2025 inauguration : fashion & table settings

Happy Tuesday! Please remember that this a non-political post and I just wanted to share some fashion, the table setting and menu from yesterday’s inauguration.

 

This first part is just a show-and-tell of some of the pretty ball gowns seen last night with just a little bit of interesting trivia. Did you know Ivanka’s gown was inspired by a very famous dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in 1954?

 

Photo by Remoulade Sauce on X 

I really love all the fashion I’m sharing with you all today. First up, of course is the First Lady, Melania Trump. It’s simple, elegant and so stylish!! This white with black gown compliments Ivanka Trump Kushner’s gown so perfectly!   

   

Photo by Remoulade Sauce on X 

Here’s Ivanka’s Givenchy gown inspired by Audrey Hepburn’s beautiful dress she wore in the movie Sabrina. I just love it!! It’s such a classic style and a wonderful nod to Audrey and Givenchy! (More on Audrey’s iconic dress in a minute…)  

 

Photo by Remoulade Sauce on X 

Beautiful Tiffany earrings worn earlier in the day by Ivanka. 

Photo by Remoulade Sauce on X 

The Second Lady of the USA, Usha Vance, looked equally stunning in this sparkly gown by Reem Akra in the most beautiful blue color.

 

Eric Trump’s wife Lara is seen here in a lovely red gown with sister-in-law Tiffany Trump. Tiffany is expecting and looks pretty in this silver-grey gown.

 

Photo by Remoulade Sauce on X 

First granddaughter and teenager Kai Trump, daughter of Donald Jr, wows the crowd in this Sherri Hill beaded gown.

 

 

Sabrina happens to be one of my favorite movies, so this custom Givenchy dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in the party scene is etched into my memory. You can see how pretty all the details are…

 

 

I found this colorized photo of Audrey and a couple of cute poodles on the internet and it looks like the embroidered design of this famous dress is different shades of brown, but alas, it’s not accurate.

 

Here are a few current pictures of the same exact dress Audrey wore in the movie. As you can see it has yellowed considerably over the last 70 years but still looks as gorgeous as ever!

 

It was sold at auction last year for $125,000. This dress was one of many rescued by Debbie Reynolds when the big studios like MGM sold off most of their costumes and props many years ago.

 

Now on to the table settings! You know how much I love a tablescape, so I wanted to give you all an up-close and personal look at how they set the tables yesterday for the 2025 inauguration.

 

The tablecloths are a patriotic navy-blue color, but with muted tones. This color is the perfect backdrop for the gold flatware and gold-rimmed plates used here for this official event.

 

Lots of pretty white and neutral colored flowers line the length of the main table. I spot mostly roses, a few anemones, and maybe a few ranunculus.

 

Handwritten in pretty calligraphy, the place cards here reflect some pretty famous names!!

 

Here’s an overview of the whole room during the inauguration luncheon yesterday. This is the Statuary Hall in the US Capital building.  

 

And now for my favorite bit of info from yesterday’s big luncheon, the menu!! What did all these illustrious people eat for lunch!?

 

Wonder no more! Crab Cakes (yum), Ribeye Steak and basically a fancy apple pie a la mode! Works for me!!

Some Photos by Remoulade Sauce on X, and Getty Images

 

In case you haven’t heard, I started a new Instagram page in October and named it Claudia Fabiana Home. My former page is still up, but after getting a new phone, I was no longer able to log into this account, so the new profile was born!

 

I hope you’ll follow along with me on Instagram for all the latest projects and décor I will be sharing in 2025.

 

 

 

ciao fabiana

 

 

For lots of fun extras, follow me on Instagram!

 

 

 

You can check out some of my favorites here at “Tablescaping Essentials” 

 

 

 

Please note that this post may contain affiliate links.

 

a sunday spent in the garden

Sunday’s the perfect day to take a little hunk of time and reserve it to spend in the garden. Whether it’s 20 minutes or all day, time spent outdoors enjoying a garden is beneficial to the mind and body.

Earlier this year, I discovered two Netflix shows that kind of changed my life. The first one is English gardening master "Monty Don’s Big Dreams, Small Spaces".

Believe it or not, watching folks in London or in smaller British towns transform their small gardens into fantastic spaces got me soooo motivated to dig and totally enhance my own backyard.

Now that summer’s here, I can actually go out to the garden and gather hydrangeas, old-fashioned roses, lavender, herbs and even some vegetables from my garden.

Just like everyone on Monty’s show, I had a “Big Dream” of what I wanted my garden to look like, and it’s literally come to fruition! My vision was to have a relaxed English cottage garden or French potager that incorporates pretty flowers intermixed with vegetables.

Now I’ve got my tomatoes and flowering sage growing under my apricot tree. I’ve got beautiful eggplant growing amongst the roses and hollyhock. My garden has truly been transformed and it’s so rewarding!  

So, in honor of “time spent in the garden”, I’ve gathered a few pretty garden snapshots from pinterest and combined them with some of my favorite inspirational garden quotes.  

“A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust.” –Gertrude Jekyll

“There is no real need for decorations when throwing a barbecue party - let the summer garden, in all its vibrant and luscious splendour, speak for itself.” –Pippa Middleton

“I have an organic garden and love being able to say, 'I'm going to see what I can pick to throw in my salad.'” –Christie Brinkley

“It gives you a good feeling. Each year, you rediscover in a garden the magic of life. A flower arrives, and it is a miracle. The leaves fall in the autumn, and it looks fantastic. There is a tenderness about a garden, and you can't help but be sensitive to that.” –Hubert de Givenchy

“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.”― Audrey Hepburn

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”  ― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

“Gardening adds years to your life and life to your years.” – Unknown

“If you have a garden in your library, everything will be complete.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero

“Life begins the day you start a garden.” – Chinese proverb

I have yet to photograph the favorite parts of my garden but I’d love to share them with you soon. You may have caught a little glimpse of it during my magazine photo shoot with Cottages and Bungalows. Check it out here.

And if you’re wondering what the second Netflix show that changed my life is, it’s “The Paleo Way” with Australian Pete Evans. The amazing recipes are what got me hooked, and yes, I’ve been eating Paleo since February 1. More on that later!

ciao! fabiana

photos:  pinterest

Here are some of my favorite new garden books...

      

weekend roses

“La Vie En Rose. It is the French way of saying, 'I am looking at the world through rose-coloured glasses.” ― Audrey Hepburn

Looking at life through rose-colored glasses is the optimistic approach to life. Seeing good in the bad, feeling like your glass is half full, not half empty…

So seeing these beautiful garden roses instantly makes me smile…

Roses have such an old-fashioned air about them. Just their scent alone evokes lovely memories and conjures up romantic thoughts. They remind us to appreciate the past, while embracing the future, and they add that romantic feminine accent to a table that everyone appreciates.  

Being a Romantic is not afraid of being yourself, so go ahead and add a little romantic touch to your dinner table. After all, the table is where your dear friends and family congregate for meals, so setting the right mood can make all the difference in the world. Let your creativity take over and enjoy! 

Just remember, “La Vie En Rose."

ciao! fabiana

small tokens of love

Sending lovely thoughts and valentine wishes your way this week with a few sweet images and inspiring sentiments... 

"Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love."  -- mother teresa

“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.”  -- martin luther king, jr.

"The greatest healing therapy is friendship and love." 

--hubert humphrey

“The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.”  -- audrey hepburn

“Friends can help each other. A true friend is someone who lets you have total freedom to be yourself - and especially to feel. Or, not feel. Whatever you happen to be feeling at the moment is fine with them. That's what real love amounts to - letting a person be what he really is.”  

-- jim morrison

ciao! fabiana

photo credit:

Ballard Designs

Justine Taylor

Grey Likes Weddings

Martha Stewart

See Kate Sew

Ciao Newport Beach Blog

june garden

“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.”

                                              ― Audrey Hepburn

ciao! fabiana

image via bhg

my favorite Audrey Hepburn book

I'm loving this new book about Audrey Hepburn! “Audrey at Home” is lovingly written by her son Luca Dotti, and the best part about it is that this book includes dozens of her favorite recipes that she prepared for her family and friends. 

It's a combination cookbook, memory book and biography from the viewpoint of a son remembering his mother. Luca includes lots and lots of intimate family photos of Audrey just being a mom, a hostess and occasionally a movie star. 

This is the perfect book for me, as I love Audrey, bios and cooking! The great news is that most of the recipes are for yummy Italian dishes, with a few Dutch and French specialties thrown in.  I am sharing a some of my favorite pages from the book here, as well as three recipes. 

The Tricolore Caprese Salad with the addition of avocado sounds amazing! I'm fixing that for Labor Day. 

 Bon appetit!

Pandeli’s Sea Bass en Papillote 

This dish is from Pandeli restaurant in Istanbul, which my parents visited after falling in love on a cruise in 1968. There’s a photograph of them on the restaurant wall – Mum is laughing, Dad is studying the menu. 

I try to imagine him struggling over the words Le bar en papillote – sea bass in parchment (though in this case it’s cooked in foil to retain moisture).  

Serves 4

·    20 cherry tomatoes, quartered

·    1 medium shallot, finely chopped

·    A few sprigs of parsley, finely chopped

·    A few sprigs of basil, finely chopped

·    4 potatoes, boiled, peeled and sliced into 1cm (½in) rounds

·    8 sprigs of fresh thyme

·    4 sea bass fillets, approximately 1kg (2lb 4oz) in total

·    Sea salt to taste

·    Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Mix the cherry tomatoes with the shallot, parsley and basil. You’ll need 8 sheets of aluminium foil. Set out 4 sheets.  On each sheet, prepare a bed with potato slices and thyme sprigs, lay a sea bass fillet on top, then top each fillet with salt, pepper and the chopped tomato mixture.  Enclose each ‘packet’ with a second sheet, being careful to seal well so that no sauce escapes, but leaving room above the fish so it won’t cling to the foil. Bake for about 20 minutes. Carefully open the packets directly at the table when you serve the fish.

Tricolore Caprese Salad

This salad, originally from the Italian island of Capri, is one of my mother’s classic dishes.

Serves 4

·    2 medium-ripe avocados, pitted, peeled and cut into 5mm (¼in) slices

·    450g (1lb) buffalo mozzarella, cut into 5mm (¼in) slices

·    2 large tomatoes, cut into 5mm (¼in) slices

·    Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

·    Balsamic vinegar, for drizzling

·    Fine sea salt

·    A handful of basil leaves, torn

Alternate slices of avocado, mozzarella and tomato on a platter.  Drizzle the oil and balsamic vinegar over all, season with salt, and sprinkle with basil leaves.

Spaghetti al Pomodoro

Mum had a serious addiction – she couldn’t do without pasta. In restaurants, she’d ask, ‘If it isn’t too complicated, a lovely, simple pasta al pomodoro with a bit of olive oil would make me so happy.’ 

At home, it would be her way of saying to friends, ‘Here, this is my house, this is how I am, don’t expect me to be otherwise.’ Serves 4

·    1.3kg (3lb) vine-ripened tomatoes, cored and coarsely diced

·    1 onion, peeled and left whole

·    1 celery stalk, cleaned and left whole

·    1 carrot, cleaned and left whole

·    6 basil leaves, chopped, plus whole leaves to garnish

·    Extra-virgin olive oil

·    A pinch of sugar

·    Sea salt

·    Freshly ground black pepper

·    500g (1lb) dried spaghetti

·    Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Start by cooking the tomatoes in a large pan with a lid over a high heat, together with the onion, the celery and the carrot, for about 10 minutes to soften the vegetables.

Remove the lid and keep boiling for 10-15 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon. Lower the heat to medium-low, and add the basil leaves and a drizzle of oil. The sauce is ready when, as they say in Naples, it is ‘pipiotta’ – when the bubbles are no longer made of water but rather small craters of sauce. 

Remove from the stove, remove and discard the largest vegetable chunks, let the sauce cool, then purée it. Add a drizzle of olive oil and adjust the flavour with a pinch of sugar. Season with salt and pepper.

To cook the spaghetti al dente (firm to the bite), fill a large pot with cold water and place over a high heat. When the water comes to a boil, add a small handful of sea salt and the pasta. 

When done, remove the pot from the stove (perhaps even a minute sooner than the cooking time suggested on the package). Drain and add to the sauce with a sprinkle of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Toss and garnish with a few leaves of basil.

VARIATION - Mum also loved a light version of the classic pasta all’amatriciana. She’d cut prosciutto into strips and brown it in a small skillet until crisp, then blot it on paper towels before adding to the puréed pomodoro sauce and simmering over a low heat for a few minutes.

ciao! fabiana