Monthly Archives: November 2010

Preston’s Thanksgiving

November 29, 2010

Who: Preston Bailey
Where: His studio in NYC
How many guests: 50
What time of year: Thanksgiving 2010
Reason: Thanksgiving celebration with family and friends

For this year’s Thanksgiving celebration, Preston wanted to create the ultimate all-white Thanksgiving. But what accents white better than tiny (or in Preston’s case, large) pops of color?

Preston says:

I tremendously enoy creating a completely “over the top” experience for my family to celebrate Thanksgiving. The great part of being in the business is that I can re-use some of my favorite pieces and give my family the same feeling of luxury my clients receive.

These are few of my Thanksgiving pics.

And, please share with us some of your Thanksgiving moments. For example…

Best tasting food
Most appreciated family member
Decor theme

Enjoy!

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Read It: The Art of Simple Food

November 24, 2010

Simplicity. Isn’t that what we all want in our lives? Isn’t that what we all need?

Alice Waters seems to think so. The famous founder of restaurant Chez Panisse and devout “food activist” has been an advocate for simple living for years.

Her newest book The Art of Simple Food is far from a recipe book, although there are at least 200 inside.

It is an educational tool to teach basic cooking techniques and skills that will leave you with real know-how in the kitchen (and out of the kitchen too).

Waters is a huge advocate of eating locally, seasonably and sustainably. She also believes in taking full advantage of everything farmers markets have to offer and her book delves into these topics with expert awareness.

What’s more is how she approaches the food itself. Waters provides the knowledge base necessary to break away from the over-used recipe and allows readers to be creative with their newfound prowess.

All of the dishes are healthy, easy to make, and fairly intuitive as well, not to mention delicious!

Have you tried eating simple food? Do you get any of your foods from local markets?

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Kellie’s Thanksgiving Table

November 22, 2010

Who: Kellie Daab
Where: Her House in Springsboro, Ohio
How many guests: 12 (set for 22)
What time of year: Thanksgiving 2009
Reason: Thanksgiving celebration with family and friends

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. In addition to stuffing myself with a lot of my favorite food (hello mashed potatoes!), I really enjoy getting to spend time with my family.

Of course, sitting at a beautifully festive table is pretty fabulous too. When Kellie Daab sent us pictures of her Thanksgiving, we knew we wanted to share it with all of you. Check out her festive table setting…

Kellie says:

It was my first time hosting Thanksgiving dinner at my new house so I wanted it to be special. The first dilemma was finding enough place settings for everyone. I actually found a great deal at the grocery store on interchangeable plates for 25 cents each and worked from there.

I found a table cover that worked perfectly and I created the centerpieces and other little details myself. I used pumpkins, leaves, and seed pods to incorporate the natural elements of the season on to my table.

It is a wonder what the simplest of things can add to your table!

The meal was a traditional Thanksgiving meal, complete with turkey and mashed potatoes.

Each member of my family always comes to bring their favorite dish and if there are new guests I try to make sure to include their favorites as well.

Before dinner we all gather around the table and share something we are thankful for and afterwards we feast.

After all the plates are wiped clean, the women search through the Black Friday ads and prepare for the next day of extreme shopping.

Typically, we exchange Black Friday gifts as well.

For example, one year I did survival kits for getting through the next day’s crowded malls.

It may sound cheesy but it’s fun and we get really into it.

For those throwing their first Thanksgiving dinners, I would advise that:

First, make sure you have enough of everything to do up the holiday right. During this season there are a surprising amount of sales so you never know what kind of deals you will find.
Second, it’s great to have extra warmers. I know that we ran out of places to keep all our dishes warm last year and renting or even buying warmers would have saved me a lot of stress.
My last tip would be to prepare in advance. I set my entire table the night before and then use a pop-up table the next day for breakfast and preparation.

Remember, don’t try to do it all. Ask for others to bring dishes or decorative pieces. It’s a day to be thankful, not to be stressed so just enjoy!

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Product Picks: Gobble Gobble

November 19, 2010

Since it’s the Friday before Thanksgiving, I only have one thing on my mind: turkey. (And maybe cookies, pies and cranberry sauce…but that’s a different post.)

Today’s product picks are centered around the humble turkey. Some are accessories for preparing the turkey and others are just plain fun.

Gobble gobble…

Vintage Turkey Platter from Chambers Farm Vintage

Timber Ridge Deep Fryer from Williams-Sonoma. Deep frying your turkey may take a lot of worth but ask yourself…isn’t it worth it?

Gourmet Turkey Rub from Crate and Barrel. This rub contains salt, thyme, savory, sugar, onion, lemon pepper, peppercorns, garlic, rosemary and parsley. Yum!

Turkey Cookie Cutter from Crate and Barrel

Acorn Twine Holder from Williams-Sonoma. To hold the twine for trussing that bird.

Buri Turkey from Crate and Barrel. If you don’t want to eat the turkey, you can still have him on your table.

How do you like to prepare your Thanksgiving turkey? Do you have any secret family tips you want to share?

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Read It: A Gracious Welcome

November 17, 2010

So you threw an amazing party. Congratulations, your work is done! Oh wait, who’s that still sitting in your living room?

Whether for an hour or a weekend, entertaining guests can be a daunting task.

I, for one, have experienced both ends of the spectrum: the stress of accommodating others and the horror of sleeping on my cousin’s hardwood floor.

I know full well that it is hard to bring that homey feel into an unfamiliar place but Amy Neben’s book, A Gracious Welcome, attempts to make things easier.

From how to make homemade creations to advice on how to utilize your time best together, Neben covers all aspects of how to be the upmost host or hostess.

When entertaining, even the smallest touches can make all the difference. Thus, hosting long term should be given the same amount of dedication as a well planned celebration.

Next time I have company, I will be ready to impress. Who knows, maybe I’ll send this book to my cousin and finally graduate to sleeping on his lumpy couch.

How do you make your guests feel at home? Which do you enjoy? Being the host/hostess or the guest?

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Cho’s CarnEvil Party

November 15, 2010

Who: Cho Phillips
Where: Her House in Rocklin, CA
How many guests: 200+
What time of year: October 2010
Reason: CarnEvil 2010: A Halloween-Inspired Birthday Event

Fire dancers, search lights, contortionists, body paint artists…this was not just another day in Rocklin, California.

In celebration of Halloween and turning 40, Cho Phillips of The Wedding Planning Institute decided to throw a bash like no other.

Guests are still talking about this CarnEvil Party and would be hard pressed to stop any time soon. Check it out!

Cho says:

I decided to throw this event because my birthday falls in October and Halloween was coming up so it just made sense. The cake was really the only thing I wanted and the party circulated around that.

The party was called CarnEvil so I started planning out how I would transform my house to fit the theme. The first thing I did was buy a lot of fabric. I draped all of my furniture in red velvet and when I couldn’t find black and red striped curtains, I set about making them myself.

I also saturated the food and bar areas with red lighting to make the ceiling look as if they were on fire. Tents created a carnival feel and I had framed circus posters set up throughout the house.

The counters were draped in red and black fabrics with rope tassels hanging from the bottom of the counters.

I used two very tall clear vases to hold the floral arrangements with red Gerbera flowers because they had red and black colors. Hanging crystals were also used in the window treatments and floral arrangements to catch and deflect light.

Halloween decorations were also incorporated in the decor and floral arrangements adorned the food displays.

Also, while you don’t normally think of balloons for Halloween, they were everywhere. They are just so fun and a great decoration tool.

In terms of food, we tried to have carnival type food, which of course isn’t the best for you but is so good.

We had a raw bar with everything from hearty lentil chili to Thai curry soup as well.

I can’t leave out the great sweets including a chocolate fountain with strawberries, smores, cupcakes, dipping snacks, and red celvet cake.

The chocolate cake that was my initial inspiration was in fact vegan, believe it or not!

I wanted to make the party interactive so we hired a number of performers and artists to entertain guests.

We had Fire Dancers from ZenArtsLA.com, a contortionist named Viktoria Grimmy, and model/dancer/s, Kiki Hall.

We had a few stages set up where the dancers performed at various times throughout the night and where guests could dance as well. In addition, we had Mike Anderson DJ the event.

Although people came in costume, we had a body paint artist and air brush artist available to enhance their look and incorporate them into theme. Everyone looked fantastic and it made the festivities all the more exciting.

When guests arrived we had circus music playing along with haunted house music. We also included a photo booth so guests took a lot of fun candid photos at the party and took them home. When guests left they also received a CD of the music from the party.

Through working with Preston, I have learned a lot of things but one of them is the importance of design and just how much of an impact little things can make on an event.

With this party, I tried to incorporate every corner of the house from the walls to the tables and I think its fluidity made a huge difference. Using Preston’s advice from his design course I used the formulas and worksheets to walk through each area of my home and implemented a design for each area specific to the use of the room.

For example, the dance floor area which was in my dining room was our “Fun House” room filled with a candy bar, fun house mirrors, balloons, posters of circus scenes and stages for dancing.

I have found that when planning, you did it right when no one wants to leave at the end of the night. My CarnEvil Party was one that people have talked about and posted about for days after. People truly had fun and I am so glad I could be a part of something so memorable.

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Product Picks: All White

November 12, 2010

To honor Preston’s all white Thanksgiving table, we thought we’d feature some coveted product picks in our favorite non-color. (There might be one “cheat” product pick in there. Silver is close enough to white, right?)

Beast’s Feast Tureen from Anthropolgie

Dr. Bird Juicer from Imm Living

Serena Antique Mercury Glass Vases from Pottery Barn

Dart Cocktail Picks Set from the W Store

How do you like to decorate with white? What are some of your favorite products?

2 Comments

Read It: The Art of the Table

November 10, 2010

At one point in time, we have all undoubtedly been stumped by a tricky table setting. What to do with that extra fork or pesky bread dish?

Well, The Art of the Table by Suzanne Von Drachenfels is here to help.

I have to admit I could not have been more thrilled when I found this little gem.

It has opened my eyes to the rules of formal dining and I cannot wait to use my newfound knowledge at my next gathering.

Not only does the author delve into unfamiliar topics (unfamiliar to me anyway) such as choosing dinnerware, glassware, and proper table manners but she also includes the history behind the rules.

Being a fairly informal person, I was hesitant to delve into this unknown world but now that I’m here I have to say it’s not as intimidating as I had once thought.

Do you think if you knew the “art of the table” you would also be more willing to throw formal events or is informal more your style?

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The Ultimate Thanksgiving

November 8, 2010

Generally on Mondays we feature a party from a fabulous person, and we get to hear their tips, tricks, party ideas and inspiration. But I thought today why not do something different? Why not indulge in a little collaborative fantasy party planning?

Every year, Preston throws a luxe Thanksgiving for all his friends and family. (The picture above is from last year’s.) At first, Preston wasn’t sure if he could throw his yearly tradition because of work restrictions, but it turns out… the party is back on!

I thought it’d be fun to get together here and discuss our ideas for the Ultimate Thanksgiving. If you had an unlimited budget and the design resources of Preston Bailey’s team what would you want to make? Leave a comment or share an inspiration image on Preston’s Facebook page.

Who knows? Maybe Preston himself will incorporate some of your ideas into his actual party (if that’s okay with you…).

Next week, we’ll talk to Preston about his past Thanksgivings.

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Product Picks: Pie Accessories

November 5, 2010

The minute it becomes November, I can only think of one thing: Thanksgiving. And with Thanksgiving comes pie. The possibilities are endless…pumpkin, apple, peanut butter pie with a chocolate crust. So, today’s product picks are based all around pie making accessories.

Because anything that can help us get out of the kitchen and into the party is a good thing, right?

Pie Maker from Williams-Sonoma. Make four pies at a time with this little machine.

R&M Pie Bird Set from Amazon. Help your pie let off a little steam… To find out more about pie birds (or pie funnels), check out this great article from Associated Content.