entertaining for the Oscars

The Oscars are tomorrow night, and hosting a red carpet watching party is so much fun!  I love getting together with a few girlfriends and noshing on a few fun hors d’oeuvres while watching the fashion parade of celebrities unfold on tv. 

I want to share with you some fun and simple decorating ideas for hosting an academy awards party. One idea is to sprinkle around some framed photos of your favorite movie stars.  You can just fill small silver frames with photos cut from magazines or ones printed from your computer.    

Add a dazzle of gold to some plain white helium balloons.

Wrap some glass votives with some old 35mm negatives.

I love this one!

Cut out a few sparkly Oscar statuettes 

and highlight them with candle light. 

Create some specific Oscar wine charms.

This one is creative,

make your own Oscars with old Ken dolls!

Offer your guests a popcorn bar with a variety of flavors.

Movie props are always fun.

Party stores usually have some available.

Buy or make a few starry garlands. 

A red napkin represents the red carpet,

then all you need is a white folded napkin with a gold sticker and a touch of red ribbon for this table setting.

Enjoy your night at the Oscars!

xo  

ciao! fabiana


photo credits:
  Good Housekeeping
Babble
Pinterest 
Tip Junkie
Life in Yellow
Celebrations at Home
Escapades Blog
Maddie Bella Home

cooking with herbs from the garden

I just got the perfect book for myself. You all may know how much I love to cook and to grow herbs, fruits and veggies in my garden. Well, my latest acquisition is Homegrown Herb Garden. The name may be deceiving. It's actually mostly a cookbook with fabulous recipes. 

The first section of this book gives great tips on growing herbs and it also provides interesting facts and nutritional info about each herb. In my garden, I grow basil, chives, oregano, thyme, rosemary, bay laurel, mint, sage, and lavender, so the second part and most lengthy  part of the book is to die for! 

The book is filled with gorgeous photos of delicious recipes using all my backyard herbs. My favorite recipe is for the Nutty, Chocolaty Rosemary Cookies. The taste of chocolate and rosemary together is amazing!

Here are some of my herbs that I grow in containers,

but most of my herbs are grown in the ground.

Herbs are not fussy and so easy to grow!

I always have fresh herbs on hand, 

no matter what I am cooking.

Here are some of the gorgeous photos 

from this book.

Fines Herbes Quiche with Flowers

Nutty, Chocolaty Rosemary Cookies

Spaghetti with 

Chunky Tomato, Olive and Mint Sauce

Heirloom Tomato and Peach Summer Salad

Vietnamese Pho 

Springtime Vegetable Stir-Fry

Skirt Steak with Chimichurri

Chimichurri is a sauce that 

Argentinians use on their grilled steak.  

I grew up on this stuff, 

and not only is it delicious,

it's also so good for you!

The addition of cilantro and marjoram

make this specific recipe so good. 

All the recipes in this book are 

straight forward 

and not difficult to prepare.

From sweet to savory, 

this book covers a variety of 

culinary cultures too!

It really one of my favorite books this year!  

ciao! fabiana

a kitchen to wake up to

My kitchen crush of the week from House Beautiful.  Wouldn’t it be lovely to wake up to this gorgeous white, light and sunny kitchen vignette? 

I love the open shelves and having the flexibility to change and evolve it at any whim. The petite oil paintings add just the right drama to the white palette.

ciao! fabiana

a little somethin' for fat tuesday

It's Fat Tuesday! 

Celebrate Mardi Gras

 with these delicious Hurricane cocktails.

For a non-alcoholic version,

you can just skip the rum

(I like to add a splash of coconut water!)

INGREDIENTS

1 ounce light rum

1 ounce dark rum

1 tablespoon passion fruit sorbet

Juice of 1/2 lime

1 teaspoon superfine sugar, or to taste

Ice cubes

Mix all ingredients except ice in shaker. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add ice cubes, shake well, and strain mixture into a cocktail glass.

ciao! fabiana

it's the perfect weather for swim spot

With the 85 degree weather this week here in southern California, my thoughts turn to the beach, and of course what to wear to the beach!  Lucky for us here in Orange County, SwimSpot has officially opened up a seasonal pop-up shop at the Irvine Spectrum this month. 

And best of all, this shop features a special fit specialist experience which helps shoppers find the best swimsuits to complement their body types and personal style. For me, that’s a huge bonus. What looks fabulous on the hanger, sometimes doesn’t translate well in the dressing room, so this way I have someone to steer me in the direction of finding just the right swim suit for me. 

SwimSpot carries the following brands: Athena, Next, Luxe by Lisa Vogel, Ella Moss, Splendid, Hurley, Reef, Nautica so you’re sure to find a great quality suit with in super cute style. Their range varies from sexy bikinis to modest swimwear, so there’s something for everyone! There are sooo many cute cover-ups and great accessories too. 

My favorite looks for this season are stripes 

and of course, I don’t think you can go wrong 

with an interesting swim suit in black! 

ciao! fabiana

{This post is sponsored by Swim Spot, however all opinions are genuinely my own.}