coffee + cre8tive {aug 4 '06}
I'm thinking more about entertaining and beautiful dinnerware today (must be Jenn's hostess blog!), and when to plan my next dinner party. In the summer, it seems life is one big corona and paper plate, but come Fall and Winter, tables (and people) dress up (at least here in New England) and the magical evenings spent with close friends gathered around a home cooked meal, polishing off a bottle of vino, are the times you want to decorate the table with class and style, yet somehow not crossing over the fine line into stuffy overdone boredom. You don't want things too formal, because then people can't relax. You also don't want it so informal that it downplays your culinary expertise, especially when roasted duck and Cr?me Br?l?e are at stake.
Do you have any dinner party ideas for Fall? Want to gather friends to chat about the summer vacations you took? Planning to gather the family around for a big announcement? (tip: said announcement shouldn't be about your sexuality, religion, or political leanings - dinner goes south in 2.3 seconds. keep all announcements based on babies, engagements and job promotions. got it?)
However you plan to entertain this Fall, start thinking about how you'd like to pull it all together. Do you have a theme or would you rather use your grandmother's china in your cabinet and dress the table with white linens and fresh flowers?
How do you like to set your table?
(images from gracious style)