if you wish to achieve a divine mood.
When I was at interior design school, they teach us how to design monochromatic rooms that look amazing. The best ways are to use play with textures and several hues.
To help you grasp the concept I am showing a red table design taken from Martha Stewart’s Wedding magazine, The Magic of Color edition. Do not get me wrong, that table look fine but by implementing a few small changes we can achieved a more striking look.
The bones of the red table palette are sound. Each element taken separately looks exciting. It is when you put everything together that you discover something is missing for a total Wow factor. You will find that it is often the cases.
The current red palette design missed on a great opportunity to play more with textures and tones. Things look too much similar. The center runner section seems to be a big chunk. With no focal point, you can hardly distinguish the objects even at close range.
Categories:
PARTY ideas
ENTERTAINING
posted @ Wednesday, May 23, 2007 11:17 AM | Feedback (0)
The outdoor season is finally here. I can safely claim that most of the people living in the north side of North America is cleaning up, putting flowers and shopping for outdoor furniture this week end.
Most city dwellers have smaller gardens. Even the new house developments in the suburbs have small backyards. But do not sell it short because a small backyard can look amazing.
I first grabbed this concept when I moved to my current house. My next-door neighbors are studio renters. But they got a 250 square feet terrace. Many have set a full room outside before the concept of outdoor living rooms became popular. They did it out of necessity, the terrace almost double their living space.
Last year, I watched with envy The City Gardener hosted by Matt James. This is one of the best British gardening TV series from a design perspective. I was stunned by how much you can accomplish in small, often awkward shaped backyards.
Matt James knows how to create havens in the most unlikely of spots. Matt shares his savoir faire with the audience. Throughout the three seasons that the show was running, Matt’s fresh approach to gardening was always inspiring.
Categories:
OUTDOOR
HOME + GARDEN
posted @ Monday, May 21, 2007 2:08 PM | Feedback (2)
Brunch is one of my favorite meals because it fits my lifestyle during the week ends. This extract from Wikipedia nicely puts why I got a love affair with brunch.
Brunch is also somewhat a fancy morning-noon meal. It serves as a replacement for breakfast, usually eaten when one rises too late to eat breakfast. Brunch is typically served beginning in the 10:00 a.m. hour, and continuing through early afternoon.
I host a brunch at home every now and then. With many of my friends having babies, inviting family and friends over for brunch may become more popular than my late dinner parties.
My repertoire is full of incredible brunch recipes. What I am looking for right now is to find fresh ways to present classic brunch recipes.
So far, I am working on an amazing muffin presentation. I promise you a sophisticated look that can be achieved in a flash. A breakfast verrine is also in the making. I will tell you how to make my fabulous muffins and verrines as soon as I completed the finishing touches.
July 17, 2007 Update:
My muffin presentation is at last published. Click here to have a look.
Link: Brunch on Wikipedia
Categories:
FOOD + drinks
DINING
posted @ Friday, May 18, 2007 10:58 AM | Feedback (2)
Your mom may have told you that look does not count, but in reality it is not true. People judge you on the way you dress, the way when you set your table and the way you wrap your gifts. First impressions are important. People usually notice that you are doing a little bit extra.
Papered Together is known for creating amazing letterpress cards and stationery. I bought an eye-catching letterpress card for my mom earlier this month. Another thing that this small Minneapolis design business has mastered is the art of packaging.
They did not just deliver my card. I got a complementary letterpress coaster plus a tag nicely tied on top of my card. A handwritten thank you note completed the package. This clearly falls into the art of entertaining at its best. You see right away that you are dealing with design people. There is that little touch, ce je ne sais quoi.
But do not think for a moment that throwing a party does not require any marketing skills. You compete with leisure activities and already filled schedule. Doing something extra and putting attention to details can make a difference because it shows that you care. And in some way, being surrounded by pretty things makes us feel even better.
Categories:
PAPER goods
ENTERTAINING
posted @ Thursday, May 17, 2007 1:09 AM | Feedback (0)
I was born on a Mother’s Day. My husband organized last Friday a fabulous dinner party with 10 of our friends to celebrate my birthday. Jerome usually does not cook but he came up with a delicious and easy to do menu that he mostly prepared on his own. My girlfriends were impressed.
On Wednesday, he told me about his plan for my birthday. He usually put balloons as decorations which are not really my style for grown up birthdays. You probably grasp by now that I am picky about the party décor.
I own two tea light lanterns from the Cirque du Soleil’s Dralion show. I decided to put them under the dining table. So I went in Chinatown to get a few large and round lanterns for the living room. Fishing lines work the best for hanging lanterns.
I was looking for orange lanterns since it matches the colors of my living room. I found two gorgeous lanterns with a blooming tree pattern with the same orange color than the solid ones. I learned that this blossom tree pattern is usually associated with the Chinese New Year celebrations. I felt these lanterns were appropriate since I begin a new year.
Categories:
PARTY ideas
ENTERTAINING
posted @ Tuesday, May 15, 2007 11:40 PM | Feedback (0)
This board is all about the huge floral black & white trend. I love this style so much that I bought this dinnerware set called Bandana in April. You can find it at any Stokes retail locations in Canada.
Tableware
My Bandana dinner set was the starting point for designing this Mother’s Day dinner party. The great thing with black and white is that you can use a few colorful splashes to add sparkles to your look. Pink is my accent color.
I reuse the aqua and brown table linen that I used on my previous board so you can see in action how flexible this floral tablecloth really is. I strongly felt that it was important to put each place set under a solid neutral napkin linen. The idea is to create layers.
I found these eye-catching pink napkins shopping on my lunch break; they are from Ideal Home Range. Then I got the idea of using a purse as a vase. This is a simple DIY project.
Fashionable Centerpieces
Find a glass bowl that nicely fits into the purse. A kitchen bowl can work since the bowl will be hidden. Then, elegantly assemble various shades of pink flowers to make a one-of-a-kind centerpiece. I was too busy this week to create one myself. So I got the pictures from one of my great floral design sources, The Flower Council of Holland.
Categories:
PARTY ideas
HOLIDAY
ENTERTAINING
posted @ Saturday, May 12, 2007 7:52 PM | Feedback (1)
The inspiration was Mother’s Nature for the urbanites. Basically this is a fresh food theme that was done to please design enthusiast city dweller.
This theme plays on the hot trend towards organic, local food. I create an inspiration board for a dinner party set around a contemporary food presentation.
Any of the superb serving ware will make a fabulous Mother’s Day gift. Modern style stores were my best sources for the stuff I need to realize this dinner party scheme.
A+R in Los Angeles is full of attention-grabbing products. The top and the bottom row show some of their best cooking and dining pieces. First, the Cut + Serve Tray by Boca features the most stylish way to serve a crusty bread and countless cured meats. Unfortunately, the Cut + Serve Tray is on the pricey side at $140 USD.
If you are looking for clean, practical, well designed products that are very affordable, the Swedish company Sagaform has the goods for you. The Oil + Vinegar + Salt + Pepper Set ($40) and the Tapas Serving Dishes ($30) will make a lasting impression on your guests when you are hosting dinner parties.
Categories:
PARTY ideas
HOLIDAY
ENTERTAINING
posted @ Tuesday, May 08, 2007 1:13 AM | Feedback (0)
I made a few inspiration boards for Mother’s Day. I will be featuring my Mother’s Day table top and party planning ideas all over this week. So stay tuned!
My first creation is for a Mother’s Day brunch that can be indoor or outdoor. Since kids are invited, we can use bright colors to create a vibrant Mother’s Day table. Here I mix and match glass colored plates. It creates a sweet, down-to-earth look. The idea was to suggest key elements of motherhood with this table setting.
The Sol Recycled Glass Dinnerware I used is also a gift to Mother’s Earth. I found this stylish environment friendly set online at VivaTerra. The 16-piece dinner ware (charger plate, dinner plate, salad plate and cereal bowl for 4) costs $139.
Glassware plates work better for outdoor entertaining because the wind cannot throw them away. But I know that parents are reluctant to use breakable dinnerware outside. Melamine dinnerware looks fabulous these days. You will not get the transparency effect of the colored glassware with melamine but the Isaac Mizrahi collection for Target has great pieces. Take a look online for inspiration.
Categories:
PARTY ideas
HOLIDAY
KIDS party
ENTERTAINING
KIDS + BABY
posted @ Monday, May 07, 2007 2:18 PM | Feedback (3)
Ever since I started watching Duff Goldman on Ace of Cakes, I want to try out cake decorating. After making your own ceramic vase, designing your own jewelry and starting a scrapbooking club, it may be time for you and your girl friends to try out cake decorating.
But let face it, you need lots of cake decorating tools, special ingredients and a minimum of training. So why not take a course. I discover last year a fabulous Toronto-based school on cake decorating and design. The classes at Bonnie Gordon Cakes seem all very interesting.
Bonnie Gordon Cakes offers a full range of courses to satisfy all skill levels. Overall the courses explore numerous techniques. Workshops visit multiple facets of cake design.
If you are planning a shower or a birthday party, think about adding the Designer Cupcakes course to your list of activities. Designer Cupcakes is a 3-hour workshop suitable for beginners that seems to be a lot of fun. Having a small group activity like that during the day adds something memorable to a shower or a birthday celebration. If you can spare more time, begin with the Introduction to Cake decorating course that can be taken over a 5 week period or as an intensive session.
Categories:
PARTY ideas
CAKES
ENTERTAINING
DINING
posted @ Tuesday, May 01, 2007 6:27 PM | Feedback (2)
I have been busy lately so I only caught up this week end with one of the latest addition on Food TV Canada. I watched French Fast Food, the eleventh episode of French Food at Home, season 1.
French food holds a special place in my heart. As a French Canadian, it is part of my heritage. But the main reason is that I learned how to cook when I was a university student with French cuisine.
French food has evolved with our quest for healthy foods; it is not as rich as it used to be. So there is no reason why you should not enjoy French culinary delights.
French cuisine may seem hard for many. One reason it seems so complicated is that the French have named every possible techniques. A slight difference in the technique and you got to learn a new name. French transformed cooking into an art.
It is a fact that the best French chefs use harder and certainly longer cooking techniques. But this is not the case in the French family kitchen. They use the basic principles and simplify the process. From what I have seen, this is what French Food at Home is all about.
Categories:
FOOD + drinks
DINING
posted @ Tuesday, May 01, 2007 12:30 AM | Feedback (0)