Entertain

I’ll be honest, I’ve never really cared for New Year’s Eve… I have however enjoyed finding a cute sparkly dress and having one last hoorah to end the holiday season. I have recently vowed to either be on vacation or at home from now on, in order to avoid the dread of celebrating this holiday in the city I live in. But I guess I will have to wait until next year to live that dream out since my fiancé and I have decided to go to a nightclub, unfortunately. What we will be doing

It’s been a while… Since my last cheese plate, which is crazy given it’s the one and only culinary contribution I feel confident about feeding other people! But given the recent circumstances such as my wedding detox this summer and the simple fact that I haven’t had a kitchen since August, let alone a finished space to host friends, perhaps it’s not that surprising. So as you’d expect I was quite excited to create something festive and yummy as my contribution for a holiday

We’re in the midst of my favorite season, one I haven’t been quite as able to fully embrace this year due to all the tasks I’ve had finalizing my wedding and our new home, but I somehow I am managing to find time to get back to my happy place, even if for just one evening. When a college friend of mine told me she was going to be in Los Angeles last minute, I took it as a an opportunity to slow myself down and get creative. So here we have one my of favorite tablescapes, thro

Ever since the Palisades Village first opened last year…  I have become a full on regular. Living in Santa Monica makes the drive up PCH to this quaint little oceanside suburban oasis we call the Pacific Palisades, just that more inviting, and this charming shopping center has become the crown jewel of the tiny coastal town. The village isn’t a massive mall but carries a lot of well known brands like Alo Yoga , Chanel Beauté , Serena & Lily , Sephora and Zimmerman . Ther

My absolute favorite season is starting… and so big surprise, I found a way to celebrate! Summer will always have a special place in my heart, since my childhood in Chicago I always obsessed over those short three months of bliss; no school, good weather, warm evenings, summer camp. It was a season full of fun memories, the icing on the (always ice cream) cake being my August birthday and the excitement everyone else seemed to feel celebrating in the height of the season befo

I recently hosted Book Club… for the very first time since I first joined this amazing group of women about 5 or 6 years ago. The group was started by a fabulous woman ten years ago, Jenny, who has created such a wonderful space for us all to share our accomplishments, goals and struggles in the most safe and reliably empowering way. I don’t always attend regularly but the monthly get together has always left me feeling apart of something so impressive; a bunch of women who

What’s more romantic than… breakfast in bed? I’ve always tried my best to have one weekend morning start with some extra time to lounge in bed before starting my day. This is hard to do given that I have the best shot at working out on weekend  mornings, have brunch plans or simply have too many items on my to-do list to spend a couple hours in bed. But I have always done my best to make time for some leisurely coffee sipping, Pinterest pinning and magazine browsing whenever

I’ll be honest, I’ve never really cared for New Year’s Eve… I have however enjoyed finding a cute sparkly dress and having one last hoorah to end the holiday season. I have recently vowed to either be on vacation or at home from now on, in order to avoid the dread of celebrating this holiday in the city I live in. But I guess I will have to wait until next year to live that dream out since my fiancé and I have decided to go to a nightclub, unfortunately. What we will be doing

One special thing for me every year is the fact that I celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas. Yes, you heard that right, I do both. I grew up celebrating both and intend on keeping it that way with the same traditions. For me, the holidays might have come from different places, but I think they both have a good amount in common. The time we spend with our loved ones, the gifts we give and receive, the help we provide others, are all all a part of both Hanukkah an Christmas. T

As someone who absolutely loves an opportunity to attend to the details, this guide has a lot of room in my heart. I’m sure you probably know somebody similar, who cares about whether or not the coffee table book stack coordinates in color and size, who wants the right mix of decor on the mantelpiece and can spend a minimum of three hours reorganizing a coffee table. Even those who aren’t as detail obsessed as myself can appreciate a beautiful way to layout cocktails and appe

There’s a cheese plate for every season… And this is mine for this fall! My new obsession this time? Figs! As you might remember from my fall cocktail post , figs have been the most perfect accent to any autumn dish or drink. Obviously I am not the first one to figure this out but I am glad I finally got with it. And for a cheese plate it’s a wonderful addition due to it’s natural sweetness. I have always seen lots of fig based spreads in the cheese section of the market and

A simple autumn cocktail, just brut champagne and a fig to garnish. That’s it everyone, what else can I say in this post? Let me try. Why do I need to get so festive, even if it’s just adding a simple slice of fig in my champagne glass? Because I just love the repetition of the seasons. As I have attempted to articulate many times before, I think there is something so comforting about knowing what to expect. It’s as if the changing of the weather and the traditions we attach

Last easiest way to decorate a table… is with these little retro prints I found online! They are both memorable and super economical. My very good friend Emma just left Los Angeles to our hometown of Chicago to start her next chapter and so of course we couldn’t let her leave without a proper send off. If you’re not familiar, Emma and I moved to Los Angeles together, right after finishing college to start our adult lives. It was a big undertaking but also an exciting one, whi

Why just have cake? For my birthday this year I knew I’d be having a few smaller celebrations rather than one big party, so of course I needed a few options for dessert. And since I have been gathering ideas lately for my wedding Pinterest board, I’ve been reminded how much I love macaron towers. They are just so beautiful and I actually found a DIY post to make one at home. So I decided I’d try my hand at it and it’s fairly simple to do. The only issue I ran into was keepi

Having my cake, eating and drinking it too? This year I had a small lunch with some friends before another party to celebrate turning 29 years old. As you may already know I have been drinking brut rosé a lot more in place of wine or a cocktail because it’s delicious and basically has no sugar in comparison to other wines and most champagne or other sparkling wine varieties. It’s also doesn’t hurt that it’s a perfect shade of pink. So when I found out the restaurant that I wa

This weekend I hosted some girlfriends for dinner and drinks. I know these girls from working as a therapist and we all happened to earn our professional licenses  this year and so of course we needed to celebrate! And as you know I love any excuse to get creative, so I decided to do a little garden party theme this time given it’s summertime. Starting with the most adorable invitation from Paperless Post , I couldn’t help myself , despite inviting only three people! Aside

I just said goodbye to the apartment I have been living in for 7 years. My entire time so far in Los Angeles has been here, in the only place I have ever called home in the city of angels. And now, I am moving in with my fiance in not so far away Santa Monica and I must say, it’s been quite the send off. Obviously there are many good things about this move. The most important is starting a new chapter with Arthur and his adorable little frenchie, Pierre. Second, Santa Monica

We all need to beat the heat it’s summertime and now the 4th of July! So I figured it’s only right to debut my first “chic eats’ series post with a new warm weather classic, the basics’ beloved frosè. It’s extremely easy to make, thanks to this amazing recipe I found from Abby Capalbo for Style Me Pretty. The only thing I changed from the original recipe is use of a grapefruit garnish, in addition to the a sprig of lavender. Another option would be to use a strawberry, wh

Summer’s coming, hence the beach parties are starting. And just in time for Memorial Day I have another fun beach picnic setup for you to recreate this weekend. Last Saturday was my fiancé Arthur’s birthday and so of course I did what I love to do, elevating the simple things in life. So when he asked for a fun day at the beach, I answered.  We had about eleven friends join us for the day and it worked out great. I probably won’t recreate this for the long holiday weekend but

It’s a fizzy and fabulous cocktail that I absolutely love! Combining all my favorite spirits in one refreshing drink, the French 75 is comprised of gin and champagne, with a lemon twist. It’s a perfect remedy for a warm summer day or nice aperitif on Saturday night. I happen to drink them all year round but it certainly pairs best during the summer. Not every bartender will know what you’re talking about when you order one, so be prepared to give them the scoop, after you mak