An Exerpt from Year Round Entertaining

There is a book I picked up recently that has quickly become the staple to my home life and entertaining.  I love having people over, but constantly find it a challenge to play the perfect hostess while working 40+ hours per week too.  This book, " Year Round Entertaining" has helped tremendously in this area.  In the very beginning they cover the basics, and in this section, they talk about the decorating basics.  I love Pottery Barn, I get their magazines, I go to their free decorating classes (If you don't know about these, call your local store and get the scoop, they are full of tips and tricks for free plus give you a 10% off coupon for the store!), but I usually can't afford their decorations, let alone have a back room full of them to pull out in the event of company coming over.  This is where this book has come in to play.  I want to be able to pull from some basics to create stunning table and house decorations, without breaking the bank.  Here are their suggestions:

~ Candles by the dozen- votives, tapers, pillars, etc.  in a variety of colors
~ Mirrors for accents
~Blanket throws- which can conveniently double as festive table cloths!
~ Extra sets of inexpensive flatware, plates, and wine glasses- you can NEVER have too many
~ A variety of serving trays to serve from cocktails to hors d'oeuvres- silver, wood, wicker etc.
~ Vases in a variety of mediums and sizes are essential.  Look through antique stores to find cheap additions to your collection
~ Strings of white lights- they are great around the holidays but can be used other times for dramatic lighting effects in plants, on the deck, etc.

Here are some suggestions from me that were not in the book;

~ A variety of bowls- these can hold everything from candy to baubles around Christmas time
~ Glass containers- again, like the bowls, but this is more chic in display and shows off colors and textures much better than a bowl
~ Pottery of any and all kinds- different colors can be used at different times- for instance red is my favorite and can be displayed during Valentine's day, May for Cinco de Mayo, 4th of July, Thanksgiving and Fall themes, and Christmas.  Basically all year with minor changes
~ Candle holders- metal, wood, wire, etc.  These can easily change the feel of the room in a few seconds.

I have a few containers in my linen closet up stairs to store these items in.  This is excluding all additional holiday supplies I have, which is held else where, but when you are feeling like you need a change around your home, but are lacking in both time and resources, if you have this in stock, it can update the feel of your room without tapping you out in either area.

Happy domesticating, everyone!  I hope you can start entertaining and decorating in style and half the time now!