Bird houses have become quite a collectors item. With so many unique designs new and old, a collection can easily be amassed with houses of all sizes and shapes. My Dad and his partner Bob are big collectors of many things, including bird houses. My Dad, has often told me that what makes items really stand out is a grouping or collection of them displayed together. Every summer they carefully place over 50 bird houses…
Sure you could have it catered but why? Go for it, you can do it… Not everyone likes to cook or plan, but if you do, it’s not difficult to make your party as enjoyable for you as it is for your guests. A little time and effort spent pre-planning can make all the difference in the ease of execution and fun.
Usually I prefer to arrange flowers in groups of solid colors, however every once in a while a certain table setting will require an extra punch of color and creativity. It makes no difference if you pick flowers from the garden, buy them from your grocer, local florist or flower stand the technique is the same.
What makes a great Oscar party? We think it’s all in the creativity; present a fabulous dinner, some unexpected surprises and be creative. With this year’s 84th Academy Awards quickly approaching we thought we would share our 83rd Oscar party to give you some inspiration.
In my family Holidays are all about a wardrobe change and Christmas is the Belle of the Ball! Christmas is the decorator’s ultimate theme: It comes and goes annually so there’s a recycling aspect to ornaments and accessories. The season is short so there is no need to second-guess oneself with questions like, Will I love this in six months? And lastly, the icons never change so virtually nothing goes out of style.
Winter is high season in Aspen, and the social schedule is at its peak during the month of December. My Dad Amen, the unofficial ambassador of Aspen, is known to host anywhere from five to ten parties over the course of a few weeks.
In America, Thanksgiving is arguably the most important feast of the year. And my family has had it’s share of festivity faux pas. One memorable time, my Dad prepared the bird and put it in the oven then walked away to focus on the important task of readying the house for his 24 guests.
Many luxury hotels do a great job of making their guests feel welcome. Some guests find that feeling in the friendly staff, others in the scent of fresh flowers in the common areas and others in the quality of the amenities. There is however nothing more wonderful than feeling welcome in someone’s home. One place I definitely feel welcome is when I visit my brother Jean Paul and his wife Marianna.
We decided to have a last minute Halloween dinner before the weekend and wanted to add a non-traditional color into the mix. We both love green so we spiced up the table with green and silver glitter skulls to compliment the orange and black. For glasses we used ghost goblets, perfect for serving red wine on Halloween. The glasses create the spooky illusion that the wine is bleeding into the stem.