La Vie En Rose is a love story. This year my husband and I set out to celebrate a special someone. A person who is near and dear to both our hearts. What better way to show someone that you love them, than to throw them a fête in their honor? So, we decided to have a birthday party for my sister Rose and aptly coined the party ‘La Vie en Rose” – Life in Pink.

“La vie en rose” essentially means viewing life through rose-colored lenses. Living life with a positive attitude, and trying to see beauty in the everyday. I set out to create a swoon worthy event with all the proper vibes. For a La Vie En Rose party, the formula would be quite simple. There was no doubt that there would be assortments of pink roses everywhere and of course never-ending flowing bottles of rosé wine to enjoy.

Months in the making, I gathered a group of her most special friends to mark the occasion. Rosé wine bottles invitations, imprinted in calligraphy set the tone of the event. If you know anything about me I will always be a stationer at heart. It should be no surprise that I took special pains to make sure the invitations met the mark. Also, the invitations also served double duty, as guest favors, to savor long after the evening was over.

The decor included serpentine tables spread with blush linens and pink rattan chargers. Whimsical tones of pink, orange, amber, terra-cotta, and gold dotted every inch of the yard.

In line with the theme La Vie En Rose, each place setting had a hand rolled flower napkin. Lovely birds and green botanicals graced the tops of the dishware.

Should you look around at other events I have styled, you will know that I am a huge fan of serpentine tables. The curved edges add a little bit more interest than rounds or squares. For our La Vie En Rose party, we feasted on a delicious surf and turf meal. This was excuted by none other than celebrity Chef Vanessa Cantave of Yum Yum Chefs and her lovely staff. The menu, designed by me, was printed and clipped on mini boards that guests could follow along as the dishes were presented.

Life is a collection of little moments. How you spend those moments will define the quality of your experiences. When I reflect on my memories, I would like to think about the people I’ve loved, celebrated, cried and laughed with. Having celebrated this La Vie En Rose party for my sister I couldn’t be happier.

If you want to read more about this lovely party, please follow this link over to Kara’s Party ideas who was so kind to feature it on her website.

All these lovely photos were shot by @mrosovskym

Who doesn’t like a good happy hour? I know I do – How about a French styled hour of fete – or, an apéro. It’s not complicated at all and you will follow these easy steps to host a fabulous apéro. An apéro is an aperitif, an appetizer, a drink, or light food served before dinner. While the word apéro does not exist in English but the French term “apéritif” is sometimes used to mean drinks and appetizers served before a meal.

The apéro is neither lunch, brunch, dinner, or even happy hour. In fact, the French do not snack in the same way Americans do. For the French, snack time is the apéro – and it is a quintessential French way to end the workday and gather with friends and family. Apéro can be as basic or as elevated as you wish – hosted at home, on a stoop or a nearby café. Grab what you have on hand – chips, olives, nuts and your favorite light wine. The most important addition of course is friends. Let’s walk through the steps to host a fabulous apéro.

First, choose a proper time and location.

Find a location that is most inviting and comfortable. Apéro generally starts at 6pm.  Enjoy small sips and bites for 1 to 3 hours. After hours of grazing and drinking, you can fully end your event without serving your guests a full meal.

Second, set the scene. 

Since apéro is a casual affair, you can host a fabulous apéro without using any special decorations. However, since eating a sensory past time, why not make it pretty? I recommend displaying elegant wooden bowls and marble platters, baskets for small linen napkins, pretty glassware – some votives and a few posies in mini vases.

Third, add noshes and bites.

Step away from the stove! Your spread should be easily eaten and shareable.  More importantly, cooking is not required.  But if you must, prepare a mini quiche in advance or make little gougeres. Stop at your gourmet deli and pick up a combination of the following:

Spreads/dips: olive tapenade, rillettes, fois gras terrine, fig jam, tomato pesto (or regular), tzatziki, hummus

Fruits/veggies: cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, radishes, cucumber, melon, grapes, cornichons

Salty/Crunchy bites: nuts, kettle chips, cheese sticks

Breads: baguette, pain de campagne (sliced), pain aux noix et raisin, bruschetta, pita chips, gougères

Fourth – bring on the Cocktails! 

I use the term cocktails very loosely. The last thing you want, is to spend time away from your guests mixing drinks. So, set out bottles of very cold light white wine, rose, or flavored Rhum. Adding these mini individuals serve wine bottles are a neat way to add something fun. Cold light IPA would be great here as well.

Finally, Enjoy! 

After setting up your tablescape, the final thing to do is to greet your guests as they arrive. Welcome them in, delight in the hours ahead and enjoy your fabulous apéro. Santé!

Prior to now, I had a whole career in designing event stationery and styling small parties.  I really enjoy being a part of peoples lives in this way. My work was super rewarding as it allowed me to help people celebrate their most precious moments in style. So it was only natural to me that when I found that my brother was having his first baby that I would style a pastel baby shower for the lovely parents to be. I’ve planned quiet a few showers in my day, but none was more special to me than this one. The colors of the sweet nursery provided the inspiration for the color scheme of the pastel baby shower. It would be all the shades of mango, yellows, blues, and greens. We wanted to create a light and airy affair where friends and family would gather to connect, laugh, and celebrate.

Whenever I plan an event, I always have my go to list of ideas of what I believe makes an event truly special. One of the things I like to add is as much personalization as possible. That way the party feels custom and special. This pastel baby shower would be no different.

For this pastel baby shower I screen printed the menus onto each napkin. I also sprinkled the table with framed maternity photos of the cute couple. Guests were so excited to be able to go along the table to look at each photo. This little addition was a great conversation starter and guests were happy to be able to share in the couples maternity journey in this way.

The pastel baby shower was held poolside in my family home and we were able to use the inside and outside of the property. The property is also flanked by a beautiful lake and was the perfect backdrop for the event. It was a fantastic of blend of lot’s of laughs, incredible food and festive cocktails. I engaged the talents of a paella chef for the event and it was a hit with everyone.