housewives' parties, vanderpump style

Wow, what a finale last night on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills! You can always count on a few shouting matches at the most glamorous of parties. 

I really get soooo excited checking out all the details of the party décor, and Lisa Vanderpump with the help of party planner Kevin Lee always makes it fun to watch!

The party décor really got my attention, which helped to balance out all the drama. The arguing took a back seat, for me, as I soaked in all the details of twinkle lights, candles, the pink and rosé furnishings, all the mirrors and fabulous appetizers that were circulating about. 

I really loved the comfy rosé colored sofas and chairs arranged under the flowy cabanas in Lisa's amazing backyard. 

Candelabras, votives and oodles and oodles of pink roses were sprinkled throughout the party, and the dress code was of course, diamonds and rosé. 

There were a few “out there” hairstyles, but overall everyone look beautiful, and they had the option of being crowned with a lovely rose garland for their hair upon arriving.

Here’s another lovely table of Lisa’s that got me inspired. I think this look with the pink rose tablecloth would be gorgeous for mother’s day.

Lisa’s signature color is of course pink, and she totally goes overboard with the pink roses and other flowers, but it really works, don’t you think?

Well, party season is now officially over for the Beverly Hills housewives. I did miss seeing Kyle’s white party this year. 

They didn’t film it for the show, I guess, but these BH gals always throw great parties!! You can’t compare their parties to any of the other housewives franchises. 

Now we’re gearing up for the Real Housewives of New York City. Will you be watching?

I think Dorinda is the only one who really enjoys throwing dinner parties at her own home in the Berkshires, and always tries to “make it nice”, otherwise most of the NY housewives' parties are held in restaurants. 

Bethenny can throw a great party too, but they’re always filled with so much placement of her own personal products, in an obnoxious sort of way, that it sometimes takes away from the fun ambiance of a party, for me.

One big party this year in NYC will be Luann’s wedding, but only one of the other NYC housewives will be there. 

Hmmmm.

ciao! fabiana

photos via Bravo and Lisa Vanderpump on instagram

housewives through the looking glass

Have you seen these trailers on Bravo in the last week or so? Andy Cohen plays the Mad Hatter while the stars of the "Real Housewives" stop their bickering to come together for a prim and proper tea party a la Alice In Wonderland. 

Here's what happens when housewives in diamonds and designer dresses play tea party for in preparation for the upcoming “Alice Through the Looking Glass” film, premiering on Friday.  

 My inspiration?  Tea party decor, of course!

Lots of pretty vintage tea cups, fancy petitfours, 

roses, clocks, hats, bunnies and more!

The unbirthday cake and tick tock shortbread.

We must make sure to have lots of 

pretty cakes and sweets

and stacks and stacks of pretty tea cups!

Stacked higher is better!

Vintage tea cups are a must!

Accented with roses

cookies, muffins scones,  cakes, petitfours and 
a selection of tea sandwiches are perfect on the menu! 

  

repurpose an antique dresser as a buffet and you're all set!

ciao! fabiana

real housewives of new york's jewelry

Have you seen this week's episode of 

The Real Housewives of New York?

I'm a little obsessed with

 Carole, Heather and Kristen's style

of wearing layered jewelry.  

They do it so well!

Look at how they layer

at least 3-5 necklaces and bracelets.

It's a great look for summer!

Such great mixing and matching.

What a fun green dress, Carole!

This look of 
mixing beads and delicate jewelry 
on Kristen is my favorite.

Here's Heather again sporting lots of layers of silver.

Kristen always looks great!

Love the turquoise earrings with the red dress!

Sonja seemed a little stressed out 
with everyone, especially Ramona...

and what about that outfit?!

Do you hide your shoes when you go to a beach  party?

Cute earrings Ramona!

They remind me of these

Seychelles earrings I have 

by Stella & Dot. 

LuAnn's turquoise necklace is pretty, too.

I'm always drawn to that color!

Behind the scenes beach party photos from Bravo.

One great thing about the housewives shows,

the previews are almost better than the show itself!  

Stay tuned for some pinot tossing next week!

ciao! fabiana

real housewives of beverly hills update

Kyle, Kim, Lisa, Adrienne, Taylor and Camille 

are back for a second season of "fun" 

in Beverly Hills. 

Add two more drama queens to the mix, 

and things get heated fast!  

Season Premiere is September 5th! 

The Top 8 Quotes from the RHoBH Season 2 Preview from Wet Paint:

1. “Beverly Hills, dahling. Chichi chichi chi!”

Lisa Vanderpump gets sassed by some fabulous man in a red skinny tie. We have a feeling something over-the-top stunning is in the midst of being planned in this scene.

2. “She’s washing it with hand soap!”

Stand back, Lisa and Adrienne Maloof are handling raw poultry! Seems like Adrienne’s lost her marbles when she thinks the safe way to sanitize what you’re about to eat, is to just douse the thing in soap first. Yum.

3. “Big hands, big feet, big disappointment.”

Is Camille Grammer dishing about her latest conquest? Hey, Frasier’s left the building. She’s just single and ready to mingle.

4. “Not another dinner party from hell!”

Uh oh! Has all hell broke loose...again? Taylor Armstrong is having a nervous breakdown. Camille sees where this is going...

5. “ENOUGH!”

Taylor does what she does best à la Season 1’s Dinner Party from Hell.

6. “Lisa stirs the pot. That’s the problem...”

Could it be? Lisa? A drama queen? Adrienne seems to think so.

7. “If you can’t be my friend, just please don’t be my enemy.”

Ah, the plot thickens. Taylor reaches the end of her rope and breaks down to Adrienne. But is this too wild a request in the jungles of Beverly Hills?

8. “What do you want from me, Cedric, because this is my party and you’re not invited!”

Cedric Martinez, haven’t you learned your lesson? When he has the nerve to show up at Lisa’s party, she tells him what’s up. Of course, he is besties with Brandi Glanville.

ciao! fabiana

weekend wrap up

It’s Sunday morning and while I’m here dreaming of a white Christmas, we’ve got cold and blustery Santa Ana winds blowing again today, with not a snowflake in sight. 

Everyone in our community and in all of California is praying and hoping for better weather conditions for those affected by the California wildfires, which are burning terribly in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties.    

Right now, my favorite Christmas movie, Christmas in Connecticut, is playing on TCM right now, and I have it on in the background. The farmhouse pictured above reminds me of the idyllic home described in the movie. 

And here’s a lovely shot of two homes from my husband’s hometown of Geneva, Illinois, taken just this weekend. The one in the foreground belonged to the Bogash family and the one behind it is my husband’s childhood home. 

All this talk of nostalgia, really makes me appreciate all our pretty vintage ornaments that were handed down from our parents and grandparents. Do you have ornaments that remind you of your family?

The holidays are also a fun time to honor family recipes. I think it’s fun to go through old cookbooks and make holiday treats like our grandmothers did. I have a tattered little notebook from Woolworth’s filled with recipes that belonged to my husband’s great grandmother.

The handwriting is a killer, but I finally figured out the little quirks in her cursive, like not crossing her T's but kind of accenting them instead?!?

It’s interesting to see how that generation ate. No fresh herbs are included in any of the recipe I found in the book, lol. This weekend I tried her recipe for pralines, which I’ll share soon. After a little trial and error, I think I figured out how to make them the right way, since the directions were not detailed at all!

Yesterday was a busy day for me in the kitchen. In addition to making the pralines, I also made Spiced Pecans for gift giving, this week’s recipe of Chutney from Kate Middleton (so yummy!), and Pignoli Cookies that I remember from my childhood. If you’re Italian, chances are you’ve enjoyed these too!

Every time I want to make Pignoli (Pine Nut) Cookies I never have almond paste, which is essential for these cookies. Well, we found almond paste at Ralph’s, and the cookies came together easily in the food processor. They come out soft and chewy kind of like a macaroon. These are the classic old-school Italian cookies I grew up loving. Recipe found below.

BTW, we served the chutney over cream cheese and with manchego cheese on crackers at a gathering this weekend, and it was a hit! I'll share a few other yummy cookie recipes later this week.

I’m loving my collection of little scrabble tiles. They’re perfect for spelling out names or holiday greetings!

How about a holiday greeting from Dorinda and Ramona from the Real Housewives of New York City? Here they are sharing their Manhattan apartment Christmas trees.

I’m soooo excited that as we speak, they’re at Dorinda’s house in the Berkshires for their annual Christmas gathering. 

Here’s Ramona with the fabulous Berkshires tree in Dorinda’s beautiful blue living room. Could it be a 1920's themed party that they're having for Dorinda's birthday? 

It looks that way! Oh, how I love a good theme party!

I’m also excited for the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills to start on Tuesday night. Even though Kyle has recently moved, we probably won’t be seeing her fabulous new home this season. Here’s a little peek at the beauty from Kyle’s Instagram...

I hope you enjoy the rest of your Sunday,

and are ready to head into this final week before

Christmas!

Here's the recipe for the yummy Pignoli cookies...

Pignoli or Pine Nut Cookies

2 cups pine nuts

1 cup powdered sugar

¼ cup almond paste

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

½ teaspoon lemon zest

½ cup all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Process ¾ cup pine nuts in a food processor with the sugar, almond paste, and vanilla until fine crumbs form. Add egg and lemon zest; pulse to combine. Add flour, baking powder, and salt; process just until dough comes together. Roll dough into ½ inch balls. Roll the cookie balls in the remaining 1 ¼ cups pine nuts and gently press to adhere. Space the cookie dough 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake until cookies begin to turn golden brown, approximately 20 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks. Makes about 2 ½ dozen pignoli cookies.

ciao! fabiana

photos: 1. Country Living  3. Southern Living
Housewives photos: instagram