FETE || inspired by provence

Hello! Right now I’m in Provence (well at least that’s where I’m supposed to be accordingly to the carefully crafted schedule).  I’m most excited about taking in the lovely French countryside and enjoying a slower way of life. Entertaining in Provence would be so easy, the countryside as your backdrop, fresh lavender stuffed into vases, and the purest ingredients straight from the local market.

This is what al fresco dining in Provence looks like to me…  

How to pull it off:

Create the Perfect Cheeseboard         Linen Table Runner              Lavender Cupcake Recipe 

FETE || inspired by paris

Bonjour, I’m in Paris now, likely stuffing myself full of cheese and baguette and falling in love all over again.  When I think of Paris I think of Versaille, when I think of Versaille I picture myself as Marie Antoinette living the luxe life of decadence. 

This is what my Parisian dinner party would look like….

How to pull it off:

 

        Macaron Recipe                        How to Build a Champagne Tower         DIY Gold Frame Decor

FETE || inspired by london

It’s official, right now I’m on vacation!  It’s a biggie, London, Paris, Provence and the south coast of France. I know, amazing right? This is my first time to Europe so I imagine I’m fainting over all of its beauty, and wondering why I ever waited this long to go.

I didn’t want to leave you with nothing while I was away (I don’t want you to forget about me- I’ll be gone for 19 days) so I thought I’d put together a few inspirational posts for you to peruse.

My obsession with parties and entertaining got me thinking. If I lived in London, Paris or Provence, what would my dinner party look like?

In London this is how I see it….

How to pull it off:

Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe                 Gold Flatware                     DIY newspaper cones

Jewel tones, decadence, proper place settings and classic recipes is how I imagine the Brits get down.

FETE || party like you're kate spade

* Dang this entry was supposed to post on Friday, I thought I scheduled it to automatically go live while I was away...read on with that in mind, rookie move*

This summer has been pleasantly hectic, jam packed with  lots of travel, and this weekend is no different. I'm leaving the Big Smoke and setting out for the Big Apple for some fun, fashion and food!  Well... actually I'm in New York right now hopefully stuffing my face with food truck eats, keeping my balance in my new heels and if I'm lucky, spinning around the city on a fun green bicycle just like this one! 

I wanted to leave you with some cheery New York eye candy while I'm away. When I think of New York style, the spunky designs of Kate Spade pop into my head.  Fresh and colourful, peppy and preppy, I love everything this playful brand creates.  

Not only does Kate Spade rock the fashion world, they've got the most crush worthy collection of   housewares and other 'must have' party essentials like stationary, barware and some killer hostess gifts. My Kate Spade inspired fete might look a little something like this....  

I heart KS NY...

WEDDING WEEK || champagne slushie recipe

Nothing says celebration quite like champagne.  I absolutely had to have bubbles at our wedding, but I wanted to do something a little different; my second favourite drink in the whole wide world, is anything slushie!  So… what do you get when you put ‘em together, a champagne slushie! Divine right?  

Here’s the recipe (via) for this pretty concoction, this can be modified with whatever flavour you fancy, we went with cherry and it was to die for!

INGREDIENTS
2 cups cherries, pitted (frozen is ok too)
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon agave

DIRECTIONS

- Place cherries in a food processor and pulse until almost puréed. A few chunks is ok 
- In a small bowl combine lemon and agave with a whisk
- Add cherries to bowl and stir together
- Pour mixture into a shallow metal dish or pan
- Freeze for 1.5 hours scraping with a fork every 15-20 minutes

Now the fun part (not part of the recipe above)...scoop a couple tablespoons into your champagne flutes and top with the bubbly goodness, serve and enjoy - trust me you will!

FETE || easy weekend brunch

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend, I sure did.  Saturday was particularly special for me, I hosted a get together with some of my longest standing gf's, we go all the way back to the elementary school playground!  The time together was so lovely, I miss my wing women; we always get together around Christmas, but that's not nearly enough. Thought I would share a few quick pics of the easy, potluck brunch we all enjoyed while dishing the dirt, emphasis on "dirt". I kept things simple, the focus was on friends, but I did get to use some of my favourite pieces and I tried out a new quiche recipe.  

My Vera Wang wedding china with vintage, silver spoon napkin rings.

Pretty hydrangeas in a mason jar

My addiction, vintage tea cups, the colours kill me!

If only every Saturday was filled with brunch and best friends. 

FETE || chic canadiana party

Happy Canada Day eh! My long weekend was pleasantly packed full of family, food and fireworks; my fave things ever...and in that order.  We hosted a Canada Day party on Sunday in our backyard; I had an idea to honour this special day in a way that included more than just red and white paper flags. Chic Canadiana was the theme, think woodland wonderful, beavers and moose, beer and bacon, all things coined classically Canadian. I get ridiculously excited by any occasion that allows me to let my inner party planner, crafter and hostess rear its' obsessive head, and this patriotic celebration was no exception. 

I dug out my wool Hudson's Bay Co. point blanket, with its iconic stripes, and used it as the inspiration for my master plan, bwah ha ha ha.

I prepared a food and bevy line-up that was quintessentially Canadian; Canadian Bacon Burgers, Poutine,  and Moose Tracks Ice Cream with a Maple Cookie topper.  We sipped on Canadian beer from our famed cottage country in Muskoka and cocktails infused with fresh Ontario strawberries.

I also got my craft on; I ordered some of these cute moose gift tags from Etsy and glued them to red take-out boxes from Michaels (I also raided Michaels for scrapbook paper, glue and string), made a catchy celebratory banner and wrapped vases with scrapbook paper to add a little oomph. 

I wanted to keep the classic Canadian red and white colour palette alive, but I freshened things up by using some pretty patterned paper. We handed out maple suckers and sparklers as party favours.

After the feast, we headed out the beach to take in the annual fireworks show, it was a lovely way to cap off the evening. 

The party was a success, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and we all left feeling uber proud to be part of the true North strong and free.

FETE || stylish outdoor entertaining

Hi lovelies, just wanted to share a few quick pics with you from last night's Palm Springs inspired dinner party; it was the first time we've used the new backyard to host a dinner (promise pics of the yard are coming soon).

We were celebrating summer and couldn't have asked for more perfect weather, although I did ask the weather gods several times to please keep the rain away, it worked.

This was the scene...

Black, white and yellow with a splash of pink was the palette I played with, of course. The table seats 8 but was set for 6 and still a tight squeeze, but it seemed to work. I ended up making a table runner from fabric I had leftover from our wedding (cheated a little and only ironed the edges flat, it actually held together well, great shortcut if you don't like to sew).

Any excuse to craft, I'm on it, so I picked up these cute anchor stamps and some scrapbook paper from Michaels and made these little cards to bring some pink and whimsy into the table setting.

The flowers were meant to be bright and have a California feel to them. The market I go to didn't have the billy balls I desperately wanted, so I grabbed these nifty things, thought they fit the bill.

The menu was simple but risky; don't ask me why I decided to try 3 new recipes in a dinner party setting, I usually test them before hand to make sure they're up to snuff.  This time I just went with it and everyone seemed to like the food, and drinks of course were cold and plentiful :)

The menu; Citrus Marinated Shrimp Skewers with Grilled Pineapple to start, Arugula, Potato and Green Bean Salad, a Smitten Kitchen recipe (so amazing, it was totally delish) and Teriyaki Flank Steak (a fave amongst the group). 

For dessert these super refreshing, light and flavourful Strawberry Paletas I saw in Sweet Paul . TO.DIE.FOR! 

We laughed, we chatted, to be honest most of us were tired from work, but it was a relaxed evening and always great to get together

At the end of the night we lit up the fire and toasted marshmallows; our friends brought over a s'mores kit that came complete with sticks to put the marshies on, genius.

This was first of many summer backyard dinner parties in our household. Now, I'm on to the next, Canada Day party planning; was there a hostess badge in Girl Guides? I would have totally earned that one ;) ! Have a wonderful long weekend!

FETE || backyard dinner party inspiration

Happy first day of summer! The weather here in the Tdot is perfectly suited for this special day as it’s a scorching 43 degrees C (110 F)!  To celebrate the first official day of summer I tried to organize a big bash with friends; that went over like a lead balloon. All of my lovely pals had prior engagements such as traveling to Scandinavia, New York City and Vancouver, ya I guess these trump our backyard party ;). It’s a busy time of year as we all know, but I’ve managed to round up a few of our besties for a more intimate dinner party next week instead.

I’m sticking to the summery theme and will be stylin’ it up like a Palm Springs dream. As you will notice almost all of my parties, décor items, inspirations and loves are somehow related to the Palm Springs aesthetic; every time I try to veer away I end up back where I started, oh well I love so let’s roll with it.

Here’s what I’m thinking, a playful and coulourful palette with a summery menu to compliment.

I’m going to attempt to make these delicious looking ice pops from this month’s Sweet Paul mag.

via

This will be our first official dinner party in the new yard – which I haven’t fully shown you yet, I was waiting until we had the trees planted to take the “after” pics, but we aren’t moving quickly on that so I’ll work on pics next week for the reveal! 

via

And so it’s official, summer is here, time to let your hair go wavy and put the champagne on ice, let’s celebrate!

FETE || beautiful bachelorette party how to's

Hi lovlies!  Yep, it’s that time of year when frazzled brides start to wonder what their dutiful bridesmaids have in store for them for their last hoorah as a sexy single lady.  The idea of a bachelorette party can conjour up some pretty tacky images; I won’t get in to those details but rather share some pretty ones with you that are sure to make any bachelorette fete a fab one for the bride and all of her besties.

Create a theme 

I find when planning a party it’s always easiest to start with a theme. It’s a great jumping off point when selecting; the venue, food and drink, activities, décor and favours. Make sure your chosen motif is something that the bride will connect with, pick something that’s personal to her, maybe a hobby, a favourite travel destination or even a certain era she enjoys.

Vineyard vacation; my girlfriend's bachelorette in Niagara-on-the-Lake

Location, location, location

A beautiful location is the best way to start the day/evening off right. Make an effort to select a unique venue that is both welcoming and impressive.  It doesn’t have to cost a fortune to get something unique, there are plenty of free venue options including; local botanical gardens, parks, private dining nooks inside restaurants, the party room in a friend’s condo building, or a secluded beach.  The options are truly endless, get creative.

Ravine Vineyard, Niagara-on-the-Lake

Personalize the details

You can never have too many details! Adding layers of personal touches will only enhance the experience for all.   Use the bride's favourite flower or colour to decorate, dream up games that center around her, give favours or prizes that relate to your theme or are items the bride swears by,  customize everything; the invites, menu, place settings, name tags, and activities.        

Glazed salmon on risotto, our bride's fave foods

Pamper the bride

The number one rule when planning a bachelorette party; make the bride feel special. If you’re keeping the details of the day a surprise, make sure to inform her of what to wear and what to bring – there’s nothing worse than a bride that feels underdressed or ill prepared.  Identify her as the bride (in a pretty way of course), carry her bags, give her the best seat in the house, make a lovely toast to her, ensure she’s not privy to any glitches that may come up, and give her a memento to remind her of this special occasion.

I know, this all sounds wonderful in theory, but pulling together a bachelorette party can be a challenge. Just remember, ultimately  it’s about celebrating the bride-to-be and friendship; don’t let the special meaning of this day get lost in the details.