With the first of December just days away, mailboxes will be overflowing with holiday cards in no time! Beautiful sentiments from loved ones brighten even the gloomiest of wintery days, but heaps of cards stashed on a front entry console hardly seems fitting of the term deck the halls!
The holidays are the perfect time to take out your elegant tableware and put together a beautiful setting for your friends and family. Growing up in France, I spent most of my holidays at our family home in the south of France, in the Pyrenees region, right at the border of France and Spain. The region is breathtakingly gorgeous and while a white Christmas is very rare, our home always felt festive and charming. The holidays has always been the one unique moment in the year where our entire family is in the same place for a few days. It’s all about simple pleasures, spending some time together and sharing some delicious home-cooked food. There is no messing around with food in my family! Each year, the menu changes slightly, but some of our favourites are always foie gras with onion jam, truffled mashed potatoes, a selection of cheeses and a frosted yule log with a few dark chocolate truffles. For the occasion, we usually dress up our dining room table with lightly golden tulle and make simple centerpieces using small ornaments, ribbon and rustic pine cones.
With the holidays in mind, we would love to know: What’s your best holiday entertaining tip? Leave a comment below and share your best tip. You will be entered to win a beautiful tableware set from Serena & Lily. I’ll choose a winning response on December 2nd, 2011.
The winner will receive Serena & Lily’s Mombasa Collection which includes:
1 Tablecloth, $98
2 Runner, $68
3 4 Placemats, $48 for the set
4 4 Napkins, $38 for the set
5 Cheese Knives, $38
Approximate retail value: $338
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This past Thursday, I was lucky enough to attend the VIP opening party for Centro Garden, a new living design and style store located at 437 Brant Street, in downtown Burlington, ON.
I really haven’t been this excited to see a business succeed, since starting my own. Centro’s tagline, “Live Outside Inside”, is not only based on the concept of literally blending indoor and outdoor living, but also, on the concept of bringing the best of the outside world, inside, to yours.
In their words, this means “placing the garden into the living room and the den on the patio for a more inspired and enriched lifestyle experience” and introducing items “made or found around the corner or around the world”.
Do you prefer the care and personality of a handwritten holiday card over an electronic greeting? If so, this is the contest for you!
Design No. 1
For many, the thought of hosting a holiday party is too much of a daunting task. The food preparation, the housecleaning, the cost of buying everything — it’s just too hectic for this time of year. Well, my friends, I’ve stumbled upon a sweet little secret to help you create a fabulous holiday party and do it with ease — One Charming Party. A blog started by two friends who love to entertain {Sara & Brittany}, One Charming Party shows you how to DIY your way into a fabulous holiday gathering.
Below are a few of my fave projects on the blog {the first two are dead easy — the last takes a bit of practice but is worth it!}. Click through the links to see instructions on how to make each one.
Gift card snow globes How great are these to give as party favours? Load up a Starbucks card with $5-$10, then give to guests when they leave — it will look so much nicer wrapped up in a snow globe. {how-to instructions}
Chocolate and caramel dipped marshmallows These treats are simple, sweet and look lovely on a holiday dessert table. {how-to instructions}
White chocolate snowman bowls These delicate bowls are perfect for holding marshmallows for post-dinner hot chocolate {add some Balieys, anyone?}, but the best part is, they’re edible! {how-to instructions}
Happy holidays everyone!
xo,
Lauren
This past weekend I held the first party in my new house, even though I moved in last June {hey, I like a house to look nice before it’s ‘warmed’}. I’m a little detail-oriented {read: obsessive-compulsive} when it comes to my home and having people over, and I like everything to be perfect — lighting, music, food and all-around vibe.
Below are five rules I follow for making a soiree a surefire hit — actually, four tips for the host and one very important tip for the guest.
1 Serve a signature drink.
Even if it’s just a bit of bubbly, make sure your guests enter your party with a drink waiting for them. My guest list was made up of 12 close girlfriends, so I picked up some great PC Home stemless wine glasses {$9 for 4} and filled them with frozen cranberries, sparkling Wolf Blass, and a little bit of sparkling pomegranate juice. It’s a great way for everyone to feel relaxed and settled upon entering your home, rather than buzzing about the kitchen, trying to get a drink.
2 Keep dietary needs in mind.
There is nothing worse than going to a party whilst being on a diet — it’s a nightmare. Keep in mind that some of your guests may have dietary restrictions, so try to create a menu that accommodates them. It doesn’t mean you have to stray away from making buttery shortbread or scrumptious pastries, but introduce some non-dairy and low-fat options as well. I made a big bowl of fruit salad, but I’ve also just discovered Baskin Robbins’ BRight Choices ice cream, which are creamy sorbets and ice creams that range from 90-160 calories per serving and have dairy-free options as well. And they are good — think Butter Almond Crunch and Raspberry Cheese Louise.
3 Keep your bathroom fully stocked.
You want your guests to feel at home in your house, so ensure that the bathroom is fully stocked with any toiletries they may need. Set up a display on the vanity or a small table including items like hairspray, gum, hand cream and anything else your guests might require. I like to leave a bottle of perfume {that pretty gold bottle is Twirl by Kate Spade — my new fave} and a little shimmer to freshen up {that pretty pink bottle is a subtle powder shimmer from The Body Shop — also my new fave}. And please — please! — don’t forget to stock your bathroom with toilet paper. There is nothing more embarrassing for your guest than having to pull their host aside and ask for some TP. Mor-ti-fy-ing.
4 Don’t send your guests home empty-handed.
You want your party to be a success from start to finish, so when your guests are heading home for the night, surprise them with a little party favour. You don’t have to spend a fortune on elaborate gifts — just give them something that says ‘thanks’ for coming to your bash. I bought white paper craft bags and filled each with some chocolates, a piece of homemade shortbread and a lip gloss from Joe Fresh. Tied up in a pretty bow and a letterpressed gift tag makes it a sweet treat that your guests won’t forget.
5 As a guest, always bring something for the host.
As a guest, all you’re required to do is show up and have a good time. Your host, however, has been spending a lot of time and money prepping for the party. To thank them, always bring a hostess gift with you, whether it’s a bottle of nice wine or something more personal {one of my friends brought a beautiful box of signature soaps from the Hudson’s Bay Collection, knowing I’d swoon over the packaging}. If you’re strapped for cash, head over to Loblaws and pick up a set of baker’s gift loaf pans from PC Home {$10 for 6}. These cardboard loaf pans are lined with silicone, meaning you can pour your banana bread or pound cake mix right in, shove in the oven, then tie up with a pretty bow to give to your host.
What are your surefire party tips?
xo,
Lauren
Holy moley, December is a crazy time for giveaways here at Style at Home! We’re giving away a Krups small appliance suite, an LG range from Future Shop, an HP Mini 210 netbook, and now, a collection of cookbooks from Nigella Lawson. Ho, ho, ho!
Nigella’s books are the perfect companion to holiday cooking and entertaining. Her love for decadent treats and whipping up quick meals is ideal for this guilt-free time of year. Here are the books up for grabs:
Nigella Christmas Your best friend for the Christmas season — includes cook-ahead meals, traditional turkey and vegetarian feasts.
Nigella Express The Domestic Goddess shows you how to cook a succulent meal in minutes — includes easy-to-follow recipes and tips on keeping your pantry stocked with the essentials.
Kitchen Nigella’s newest book focuses on the heart of the home — it includes recipes and answers real-life questions, like what to feed the kids for lunch and what to do with overripe fruit.
Want to win all three? To enter, leave a comment below letting me know how you indulge during the holidays, whether it’s eating all the treats you want or scheduling a spa day for yourself.
Good luck!
xo,
Lauren
*This contest is now closed. Winner is Jason Hudson from Toronto. Prize value: $155. Contest closes December 20th, 2010 at 11pm EST. Open to all residents of Canada, except those in Quebec. Not open to any Transcontinental Media employees, their families, or any other persons with whom they reside.*
I’m going to warn you before you read on, that there is a very disturbing image for all you lovers of aesthetically pleasing things.
If you’re familiar with the Moggit Girls, you probably already love them for their hilarious take on bad design. Last week, they held a contest over Twitter asking followers to submit their ugliest Christmas ornaments and the response was great — but also incredibly ugly. As promised, here is the winner of the Moggit Girls’ Ugly Ornament Contest {submitted by Julie from Paisley, Plaid & Read}:
Congrats to Julie for owning such a horrific looking angel! And now, to counterbalance the ug with some pretty, here are a few of my fave ornaments for the season.
Pearl ornament, $12 US; Anthropologie.
Bird clip ornaments, $15 per set of 4; West Elm.
Baby's first Christmas felt ornament, $12 US; MaternalNEST on Etsy.
Elroy ornament, $3.50 each; CB2.
As much as we love looking at the pretty ornaments, it’s always fun to see the atrocious ones as well to think, “Who would ever make this?”.
Do you have any ugly ornaments hidden amongst the pretty?
xo,
Lauren
Around my house, it’s beginning to look a lot like Chrisssssstmaaaaas. I’ve got the tree up, the lights on outside, and the table set with sparkling serveware. At the beginning of December, I like to spend one night writing out Christmas cards while listening to my favourite holiday tunes {The Pogues’ Fairytale of New York and Rum DMC’s Christmas Is, to be exact}.
This year, I’ve fallen in love with a collection of cards from Vancouver designer Valerie Lau. Her shop, Designs by Val, is an obsession of mine, but this Christmas has exceeded all my prior favourites. At $4.50 each or $18 for a box of eight, these are the unique kind of cards that will have recipients ooh-ing and aah-ing. Below are a few of my picks for this season, nestled amongst my home’s holiday cheer.
xo,
Lauren
The holidays are upon us and two of my favourite things about the season are sending Christmas cards and wrapping gifts. I’m super picky about my choice of cards and gift wrap, and nine times out of ten, I can’t find what I’m looking for at retail stores. Instead, I click through Etsy.com and order from the artisans themselves.
One of my favourite Etsy sellers is Adele, a British designer living in Toronto, who has created a fabulous eco-friendly paper goods company called modernemotive. She has a very simple, modern style and I find myself buying cards, gift tags and notepads from her all the time. I adore her new line of holidays gift tags for this year {above}. The tags come with vellum envelopes and you can get a set of eight for only $8.50 US. And if you’re looking for some fun holiday gifts, Adele has also introduced her line of 2011 calendars and sassy notepads.
Since it’s the season for giving, from now until midnight on Thursday, November 25th, we’re offering a 20% discount on all products from the modernemotive store on Etsy. Just enter styleathome when it asks for a promotional code.
Happy holidays!
xo,
Lauren
Médias Transcontinental
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