I'm so excited to have Alli Michelle of Hooray Design on board today and tomorrow as a guest blogger! Alli shares so many simple + pretty designs and entertaining ideas on her blog (a daily read of mine.) And really, summer for me is all about spontaneous, laid-back entertaining. Thanks, Alli!
I'm thrilled that Jen asked me to do a few posts about summer entertaining — it's such a fun time of year to entertain because fresh produce is in season, and decorating can be simple and casual. Ever since our apartment days, I've tried to stock our kitchen and decorate our home with items that have a dual purpose for entertaining, and below I've shared a few things on my list...
[photo 1]
+ bottles, containers, trays, etc: I keep a cupboard shelf full of them (recycled or store-bought) to use for everything from serving drinks to displaying flowers.
+ napkins and table linens: A few drawer fulls of these, even mismatched finds from thrift shops, makes it fun to dress a table. Plus cloth napkins look fancier, save on paper waste, and can be tossed in the wash.
+ string lights, lanterns and candles: As soon as it's warm enough each season, we put up strings of lantern lights in our outdoor space. Having it already decorated means we're always ready for a party (or just a romantic dinner for two.)
[photo 2]
+ accessories, thrift finds, fun serving pieces: Using plain tableware makes it easy to add in different accessories to change the style or mood.
+ flowers and fresh produce: We make a list and stock up at our local farmer's market each week (and gather what we can from our parents' gardens, too). Definitely the best part of summer!
So that's my ideal list for keeping our home ready for summer entertaining. What's on your list?
sources, board 1: photo 1 + 2, bottle, table linens, lantern, string lights
