12 tips for backyard entertaining

Helpful Hints by Emily Henderson        

1. Embrace the relaxed, elevated backyard experience: While many of us love a sit-down dinner, your friends and acquaintances might have more fun with freedom and informal conversations. Arrange small quaint bistro tables to create a backyard beverage station.  

2. Ready, Set, Game On: Set out fun activities like conversation cards, bingo, cornhole, ring toss or bocce. This gives your guests a way to mingle and ease into conversation while giving them something to do.

3. Garnish your drinks: Bring the fruit flavors forward with delicious and flavorful garnishes. Whether in season fruits or edible flowers, an added something makes for the perfect elegant addition to your beverage.  

4. Bring the inside out: While there are a lot of disposable party items out there, bringing your indoor dishes, furniture, and textiles outside not only makes an outdoor party feel more special but it is far more sustainable and better for the planet.   

5. Rethink the drink bucket: You can use low and wide pots or bowls to house cold drinks with ice - no galvanized metal required.   

 

6. Ambience is key and starts with lighting: Think string lights, fairy lights and candles.  Not only will they light the way and tell guests where to gather, but they will create a warm, golden ambience that welcomes them to stay and enjoy themselves.   

7. Add effervescence in both drink and ambiance: Hosting a gathering is all about the texture, mood, and a feeling of brightness even at night. Your drink should match the mood. 

8. Elevate the classics: Think plaids, ginghams, quilts, wood and string lights. You don’t need to reinvent the party, you just need to lean into what people have loved forever, and then scatter these items to elevate the space.   

9. Make hearty snacks the main course: Elevated charcuterie and grazing platters are a delightful option for guests and easy on you (the host) to prepare in advance, cover and bring out. This allows you more time to spend with your guests.  

10. Opting for rustic finishes or ones that age lets people relax: Think worn woods, etched and stained marble, and well-trodden Persian rugs. Life is more fun when you don’t have to worry about stains on furniture or rings on a table.   

11. Flowers, branches and plants should meld with the vibe of the party: Select seasonal flowers - even if they are peonies and garden roses - and mix with greenery from your backyard or affordable wildflowers. OR choose potted flowering plants over flowers (that are a great gift for friends to take home, too).   

12. Create conversation areas while allowing for good flow: With smaller bistro tables and little bar setups scattered throughout, you can make the commute to food and drink more convenient to your guests.  

 

ciao! fabiana

 

 

For lots of fun extras, follow me on instagram!

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

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sweet music for the backyard

 

This past year, I’ve spent a whole lot of time in the garden and enjoying the perks of being outdoors, in general.

 

My goal of growing lots of pretty flowers for cutting has really kept me busy, and I want to let you in on one of my favorite little secrets…

 

It’s this amazing set of iLIVE indoor-outdoor bluetooth speakers that I just sync with my smart phone playlist from Spotify. 

Now I get 360° full-bodied sound while I’m in the garden enjoying the fresh air and the company of the adorable birds and butterflies we’ve had this year.

 

These iLIVE Bluetooth speakers have been a game changer for me. They include removable stakes, so you can strategically place your music outdoors for everyday enjoyment or your next backyard party.

 

In fact, they’d also be perfect for a picnic, a beach day or camping.

 

They’re durable and waterproof so you can keep the party going, wherever you take it. 

So perfect for a pool party!

This pair of speakers even has an option to play music individually or together in Party Plus Mode. I also use them indoors at my desk or in the kitchen while I'm cooking. 

 

I love how when out in sun they are solar power charged and can just keep playing all day long. These amazing outdoor speakers definitely make my outdoor time much more enjoyable. 

And by the way, I have a fun 80's playlist that really gets me moving in the garden!

You can check out these exact iLIVE Speakers HERE, but they're also available at Macy's and Walmart. And wouldn't these also make a great Christmas gift?   

ciao! fabiana

 

 

For lots of fun extras, follow me on instagram!

 

  

how to host a white party like Kyle

How to Throw your own White Party:

1. Start with white invites. Pick up simple white invitations at a party store. Stick to white and silver, and fill out each card with a shimmery silver pen. Make sure to clearly outline the dress code in the invitations, and the rules of the white-elephant gift exchange (we’ll get to those in a minute!). We wouldn’t want anyone to show up in black at the white party, right?! 

2. Make it outdoors. Keep your white party bright, and let the sun shine on your guests. Choose white flowers like roses, hydrangeas, lilies, camellias, and paperwhites as outdoor accents for your party-goers to enjoy, and set up tables on a patio or deck. If it’s nice-weather time,  enjoy the warmth and pretty outside-setting. 

3. Keep your menu white. Keep things simple with lots of hor d'oeuvres. Try a white-chocolate fountain with various fruit (strawberries and bananas — yum!) and small cookies for dipping. White cheeses and crackers and small finger sandwiches should round out your menu. For drinks, make White-Chocolate Martinis or White Ladies. Also keep white cranberry juice and water on hand at the event. Of course, if you want to pull a Kyle, just get Fatburger to cater for you...

 4. Decorate tables in white. Cover each table with a white table cloth, along with white umbrellas for your guests to sit beneath while they treat themselves to your all-white menu. Sprinkle white petals on the tables, and throw in a little silver glitter for good measure (and obviously, some needed glitz), then add white candles to light up the night as it gets darker out. 

5. The playlist! Want to show major dedication to your white theme? Only pick out songs that have a “white” touch to them to add to your party’s song mix. The Beatles’ White Album, maybe? Or perhaps the White Stripes? Have fun organizing a fully white playlist. 

6. Have a best-white-outfit contest. You can make up your own rules, but create categories to keep it fun and competitive. Try awards for the best use of white by a couple, the chicest look, the wackiest white ensemble, and so on. Then, have your guests vote in each category and give the winners a prize: white flowers, white wine, or other themed gifts. 

7. Remember to have all your guests leave the drama at the door!

It looks like it turned out to be a fun night

afterall, even with all the drama

of having to ask Taylor to leave.

ciao! fabiana

💕

While I’m here today, I wanted to share some of my "Tablescaping Essentials" with you. I have a whole page on the Amazon website with my favorite picks for setting a beautiful table.

Quite often time is of the essence, and I have last minute projects or events to work on, so I turn to Amazon for one or two day delivery. You’d be surprised at how many amazing items they have to offer! And I'm constantly updating this page with my new favorites. 

You can check it out here, at “Tablescaping Essentials”.