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Hello! I’m so excited to be back at Shopping’s My Cardio for a little holiday fun, as I’ve been itching to show off my latest find. Chilewich recently introduced this beautiful new table runner/placemat fusion called a tete-a-tete – it essentially works like an elongated placemat, which can be used either horizontally or vertically across a table.

We were lucky enough to get our hands on a set to try, and I just happened to have a photographer and a location already booked for another shoot! Fate came together and I was able to pull together a beautiful look for your New Year’s Eve dinner, or a more casual brunch the next morning:

Image by Erica Ann Photography; Styling by Billede Design

We shot this in a 19th century schoolhouse.  Isn’t the aged effect of the old wood just beautiful?  I love putting modern elements in a classic setting.  The dinnerware is from West Elm, including a dinner plate by David Stark and a salad plate in the palest dusty pink.  I love layering in an unexpected color for the holidays, and the texture from that Chilewich tete-a-tete just makes the setting so warm and festive!

Tips for putting the look together:

• Search your local thrift store for blush pink plates.  They don’t all have to match; keep your eye out for saucers that have lost their tea cup mate.
• Add in the metallic element by spray painting thrifted chargers and votives.  Personally, I like Krylon – but be careful to read the label to ensure it is safe for food surfaces if you’re planning to use it on any serving dishes.
• To take get that mercury-glass look without purchasing new vessels, check out this great Pinterest page with a collection of DIY mercury glass links.
• For the botanical element, look no further then your back yard.  I snatched these snowberries on location the morning of our shoot. Evergreen boughs, twigs, winter berries, or dormant fruit tree branches are ideal.

This table setting would be a perfect fit for an intimate New Year’s party.  Can’t you just picture ladies sitting around this table in sequins and sparkles?

Of course, if you’re not the host, you can still try out a pink and gold palette, whatever your New Year’s plans might be. It’s a fresh change from basic black, or the usual silver sequins, and is sure to make you stand out from the crowd. Need some inspiration?

Image credits: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7

Happy new year!  ~Kim B.

Perennially stumped about the best wine to bring to a party? Allow me to simplify: buy a case of this warm, fruit-forward Chianti and you’re set for the season.  Barone Ricasoli Chianti Classico Brolio 2007, $20

If she’s a good host, I’m guessing she’s a crafter at heart. Any knitter, whether she’s a novice or a pro, will drool over the DIY options in this book. Vogue Knitting: Classic Patterns from the World’s Most Celebrated Knitting Magazine, $30

I can’t think of much I wouldn’t love to receive from DL & Company. But their Fleur de Bois candle smells exactly like the holidays, without being cloying, and the blown glass holder is gorgeous all on its own. And these mini candle-and-diffuser sets are infinitely more gorgeous than their price tag suggests. DL & Co Fleur de Bois candle, $100; Mini Diffuser & Candle set, $24

What could be better than brownies from the legendary Sugardaddys Bakery? A brownie bit trifle kit, complete with a crystal trifle bowl, that’s what. Just try to give this one away without sneaking a bite!  Trifle kit, Sugardaddys Bakery, $58

Getting gorgeous letterpress cards in the mail every month? Talk about the gift that keeps on giving. Plus, chances are good she’ll send you one to thank you for the perfect gift. Mailbox Monthly, by Satsuma Press, from $48

Doormats are a tricky business, if you’re picky about them (as I am). This one is guaranteed to stop traffic…at least long enough to remind guests to wipe their feet. Mountain doormat, Angela Adams, $45

The coolest French press I’ve ever seen – add a pound of your favorite coffee, and you’ll get invited back every year.  Freud French Press, Horne, $110

I hear bundt cakes are the new cupcakes, but the perfect host would know best. Show her you’re up on your culinary trends by treating her to a treatise on the hottest thing in baked goods. Even better paired with a classic bundt pan. Cake Simple, by Christie Matheson, $13; NordicWare “Heritage” bundt pan, (my personal favorite, but a variety of styles from $20)

Show her you love her OCD side with a bottle of citrus-scented hand wash. This has a light, refreshing scent that works for everyone, and the oldey-timey packaging is a serious bonus. Village Perfumer hand wash (comes in 6 scents), C.O. Bigelow, $12

Thanks for being patient, friends…I’ll be back Monday morning, with bells on!

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With the upcoming holidays, many of us will be turning into hostesses and entertaining up a storm! To save myself a lot of last-minute stress, I have a checklist of items to track down now, so I’m fully prepared when the festivities begin.

Let’s start with fashion! Dressing when you’re a hostess can be a bit of a challenge. Between moving through the kitchen and re-filling everyone’s wine glasses – not to mention probably not having enough time to get truly decked out before guests arrive – the key is to keep it basic, easy and flattering.

Made of soft, comfortable jersey, this Diane von Furstenberg dress fits the bill. It’s got a sexy scoop in the back, and ruching around the waist – perfect if you accidentally overindulge. Most importantly, it’s going to be easy to thrown on last minute and make you feel great all night. Simply throw on some fun accessories – like a statement necklace from Elva Fields and a pair of festive heels (love this glittery version from Zara!).  Plus, you can easily wear this dress beyond the holiday season, and who doesn’t love that?

For the home, it’s nice to pick some special items to make entertaining a bit more fun and again, easier! Start with a classic serving tray. Whether it’s sleek or rustic, it will make your life a lot easier when you need to cart dishes – from appetitizers to the post-dinner clean up.

If you’re planning on having a cocktail/drink station where guests can refill drinks at their leisure, make sure to set out an ice bucket and a cocktail shaker, along with simple glasses. Plus, your guests won’t be able to resist shaking up their favorite cocktail in these gorgeous shiny Nick Munro designs.

Along with dessert, coffee or tea service is a must for any party, so pick out beautiful new versions to ensure every guest will be impressed. Our favorites? This festive red Stelton Coffee Press is just the thing for the holiday season. For tea lovers, it doesn’t get prettier than the New Norm Kettle Teapot, and its clever built-in tea egg ensures your tea will never over-steep.

However you entertain this season, be sure you keep it casual and cozy – if you’re relaxed and stylish, your guests will be as well. Happy holidays! – Connie

anyway.  if you’re heading to some wonderful friend’s house for christmas eve, christmas day, or perhaps some boxing day festivities, i know all of my readers are more than thoughtful enough to know they need to bring something.  the question is what.  wine is so cliche, flowers only work if they arrive in a vase (don’t make your hostess stop what she’s doing to arrange flowers!)…what to do?

if you haven’t a clue, nest‘s holiday fragrance this year knocked me off my feet with its festive goodness, and is an easy but thoughtful choice.  with notes of pine, pomegranate, orange, cinnamon and cloves…well, it’s like christmas in wax.  it also comes in a gorgeous flocked red and gold box (yep, just got to say ‘flocked’ on the blog!), making it gift-wrap optional.  and the price point is actually great – grab one candle for $28, or my preference is this collection of six votives for $32.

for those of you tempting fate, neiman marcus still has free two-day shipping on any order – use code NMRUSH.

well, this is it – happy chrismakkah, everyone!  i’ll be around a bit next week…i’m sure i won’t be able to resist sharing a few after-christmas sales.  but posting will be light, and drinking will be heavy…’tis the season, after all.  

for those of you that are entertaining family and friends, or just needing some R&R this week, i thought i’d leave you with a few words of advice from interior design guru bella mancini on using my favorite jo malone scents to make the world a little less hectic and a little more festive:

• During the holidays, some of my favorite moments are those spent in the silent, early morning hours.  I love to turn on the tree lights, start a fire, sit on the sofa and drink my morning coffee.  Jo Malone’s Fragrance Combining Candle enhances this special moment.  I light it near my hearth, and it illuminates brightly while smelling of sweet holiday scent.

• When holiday entertaining, I place a small bouquet of fresh cut eucalyptus and large white roses on the sink in my powder room.  I then spritz Pine & Eucalyptus Living Cologne, which smells like freshly cut pine trees, into the air and on hand towels.  Voila – the bathroom not only looks gorgeous, but it smells gorgeous, too!

• Before holiday overnight guests arrive, I spritz their bed linens with Jo Malone Acqua di Limone Scent Surround Spray.  Its lime, citrus scent is refreshing and clean.

• The Wild Fig & Cassis Home Candle is my absolute favorite – I adore its wintry, woody fragrance so much that it has become my home’s signature scent!  When staying with my in-laws during the holidays, I love to bring something special from my home to theirs, and this candle is undoubtedly the gift I always bring!

i hope each one of you dear readers has a truly wonderful holiday…whether you’re lighting candles, stuffing stockings, or skipping out to maui!  thank you for a fantastic year, and here’s to much more fun together in 2009!

the moment the weather turns cool, i start craving warm, comforting scents like cinnamon, clove and winter fruits.  short of keeping an oven full of pie at all times, my best shot for maintaining those classic fall scents in my home is via candle.  so, i’ve taken it upon myself to run an exhaustive test, and i’ve come up with my list of favorites for this fall season.

the new joya collection at barneys has my undivided attention.  i haven’t stopped burning their fantastic candles since they arrived.  they’ve collaborated with one of my favorite ceramic artists, sarah cihat, to develop candles that smell amazing, last forever, and are housed in truly gorgeous containers.  my personal favorite is the pomegranate white pepper ($48), which has the deep sweetness of pomegranate, but the snap of white pepper, ginger and cardamom keeps it from being too cloying. 

i know it’s a second pomegranate scent, but the pomegranate noir from jo malone ($65) is so different,  they’re both worth loving.  in the jo malone version, the pomegranate is more prominent, probably because of the raspberry notes in the background.  but by adding patchouli and frankincense, this turns into a much more complex fragrance.  overall, if you’re after a true pomegranate, i’d go with the jo malone…but if you’re after just a generally light sweet scent with a hint of spice, the joya is for you.

i have to admit to some work bias here, but honestly, pacifica’s tibetan mountain temple ($20) is my hands-down favorite for homey, spicy scents this season.  it’s not intended as a holiday candle, but the scents of ginger, orange and vetiver combine to make this as comforting as a scent can be.  i can’t get enough!  archipelago’s gingered grapefruit ($24) is another great option, but the grapefruit makes this one much sharper – a great candle for day to keep you awake, where the pacifica is a night-only burn for me…it just makes me cozy, warm and relaxed.

for something really different, i’ve been obsessively sniffing the new agadir candle from tocca ($36) since it arrived.  it smells exactly like sweet pipe tobacco, a scent i’ve always secretly loved, especially when the air outside is crisp.  the particular beauty of this scent (besides the gorgeous trademark tocca packaging) is that this is a scent your other half can’t pass up…it’s as manly as a candle gets.

what’s your favorite cold-weather scent?

we talked fashionable politics with the democratic convention last week – it seems only appropriate to talk fashionable drinking now that the GOP is getting their turn. 

show your party love with these liberal/conservative wine and beer glasses from sur la table!  these cheeky pint glasses are perfect for all your pre-election soirees.  conservatives can soberly monitor their half-full glasses, while liberals let it flow!  and really, the drinking game options are endless.  just remember…liberal consumption makes for loose tongues!

sfgirlbybay’s finds are amazing, but i thought i’d show you a few of my favorites as well:

i just received the gorgeous new sofa i ordered back in may, which means i’ve been a little throw-pillow-obsessed of late.  all of the pillows at lama are making me happy, but i love the childish, fun vibe these animal pillows ($120) radiate.  my fave is the llama, but that little burro is running a very close second.

and i can’t think of anything more perfect for my next summer barbecue than to dress the table up with one of these gorgeous oilcloth tablecloths ($40) – i love the vibrant summer colors and the low-maintenance ease.  with this much style on the table, i’m pretty sure i could serve KFC, and no one would notice.  i’ve seen these before, but this version has a contrast-finished edge, which makes it much more stylish than others i’ve come across.

all of the ceramics on the site are divine, but i can’t get this lovely little vine bowl ($160) out of my mind.  the piece is definitely pricey, but amazingly intricate – i can hardly believe it’s only 6 inches across.  it would be the perfect place to store your most-used pieces of jewelry.  i’m also completely in love with this bright turquoise bird tray ($75) for the same purpose…and it could easily double as a drink tray or something else wonderful when you’re entertaining.

i could go on and on, but well…you’ll find it all on your own.  just make sure you don’t miss the eva peron storage boxes, the gorgeous mexican striped laundry basket, the…  well, you get the idea.

little black apron.

but my favorite part of the book is the section on entertaining, where the authors (nutritionist jodi citrin, chef katie nuanes, and writer melissa gibson) have teamed up to turn entertaining into a science – literally. instead of party ‘tips,’ they have full-blown party formulas. so, say you want to throw a bridal shower – they have a guide that tells you exactly how many portions of how many different entrees, desserts and drinks you need to make, so the guesswork is gone. just make 5 recipes of curried scallops, double the caramelized onion frittata…and so on. i love it!

but even more exciting news: for those of us that still have holiday parties to throw, the authors of little black apron agreed to do a Q&A for us to help us be those impossibly chic hostesses we dream of being.

wow! thank you so much to the wonderful ladies behind little black apron – there is some wonderful advice there that’s sure to make even the most hostess-phobic girl into a born entertainer. and um, if anyone’s making that delish maple dijon salmon for new year’s, feel free to send an invite my way!