Creative Hostess Gifts

via peoplesworld.com 

I often wonder what hostess gifts looked like in the early 1900's. Do you think people brought chickens or moonshine to their family gatherings? I'm thinkin', yeah... yeah they did. And frankly I'd be happy with a healthy chicken or jug of moonshine! Imagine fresh eggs and a hearty shot everyday. 
But in our modern age, wine will do and is definitely a favourite hostess gift for most people (although I hear chickens are making a comeback!). It's quick and easy and doesn't have to cost a lot to be great.

Hostess gifts are the norm. Most people bring a gift when attending a friends dinner party or back yard bbq. It's a way of saying 'thanks for the invitation.' And it's easy to get creative, especially if you know your hosts.

via art.com

Flowers

Flowers are great! They look good, many smell wonderful, and they're a pretty addition for anyone's dining table or kitchen island. To personalize them, put your blooms into a pretty vase, or get creative and use a decorative water pitcher. Fresh flowers or lavender straight from your garden presented in an antique mason jar would be very special.

Potluck Keepsake

The invitation asks you to contribute to the buffet, so why not bring a plate of hor deurves or desserts on a gorgeous platter that doubles as a thank you gift for your host or hostess? You could bring fresh cheeses on a cheese board or a country loaf with balsamic and olive oil dipper in hand crafted pottery - again all meant to be kept as a gift.

Candles

Hand rolled beeswax tapers or mini tin candles for the powder room make a nice hostess gift. A pretty mosaic votive or hurricane with a scented candle is a wonderful gift.

lollialife.com/

Sensuous Bath Products

Always a fashionable hostess gift for girls wine & cheese night or a luncheon. Our favourite line is Lollia Bath Products (coming to The Willows in August!). And if they're good enough for Oprah...

Books & Journals

A salsa cook book for gourmet night or a wine journal for the closet sommelier would be well received by your host or hostess.

Gourmet Delights

Everything from gourmet chocolates and coffee to an assortment of flavoured salts or specialty herbs. Fresh potted herbs are also a thoughtful gift for the practicing chef.

And for those on their way over to my place, please remember the moon shine! But if the still's broken down, a chicken or a Lollia Calm Sea Salt Sachet will do just fine.

Enjoy,

Terri

Be The Best Guest

A recent post, Top Ten Tips for Hosting a Fabulous Party, outlined the essentials for hosting a memorable get together. It also showcased how to wear a really ugly sweater and still look sexy... OK, sexy is waaay to generous a word, but every picture from our Annual Ugly Sweater Party shows smiling faces!

We all love a great party, but isn't it nice to be a guest instead of a host once in awhile? Hosting is fabulous but tiring, so make sure when invited to parties, you make a good impression ensuring a repeat invitation. We've all been to parties where at least one person gets out of hand and turns a perfectly nice get together into a bit of a gong show!

Here are some valuable do's and don'ts to consider as the long weekend approaches and the parties are plentiful.

Photo via styleathome.com 

DO

• RSVP... on time! Time, effort and creativity are taken to host a fun event, the easy part is letting the host know yes or no in a timely fashion
• Be On Time - Unless you're attending an open house style get together where the host has made it apparent you can show up any time, arrive on time. People will feel obligated to wait for dinner guests before serving. Don't keep them waiting.
• Dress For The Occasion - The invitation will dictate the formality of the party. Flip flops and cutoffs wouldn't suit a dinner or cocktail party any more than stilettos would suit a bonfire.
• Bring a Small Thank You - This doesn't have to be expensive, just thoughtful. 
• Help - Sure you're a guest, but taking your plates to the kitchen and picking up a couple empty glasses on the way is easy enough. Notice we said 'empty' glasses.
• Leave... on time! Lingering well beyond the departure of everyone else is never welcome, and sure to keep you off the next guest list. 

Picture via sorrentocatering.com.au

DON'T

• Show Up Unannounced - If you didn't take the time to RSVP, don't assume there is room for you. This is especially true for more formal dinner parties where food amounts are calculated based on numbers. When in doubt, a polite phone call at least a few days in advance might be ok depending on your relationship with the host.
• Bring Unexpected Guests - Unless mentioned on the invitation, unexpected guests can throw off dinner or cocktail party arrangements. When unsure if a guest is welcome, a quick call or email will help clarify.
• Drink Too Much - Limit your alcohol consumption to avoid drunken embarrassment. Since alcohol can affect the brain in as little as three minutes on an empty stomach, try to consume a bit of food with your first glass of wine. Alternate between an alcoholic beverage and non-alcoholic throughout the evening.
• Drink & Drive - Always plan for a safe ride home. Always.

Picture via nzgirl.co

Cheers,

Terri

Stylish Storage

Storage Space ~ we all need more of it. But some homes are cramped, some spaces are small and some closets are already bursting to the brim with clothing, linens and sporting equipment. So what's a clutter challenged person to do?

Bring on containers. Not just any containers, but stylish baskets & boxes, trunks & drawers to help keep clutter in its place.

Hat boxes are great for hats, but you can also use them for craft supplies, toilet paper in the bathroom, touques and scarves in the winter, or tennis balls and flip flops in the summer.

These trunks can be used for everything from blanket storage on the porch 

to winter coat storage in the basement. Stylish yet functional.

Havana Baskets from the Pottery Barn

Aren't these a great way to store towels or hair care accessories in the bathroom? 

How about school supplies or tea towels or cards & crib boards at the cabin?

Photo via House & Home 

And sometimes a great piece of furniture like a dresser in the entry or a console table in a hallway will help capture bottles of sunscreen and dog walking supplies while giving you a handy place to drop keys and mail.

With the addition of some creative & stylish storage solution, clutter need not take over your home! 

Pretty Blooms To Inspire You

Just when we think winter is over, spring has arrived and better weather is on the way another storm shows up. We're just itching to get outside and frolic in the garden. I can hardly wait to bring fresh peonies into the house and hang gorgeous baskets on my back patio.

Until then, I'll have to settle for gorgeous photographs of blooms from talented photographers and my favourite magazines.

Such a pretty flower arrangement from Martha Stewart Magazine

This shot from Real Simple Magazine makes us want to go to the garden center

Love this beautiful hydrangea arrangement in Style At Home

A pretty flowery scene from House to Home

Would love this container garden from Canadian Gardening Magazine on my porch

This curving path way from Traditional Home just beckons me to take a stroll

What garden plants or flowers are you looking forward to?

Earrings - Past to Present

Documented as one of the earliest forms of bodily adornment, ear piercing dates as far back as the Bronze Age and Ancient Persia. Earrings have symbolized everything from religious belief to cultural status to the size of a Pirate’s booty ~ and we’re not talking his derriere! Men and women alike have worn earrings for millennia.

Tyrone Power & Maureen O'Hare in The Black Swan

Persian Soldier

In Ancient Egypt earrings were predominantly gold, thought to be the skin of the sun god Ra, or silver, thought to be from Isis, goddess of the moon. Eventually Egyptian artisans crafted them with semi precious stones like lapis and turquoise.

Egyptian Queen Tiy

Ornate styles introduced during the Roman Empire saw the addition of diamonds and other precious gem stones.

Gold & Jewel Roman Era Earrings

The ups and downs of fashion through the ages dictated the size and shape of earrings worn, if any were worn at all. Large almost garish hairstyles and huge hats from the middle ages often covered the ears making earrings all but obsolete. Bless the stylish men and women from 17^th century Italy and their more subdued hairstyles and necklines.

Maria de Medici by Allori Alessandro

The early 1900’s brought about clip on earrings, thought to be more sanitary.

Circa 1920

Circa 1850

Earrings are now simply a form of self expression, a way to accessorize and enhance the look of what we wear. From top designers to retail chains, there are styles, shapes, and colours to suit everyone.

Troll Beads Sacred Heart

 

Ivanka Trump Collection

Thomas Sabo