Yearly Archives: 2014

The thing with hosting a dinner party every week is that you go through a lot of table linens.  Will fall entertaining just around the corner, it’s time to pick up a few new cloth napkins for my supply. 1. Blue green linen napkins from CB2 2. French toile patterned napkins in blue and red…

This week’s dinner party was a pretty casual affair. I made a simple Moroccan-style menu using many of the same staple ingredients purchased for last week’s Turkish party. I had a light cold, so it was nice to take it easy. Menu Appetizer: Imported dolmas  Chicken tagine with preserved lemons and olives Mograbieh (a type…

A couple weeks ago, Anne wrote in with a request about an upcoming wedding up at Lake Tahoe. “The wedding is apparently ON the beach and not too fancy but I figure what is a wedding if not an excuse to dress up?” Agreed! Here’s my suggestion:  Dress – This dress is so pretty online and…

Rob and I spent last weekend at the super lovely Mendocino Woodlands Camp. We were there for three days of mountain biking along with 100 other riders and 20 children at the annual M5 retreat. Our little cabins lacked insulation, running-water and electricity, but made up for it with large windows, porches and stone fireplaces…

For day two of the Silicon Valley tech conference, I went with a full “can’t beat ’em, join ’em” outfit. I wore an outfit inspired by the classic male investor/founder uniform of a blazer, shirt, jeans and leather shoes. My feminine interpretation included a peacock blue blazer over a white linen tunic, skinny Madewell jeans…

Bay Area tech conferences can be challenging to dress for. You want to be comfortable, stylish and not too casual or too formal. Basically, the female equivalent of the jeans + dress shirt + fancy shoes combination (sometimes with a blazer, never with a tie) that most Silicon Valley guys wear to these things. Pockets are…

Turkish was the theme of our weekly dinner party last night, and a great excuse to do lots of layering: both with fresh bright ingredients and lots of different table linens. Menu Appetizer: “Meze” platter with imported Turkish dolmas, black olives and persian cucumbers topped with lemon and paprika.  Amuse-bouche: Tomatoes stuffed with kisir (tabbouleh…

Because we visited Turkey at the very start of our nine week trip, I only bought a few tiny souvenirs in Istanbul and Bodrum. Thanks to Etsy, picking out beautiful pieces direct from Turkey is as easy as a couple clicks. From top to bottom: Ainurscarf – Hand-decorated scarves with crochet, amulets and tassels from Istanbul.…

This week’s dinner party is Turkish-themed. I’ve had such a good time reading back over our trip to Istanbul and Bodrum in preparation. All those gorgeous layers of Ottoman tiles and paint inspired an outfit with layers of soft patterns for the rest of summer. Sundress – This Madewell sundress has a classic Turkish carnation design.…

This week’s dinner party was a pretty informal, impromptu affair. The guests were a former colleague of mine, Lauren, and my good friends Jackie and Pierre who just moved back from Atlanta to California. Menu:  Purple Haze goat cheese with crackers, nuts and dried fruit to start Wild caught coho salmon baked with champagne and…