Southern Hospitality: Please Join Us For A Bridal Shower

Happy midweek all! Today, because I am a proud mama and weddings are all around, I thought I would bring you into The Places In The Home fold by sharing with you this photo gallery from the please join us for a bridal shower we hosted for our son and his lovely fiancée when they were home for our nephew’s wedding in May. Seeing that the happy couple live in Canada, it is difficult to be live and in person for the showers and luncheons celebrating the couple. Skype and FaceTime amaze me, but pales in comparison to actually being in attendance in the moment. It didn’t take long for me to come up with the idea of throwing the couple a surprise bridal shower.

The future Mrs. is not only taken with our son, but with Fixer Upper, Waco, Chip and Joanna Gaines and Magnolia Market. What better way to surprise a Southern farmhouse chic girl at heart than with an afternoon Southern farmhouse chic-Southern charm-Southern hospitality eat, drink and we’re getting married bridal shower.

Clear glass jars brimming with fragrant magnolias captured the farmhouse feel and lent a simple yet elegant touch. When entertaining, I find it helpful to know your audience and to play to their taste. The thought is in the decorating and entertaining details, and it’s that attention to detail that brings about a rave review.

Faux flowers have their place, and in the bridal/wedding weekend celebration that place was inside an antique porcelain pitcher placed in the center of the dining room table. I’ve been known to pre plan the s*%! out of a soiree or celebration. Pre planning affords me the opportunity to find theme appropriate decor pieces and impressive dinner and drinkware at a price point that makes me very happy.

I always like that theme!

It also gives me time to shop sales and order items with plenty of shipping time to spare. A case in point is the tulip bundles found on eBay. You must allow at least three weeks for arrival when ordering from China, but the price savings makes it an appealing option. The quality is apple to apple when comparing the faux tulip bunches to the ones I see in my retail rounds.

The bride-to-be admired the tulips several times over the course of their visit which pleased me to no end. It was obvious the tulip bundles captured the essence of her preferred decorating style, and that signaled decorating success.

Crochet doilies and lace napkins dressed the table in vintage style.

Tulle is my gift wrap ribbon and bow material of choice.

Tying the knot in white wedding and something blue tones is simple in theory, beautiful in delivery.

Gifts for a newlywed kitchen filled with love.

Bride

Vintage handkerchiefs make lovely wedding and bridal gifts, and my almost daily Etsy search for just the right one for each recipient became second nature. I purchased vintage monogrammed handkerchiefs for the bride and groom-to-be, her mother, and each member of the bridal party- a to/from gift from me and Dave the Builder. I also purchased vintage monogrammed handkerchiefs for my nephew, his bride, his brother who was his best man, and for my brother- the father of the groom. Did I forget anyone?

Groom

We began the bridal shower nibble and nosh with a cheese board featuring several cheeses, fresh Louisiana strawberries, blueberries, fruit dip, mixed nuts, dried cranberries, dates and figs. The future groom loves my chicken salad so chicken salad it is. I served the chicken salad with a tropical fruit salad garnished with avocado slices, Greek yogurt and a drizzle of honey. We also dined on a true Southern favorite, buttermilk biscuits and honey ham sandwiches. I made a mayonnaise and Dijon mustard dressing to go with the sandwiches. The beverage station featured water with lemon slices, raspberry tea, almond peach tea, Riesling and Merlot wine.

For dessert, we decided to surprise the couple with a cake in true bridal shower fashion. The cake decorator and I got together and came up with an abbreviated version of the above wedding cake. The icing color was a soft shade of ivory and the cake decorator suggested a “bouquet” of roses to top it off. Dave the Builder thought the silver wedding bands added a nice touch, and the monogrammed cake topper was an on trend accent.

It’s become somewhat of a tradition to give each bride and groom in the Places In The Home family a heirloom silver sugar spoon as a wedding gift. To this we added a silver-plated wedding cake server set and the monogram wedding cake topper to complete the gift package.

The bridal shower was a big surprise and a big hit. Our son finally figured out why I kept insisting he bring an extra suitcase with him. The extra baggage fee charge is a bargain compared to what it cost to ship items from the US to Canada. I was informed the Kate Spade cutting boards were used the night they arrived back to Canada.

That’s all the thank you needed.

Keep It Summer Simple: A Summer Entertaining Mantra

Memorial Day weekend welcomes keep it summer simple entertaining, outdoor living, backyard cookouts, and the summer entertaing-picnic packing times that go so well with summer.

Summer entertaining ideas o’plenty are filling up my notepad file marked hot style in the summertime.

Who remembers when the crudite tray ruled the appetizer course?

The ultimate crudite crate is a super cute summer entertaining idea.

Farmhouse chic is for sure the trend with staying power and one tailored-made for summer entertaining.

Millennials, brides-to-be, kitchenistas, decoristas, outdoor living entertainingistas love, love, love the ease of entertaining farmhouse chic brings to the table.

Our Millennial son aka the Canadian snowbird and his bride-to-be completed their trip with a quick trip to Waco and the uber popular Magnolia Market.

They give the market, bakery and the metropolis of Waco a glowing review.

Okay, let’s get back to the crudités crate ideas.

Natural Wood Square Tray by Ashland

As far as appetizers go, especially in the heat of the summer, I practice the rule of less is more.

Small bites and nibbles make the perfect edible complement to a cold beverage.

With that in mind, I think the Natural Wood Square Tray by Ashland from Michaels will make a big summer entertaining statement.

Like a picnic basket- pack it tight with fresh veggies for summer snacking.

Potato salad is a picnic-pot luck staple.

I don’t know if I would go so far as to categorize it as a vintage side dish, but potato salad has graced the summer picnic table of my great grandmother, my grandmothers, my aunts, my mother and my mother-in-law.

You get the picture.

Chairish

Recipes for potato salad vary in ingredients and styles, serving warm or cold is in the palate preference of the fork or spoon holder, and to add mustard or not add mustard is a whole nother potato salad issue.

I came across Doris Day’s recipe for German Potato Salad, and thought it would make a great addition to this post.

Doris Day’s German Potato Salad

Ingredients

6 medium-sized potatoes

1 large stalk of celery, chopped in small pieces

3-4 scallions (white part only), thinly sliced

4 slices lean bacon, cut in small strips

2/3 cup water

½ cup cider (or wine) vinegar

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions

Cook potatoes in their skins until tender. Cool slightly, peel and slice into a large bowl. Add celery and scallions. Fry bacon in saucepan until crisp. Add water and vinegar. Pour over potato-celery-scallion mixture, toss lightly.

Cover and marinate thoroughly (several hours or overnight) before serving.

Serves 4.

Julia Child is deliciously correct.

To her words I add my own: entertaining well doesn’t mean entertaining extravagantly, not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it is summertime and the livin’ is easy rules.

Griffith Red Metal Outdoor Lounge Chair

I’m coming to realize the correlation between vintage and comfortable is undeniable.

Easy and delicious, I served this fruit salad at the bridal shower and the crowd went yum.

Pretty presentation, and that’s what counts.

Tropical Fruit Salad

Ingredients

2 cans tropical fruit, drained

1 can pear halves, drained

1 pint blueberries

juice of one(1) lemon

1 large ripe avocado, halved and cut into slices

1 small container plain Greek yogurt

2 Tablespoons honey

black pepper

Directions

In a mixing bowl, toss together canned fruit with juice of one lemon. Cover and chill 1 hour. Add to a small container of Greek yogurt two Tablespoons of honey and you’ve got the dressing.

Garnish with avocado slices, yogurt dressing and black pepper.

Dollar store wine goblets in the style of oatmeal glass make a lovely serving presentation.

I am snacking on this fruit salad as I write up this post.

Delicious, if I do say so myself.

By now you’ve realized vintage style glassware is a favorite. Inspiration is everywhere, especially at the movies.

Sparkling Spiked Peach Lemonade

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1 cup of water

3 large peaches

6 cups sparkling water

1 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1 ½ cup vodka

Directions

In a small pot, combine the sugar and 1 cup of water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and simmer until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and cool completely.

Remove the skins from 2 of the peaches, reserving the third. Cut an “X” in the bottom of each one, and place them in a pot of boiling water for about 30 seconds. Transfer the peaches to an ice bath, and peel when cool enough to handle. Slice each peeled peach in half and remove the pits. Cut peaches into cubes, place them in the blender or food processor, and puree until liquified.

In a large pitcher, combine the pureed peaches, the cooled simple syrup, the sparkling water, the lemon juice and the vodka. Stir to combine. Add ice and stir again.

Cut the remaining peach into thin slices. Stir a few of the slices into the lemonade and use the others to garnish the glasses.

Serves 4.

-The Kitchn

Are you ready for summer entertaining?

Enjoy this Memorial Day weekend, practice the entertaining rule of KISS by keeping it summer simple, and bon appétit.

Summer Entertaining Suggestions

Summer entertaining suggestions and information is always worthy of repeating- exactly the reason I’m featuring these suggestions new to the Places In The Home summer entertaining repertoire.

Summer is in our sights, arriving with the summer solstice gift of extra daylight.

Talk about the ultimate summer entertaining hostess gift!

Invite vibrant color, easy entertaining tips, and fun home decor touches to the party, and prepare to impress.

John Jacob Interiors

Summer nights frame the art of entertaining with a canvas of color and hosting ease.

Creating an evening under the stars atmosphere begins with bringing down the house lights and illuminating the summer night with soft accent lighting.

Casual elegance is easily achieved by strategically placing kerosene lanterns or glass jar luminaries along a walkway.

House Beautiful

For extra ambiance wrap, hang, drape or string white twinkle string lights from trees, in shrubs and around columns.

Stunning!

Maze Yellow 8″ Paper Lanterns

Tiki torches, table lamps on loan for the evening from your interior home decor, garden chandeliers, and decorative paper lanterns also make great options in the quest to create a comfortable and inviting atmosphere.

Outdoor Lanterns

Invite the wow factor to your summer soiree- the consummate guest.

DIY party ice buckets and ice cubes serve a gorgeous and delicious purpose.

DIY Ice Buckets

Ice ice baby too cold, too cute!

Ball Jars prove a versatile party decor darling.

Light them up, fill them up, or chill them down.

A midsummer night’s entertaining dream becomes a reality with these quaint and stunning homemade hurricanes. I discovered this simple how to supply list for colorful jar lanterns from Joann Stores and promptly pinned it to my Pinterest account.

Joann Stores

Simple and affordable combine decorating forces to add subtle yet palpable charm to a perfect summer evening scene.

DIY summer citronella candles how to video from Southern Living show us how to make a DIY bug-be-gone candle that is not only visually impressive, but an essential must for comfortable summer soiree nights.

Give me a reason to turn a flower pot into a serving piece and it is summer soiree party on.

I’ll never forget the look I got the first time I announced we were having pot brownies at our pot party to a co-hostess. I don’t believe I have ever clarified something so quickly before or since.

Anywho, clay flower pots are an inexpensive and summer appropriate alternative to traditional serving pieces.

Baked beans, barbecued wings, Creole seasoned French fries, baked Vidalia onions, summer sausage- all great “pot” options.

House Beautiful

Elevate an otherwise average patio table to party perfection by topping it with a stylish outdoor tablecloth. Layer the look with chairs, cushions and outdoor pillows decked out in bright summer colors.

Decoristas have long had a trusty trick up their sleeve. Home decor and furnishings that work gorgeously inside the house will rock an outdoor living space like a Led Zeppelin concert!

Domaine

Love your inside dining chairs and know they will be the key to pulling the entire outdoor tablescape together, but don’t want the chair legs to get dirty?

Architectural Digest

Wrap the bottom of each chair leg with clear plastic wrap.

Perhaps a tad time-consuming, but it will save time on the clean up end of the party.

Be as pre-party proactive as possible with certain tasks. It’s a summer entertaining essential skill for the host and/or hostess to hone.

With the very, very good points of summer outdoor living and summer entertaining comes the very real concern over controlling mosquitoes.

Burning sage or rosemary repels is said to kill mosquitoes. The mosquito killing power is in the smoke so I’m thinking summer fire pit or campfire plays into being a natural necessity.

Pure Wow

At the point in the party when the food and drink has hit the spot, the music is summer smooth, the outdoor party life is kicking up a notch, and the company and the conversation is hitting all the right notes it’s time to hand out summer relaxation party pails.

Fill plastic beach pails from the dollar store with his or hers flip-flops, individual aluminum spray bottles filled with chilled homemade rose water (the guys love this stuff almost as much as the gals), cold cucumber slices in freezer bags and Burt’s Bees Cucumber & Sage facial cleansing towelettes (love the scent).

Assemble party pails beforehand adding chilled and cold items to pails right before handing them out.

Enjoy the colors and celebrations of the season.

What better excuse for throwing a stylish summer entertaining soiree!

A Most Fetching Friday: Grilled to Perfection Delicious Inspiration

Today’s Fetching Friday features grilled to perfection delicious inspiration for your outdoor living entertaining ideas pleasure.

fetch·ing

/ˈfeCHiNG/

adjective

adjective: fetching

attractive.

synonyms: attractive, appealing, sweet, pretty, good-looking, lovely, delightful, charming, prepossessing, captivating, enchanting, irresistible

Grilled Salmon with Dijon and Dill Creamed Pea Sauce

Grilled Flatbreads with Mushrooms, Ricotta and Herbs

Grilled Portofino Vegetable Antipasto

Grilled Tandoori Chicken

Grilled Shrimp with Fresh Cranberry Salsa

Grilled Stone Fruit with Almond Mascarpone Dip

Thanksgiving Ideas, Tips, and Problem Solvers

The holiday countdown to Thanksgiving is in full swing, and these Thanksgiving ideas, tips, and problem solvers will help to make the gather and feast run as smooth as I hope your gravy turns out.

From roasting the bird to company’s coming to impressive easy recipes to cooking crisis avoided tips to holiday home decor suggestions to beat the holiday band, the There’s No Place Like Home For the Holidays series is updated, refreshed and ready with helpful Thanksgiving ideas, tips and problem solvers.

This is the most wonderful time of the year for inviting family and friends into your home to gather, celebrate, and be merry.

A well planned and prepped holiday gathering is a successful holiday gathering.

I put the culinary drama on the back burner and let the cooking, baking, holiday decorating, and online Black Friday shopping good times roll.

Size does matter when it comes to all things Thanksgiving.

How much food is needed per person is the question on the mind of every holiday host and hostess.

The good people at Pop Sugar have got it down to a serving size science with their Thanksgiving cheat sheet.

Do you and yours call it dressing or stuffing?

What you call this quintessential Thanksgiving side dish seems to depend on geography, tradition, and location (in the bird or outside of the bird).

Our Southern family is team dressing, and our Chicago and Canada family is team stuffing.

The one thing we all agree on is that the base ingredient must be buttermilk cornbread.

A bread based dish can, and will, easily dry out when baked.

Dry dressing or stuffing is a holiday side dish deal breaker.

Chicken stock or broth and the amount added to the crumbled cornbread is the key to moist dressing.

You want the dressing consistency to be soupy, but not soggy.

The rule of you can add to, but not take away from applies here.

Add ½ cup of stock or broth at a time until the desired consistency is reached.

A frazzled host or hostess does not make a pretty holiday picture.

Don’t try to be a holiday hero.

Spread the holiday love and the holiday duties around.

Taking guests up on their gracious what can I do-what can I bring offers makes it a shared event and helps to eliminate holiday hosting burnout.

Believe me, you’ll be glad you did!

Turkey and gravy are the peanut butter and jelly of holiday cuisine.

It’s a traditional pairing of flavor deliciousness that takes culinary center stage on the holiday dinner table.

Cooking the perfect gravy can be tricky, but it doesn’t have to be.

Adding a pinch of salt to the flour before adding any liquid will help to eliminate lumpy gravy.

Gravy too thin?

Mix together two (2) teaspoons cornstarch and two (2) teaspoons chicken broth or water.

Stir or whisk into the warm gravy and simmer until the gravy thickens.

If the gravy separates, add a pinch or two of baking soda to emulsify the fat.

Oh, no! The gravy has a burnt flavor.

Remember the peanut butter reference?

Simply add a teaspoon of peanut butter to cover up the burnt flavor.

A good carving set is essential to proper and easy turkey carving.

If the dreaded happens on the big day and your carving knife is duller than first period math, I’ve got a helpful solution for you.

To sharpen your knife, use the unglazed porcelain on the bottom of a coffee mug.

Hold the knife at a 30 degree angle and run it across the area a few times on each side.

Brian Hart Hoffman – Chairish

Our Thanksgiving day cocktail hour leans more towards the slow sip rule of thumb.

Tipsy Turkey Times is almost a guaranteed oh, s*!%.

Look at drunkity drunk drunk add family member or friend’s name here.

The Paris Apartment

My formula for a safe cocktail hour is simple:

One (1) cocktail per person for the pre-dinner cocktail hour.

The sippers sip a little slower, the teetotalers don’t give it a second thought, and the booze hounds will get over it.

I like to consult the Serious Eats Booze-o-Matic Party Time Drink Calculator as a reference for our holiday set ’em up, Joe cocktail parties.

Wine Tasting

We consult a dear friend, our trusted expert wine aficionado go-to, for wine pairing guidance when serving turkey.

For white wine drinkers, he suggests a dry Chardonnay, white Zinfandel or Riesling.

A good Pinot Noir will please the palette of the red wine drinker.

I always get a big chuckle out of the “Party, party” episode of Frasier.

Martin: Hey, great party huh? Just as long as we’ve got enough ice. You got four bags, right?

Daphne: No, I got two.

Martin: Two?! I told you to get four bags!

Daphne: Oh, here we go.

Martin: You never under-budget on the ice. You never know, you might get a lot more rocks drinkers than you expected. Or ice chewers.

Food Network

Ice cubes measure about ten (10) cubes per pound, and the rule of thumb is one (1) pound of ice cubes per person.

Cheers to good tv, great times, and helpful Thanksgiving ideas, tips, and problem solvers

Summer Entertaining Season Tips

Memorial Day ushers in the summer entertaining season.

That’s ninety some odd summer days and nights brimming with opportunity to gather together with family and friends.

Here’s five summer entertaining season tips to help you master the art of summer entertaining.

Regardless of the numbers involved, the ultimate party favor you can give your guests is an enjoyable and relaxing time.

Pinterest

Endless hours of planning and preparing does not a successful party guarantee, however, what does come very close to guaranteeing a successful party is setting an at ease example.

Guests usually take the party lead from the attitude of the host and/or hostess which sets the tone for a comfortable let the good times roll atmosphere.

Popular points of culinary and entertaining interest set an inviting place at the summer table.

Photo by Luis Monse on Unsplash

Taking a tablescape in a casually elegant direction requires putting a bit of considerable thought into the process.

Southern Lady Magazine

Achieving an anything but uptight, stuffy finished result reflected in the right accents, lighting, selected place settings, serveware, and flowers reads effortless chic.

Southern Lady Magazine

Visually impressive table settings need not be an expensive or exhausting endeavor.

Kick off the summer sippin’ season with the unofficial official fruit of summer, the watermelon.

Watermelon Lemonade Slushies anyone? Click on the link for the recipe from Life in the Lofthouse.

Watermelon Punch looks summer yummy too!

Click on the video for instructions.

Dazzle the thirsty through sight and taste.

Nothing says welcome to our summer soiree quite like a cool summer appropriate beverage.

Summer just isn’t summer until something is basted, rubbed, marinated or smothered in a stellar Southern BBQ sauce or rub.

In Louisiana we don’t need an excuse to jazz it up, fire it up, and kick it up, but if we did, summer would be all the excuse needed.

Good barbecue is what we call summer stock.

We’re not afraid to turn up the heat, spice or seasoning, but when entertaining we dial back the kick to a respectable c’est si bon level to accommodate the taste bud timid.

Good cooks and even better hosts know a little goes a long way in the flavor department and account for all tastes considered.

Entertaining mirrors interior design and decorating in regards to balance.

When selecting the music for the party playlist aim to keep the types, styles, genres, and decades balanced somewhere between current hits, grooving to the oldies, what movie is this from, smooth and easy jazz, lounge lizard standards, and the soundtrack to high school and college days gone by.

House Beautiful – Photography by Matt Albiani

Balance the bar to the standard rule of party planning with help from the handy calculator from Total Wine & More.

Balance summer fun with summer safety, and as always, drink and host responsibly.

For Your Dining Pleasure: Dinner Party Ideas

With May through to August graduations, weddings, and festivities comes the celebratory ritual of culinary and social interaction and entertaining, and with that the need for dinner party ideas.

Bob Ryan is a larger-than-life fictional character from the classic HBO series Entourage.

Portrayed by the late Martin Landau, Bob Ryan is a lovely idea of a man.

Martin Landau as Bob Ryan

He is well spoken in the language of ramble, but what he has to say is about the art of dining is worth a listen.

Bob will have no part of stressful topics being discussed before, during, or after dining.

Ambiance is key in the art and aid of proper digestion, a priority high on his list of dinner party ideas.

Bob Ryan reasons that proper digestion is an important part of the dining experience.

Fictional or real, the wise old owl has got a point.

What if I was to tell you a rich cup of Louisiana coffee or tea, fine wine, accent lighting and great music is Bob Ryan 101 at Casa Places In The Home.

In the immortal words of Bob Ryan, “Is that something you might be interested in?”

From menu to music to the personalities of the diners, you’ve got to put some thought into it.

Much like the perfect wine pairing, getting it right enhances the flavor of the event.

I don’t believe it is terminal if the music or the wine selection doesn’t perfectly fit with a course, but it can feel like there’s been a death when we’re paired with bad dinner guests.

Ther is an art to accomplishing that particular pairing- a social sommelier, if you will.

In case of social emergency, make sure the wine is flowing and hope the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

Melvin Sokolsky ~ Jump, Paris, 1965

If the quickest way to a person’s heart is through their stomach, music is the shortest route to their soul.

A casual meal goes well with the greatest hits of whatever decade you have the fondest memories from.

A romantic meal naturally slows down the pace of life, speeds up the pace of the heart, and goes well with a smooth groove.

Pinterest

Music makes the mood, and no respectable formal dinner party is complete without the music.

What?

Your crowd doesn’t have an Appetite for Destruction?

There’s a lot to be said for the advice offered up from a fictional character in a cable series.

Palatable peace existing in perfect harmony in the name of digestion is at the top of my dinner party ideas list.

And yes, Bob, that is something I am very interested in.