Marimekko @ Target

There is only one way for this to end. With me, disappointed and tired. Maybe I'll have spent money on something I'll never wear, or maybe I won't even have found anything at all to buy. Either way, a Target collab this high profile will almost surely not meet my expectations.

And yet...on Sunday the 17th of April, I'm sure I'll find myself lined up outside the Target doors, all excited about what's inside. I so love Marimekko. Danish Scandinavian + colorful is my kryptonite.

I mean...look at that table. How could I possibly resist it? How can I resist anything that pairs so well with a summery cocktail?

See the whole collection here.

Ahoy!

Maybe it's because I grew up going to restaurants with anchors and rope on their walls. Or maybe it's because I have a box of maritime flags, that Cooper found at an auction, just sitting, unused in my office. Or maybe it's just because I love the water and boats.

Whatever the reason, I can't resist maritimey decor, especially in the summertime. Like this stuff:

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None of these ideas - even the Martha Stewart ones! - would be that difficult to make happen in the real world. Especially if I busted out some of those flags that I already own. And I think they'd all pair very, very nicely with Dark and Stormies. Or maybe a Drunken Sailor or three.

Place Card Games

This idea, from Food and Wine, has so inspired me:

For some great conversation starters, don’t write names on your place cards. Rather, write clues for each guest. For example: “Has encyclopedic knowledge of fried chicken" or "Traveled the farthest to get here.”

I am 100% doing this next time I have a sit-down dinner. Since dinners here usually involve the same 7-10 people, and they are all funny, funny friends who can take a joke, I am already laughing to myself about what the cards will say.

But why stop there? This opens up a whole new world of place card games. Riddles, word searches, crosswords, scavenger hunts. It's on. It's so on.

I Want to Be Here Right Now

Source

The busier I get, the more I don't want to do anything but sit at a table, outside, under some lights. Without a single cell phone in sight and absolutely no way to access my email.

This news is brought to you by a seven-deadline week. Five down, two to go.

(Note: does that count as complaining about work? If so, well...not complaining might be the hardest resolution, in the history of resolutions, to keep.)

Rose Season

I had my first glass of the pink stuff last night. I'm ready. And here's where I want to drink it:

Proving that even when your yard includes a messy wall, it can be pretty. (Source)

Yes, it's a restaurant. But...that green would work anywhere, right? (Source)

Those chairs seem impractical as hell...but I love them. Also, the blue and white curtains. (Source)

Teensy colorful patio surrounded by greenery and a pond? Very rose-friendly. (Source)

Besides the obvious downside (bugs dropping in your wine), I so love the idea of a ceiling of plants. (Source)

This little urban space is completely do-able, really. If you can just find some friends to help you drape all that fabric. (Source)

Cheers to rose! And spring!

Pretty!

It's been a while since I posted pictures of random, pretty, outdoor tables. This morning, 

this table is doing it for me:

It's a garden party that was hosted by Laurén LaRocca and Marlan Willardson of 

Twink + Sis, then posted on Domaine Home and, where I found it, on the FWx blog.

And it is pretty, pretty, pretty. Ghost chairs + rustic table + thick marbled placemats? 

I am allll over that.

Valentine's Day and the Magic of the Kids' Table

Adults on left (check out those woven ribbons!) and kids on right (plastic silverware, yes, but also gift bags!)

As I'm sure you all remember, Valentine's Day fell on a Saturday this year, guaranteeing that restaurants would be even more hectic than usual. We're not big V-Day celebrators under any circumstances...and you couldn't pay me to go to a restaurant on the most lovey-dovey night of the year. I feel for people in the industry.

When we do celebrate Valentine's Day, it's usually with our friends. Alicia and Mike have hosted a couple Valentine's Day wine tasting parties that are so well-attended - we're obviously not the only ones not really into the holiday.

This year, we had dinner at our house. Nothing unusual or crazy - steak, potatoes, asparagus, hollandaise. Shrimp to start and cupcakes for dessert. Standard dinner-with-friends fare.

I did spend a little time on the table, though - and on the kids' table. As I know I've mentioned before, setting the table is one of my favorite things in the world. It combines so much of what I love about party-throwing - the anticipation, the pretty stuff, the orderly pre-party organization. I just love it.

Now that some of the kids in our friend group are older, I've started spending more time on the kids' table. I set up a couple short IKEA Lack tables in our dining room, next to the adult table, and we use stools (also from IKEA) as seating.

Everything's paper and plastic (they are kids - and some of them are little!) but I try to make things extra fun, with decorations and gifts attached the name cards. For Valentine's Day, it was bags with candy all around, plus extra candy for the girls and little Nerf guns for the boys. Which did violate my "no guns at the table" rule. But it was a special occasion.

Unsurprisingly, the boys, who are all older, are really only into it for the loot. Some of the girls, though, totally get it. They come in and head right to the table to look for their seats - and they genuinely appreciate how the table looks. I love it.

I mean, my grown up friends care how the table looks, too. But they're not nearly as cute as the little one.

Get Outside

In honor of the unofficial start of summer, The Kitchn has put together a slideshow of outdoor dining spots that are pretty, pretty, pretty. Especially this one:

 

With the nice weather, we've shifted our weeknight dinners to the deck - and I am itching to pull out the big table for a big, extravagant al fresco meal (like this one).

Then, I will write about it in, oh, August. You wouldn't believe the backlog of posts I have going now. Spend a few days in Paris and next thing you know, you're two months behind.

It's Snowing Right Now

But doesn't this look pretty?

From Southern Weddings, via Hemingway and Hepburn.

I Want To Go There

Seen in today's Terrain email:

All I have to say about that is: yes, please.

What do you mean it's going to snow again next week?

This Week: January 18 to 24

This is where it gets hard. 

Between the snow (So much snow. So many snow days.) and my unrelenting

work schedule, I have not done much blog-worthy stuff this week.

Yes, last Friday I made Rick Bayless's enchiladas suizas - one of my 

favorite ways to use rotisserie chicken and also really good 

wow-it-is-cold-out-there food. But not that exciting.

And on Saturday, we went to my sister and Clark's cute house in Alexandria for the 

first time. They fed us flank steak and scalloped potatoes and green beans and 

everything was great. (Also, my mom noted that she rarely gets

blog mentions. So...there's one!)

Sunday, some friends came over and we had burgers. Nothing special

but it was the kind of low-key night we all obviously needed.

Then we entered the black hole of an an additional three days tacked

onto the weekend. By the time I dropped Dixon off at school yesterday - 

two hours late - I could practically hear the streets of Stoneleigh

echoing with mothers' glee at finally having their homes back.

Seriously. It's a mess around here.

So that's all I have to report. It's not much. 

But I will leave you with this photo, from Southern Living:

Not too much longer until that's once again a possibility.

Happy New Year!

It's 2014 and I have no resolutions - but not for lack of trying to think of some. I only believe in making resolutions that are concrete, discrete and realistic (get more haircuts, wear mascara to the grocery store, start wearing caftans, etc.) - and I usually keep them.

2013 was a challenging year for me, work-wise, and this past month has been especially challenging. Though I really intended to make a resolution or two, I couldn't think of any really good ones. ("Good" in this case means my kind of resolution not, say, noble or healthy.)

I do have some new plans for the blog, though. This year, I'm planning to post at least twice a week - once on Tuesdays and once on Fridays. Fridays will be overall updates: What I've been eating, drinking, thinking and planning. Tuesdays will be something a little different. Each Tuesday, I'll write about something I own that's both vintage and food or party-related. I have a lot of those things - people give me amazing found gifts all the time. I always intend to write about them but somehow never have enough time. So expect all of that - starting tomorrow.

And for today, I'll leave you with this:

It's a photo of India Hicks' New Year's Eve dinner (from her Facebook page, shot by Felix Flint Wood). Long, windy table, little lights, late night dinner. So much to love.

With that, Happy New Year! And hello, 2014!

Festive & Annoying

My love of pictures like this suggests that deep down, 

no matter how hard I try to deny it, I am kind of a hipster at heart.

The kind who would get married in a barn.

I don't like it. But I do like those lights.

[Via Hemingway & Hepburn.]

As Seen On Pinterest

This:

Just some pretty prettiness to sit at the top of this page while I'm busy doing things that are not blogging. 

(Some of those things are fun...most are not. It's been quite a month. Starting with strep throat for Dixon the day before Halloween and just not ever ending. Deadlines, illness, laundry. One day I'll see the light again.)

Summer Tables

It's been a while since I've posted pictures of pretty tables.

So here are some pretty tables for your summer viewing pleasure.

I bet you could buy all of this (or similar) at IKEA:

(Via Pentik)

This is so old-fashioned and gentle. It's not my usual style,

but it's just so relaxing:

(Via Country Living)

This is on the old-fashioned side, too, but I love the lace over wood.

The green glass plates make me happy, too.

(Via TLC)

This simple arrangement is my favorite of all.

Because I can't tell you how much I hate ironing.

This is what all my cloth napkins look like anyway.

This makes me feel like I can actually use them, instead of keeping

them hidden away, in wrinkled piles.

(Via House Beautiful)

Tuesday Tables: Vegetable Centerpieces

So far, my favorite thing about Pinterest is the plethora of great table-setting ideas. Like this one, which is so simple, but far more sophisticated than a standard chip-and-dip platter: 

(via Pinterest)

That photo sent me on a search for vegetable-themed centerpieces. I like the idea of using vegetables at the center of the table - it feels fresh and it's really fairly inexpensive. How springy is this asparagus arrangement (and I love those placecard holders!):

(Via BHG)

This silver box full of vegetables is gorgeous, though it would, admittedly, take a while to create an arrangement this perfect:

(Via Martha Stewart)

Brussels sprouts are so cool looking already. They're perfect for topiaries. This arrangement looks springy, but they'd work well for the holidays, too:

(Via BHG)

There's Something About Bunnies

I'm not sure why, but I am all about rabbits these days.

Just last week, I bought Snow White Legos as a birthday gift just because they had a bunny!

And here I am tonight, posting this:

Such a pretty table - and such a cute bunny.

Only appropriate, though, if he's not also on the menu.

[Via House Beautiful.]

Trendy: Coral

It's so summery and dangerously close to Tangerine Tango (aka the Pantone color of 2012).

So it's no wonder that coral - the color and the shape - is everywhere right now.

On dresses:

[Caitlyn long dress by Devin Baer]

On my toes, as we speak:

[California Coral by Essie]

On the wall:

[Virginia Johnson print from Stampa]

In necklace form:

[Coral Collector by Elva Fields]

[Orange branch coral necklace by KEP Designs]

On Jenna Lyons' lips (presumably):

[Poppy King for J. Crew lipstick]

In Kate Spade-Meets-Chanel form:

[Gold Coast - Meadow shoulder bag by Kate Spade]

On the table with navy and gold - and seriously,

this combination is just winning my heart, all around:

[Table by JL Designs]

I Want to Have a Party Like This

How great is this space?

It's the site of a 30th birthday party, thrown by Savory Sister, Wesley Shaw (details here, from Garden and Gun). It's also entirely reasonable inspiration for me. We have a garage, Cooper built me a beautiful, long wooden table, and I have about a trillion Christmas lights that would be easy to string.

And let's talk about this:

I could make that sign! Cooper could (easily) build that bar! We could use chalkboard paint to turn an old door into a menu board! This is so happening.

The last time we had dinner in our garage, it was crabs on top of plywood. But that doesn't mean this won't happen, as soon as it's warm enough to sit out there without gloves on.

Photo credit: Kickstand Studio.

In the Mail

This bit of fabulousness:

Well, actually, twelve of those bits of fabulousness, from BasilicusJones and courtesy of the Fabulous Beekman Boys' One King Lane tastemaker tag sale. While the $5,000 tea sets were a bit too rich for my blood, these little repurposed gems were too full of awesomeness for me to pass up. Plus, $25 for four. Not horrifically exorbinant.