Holiday Gift Guide: For the entertainer in your life

Whether it's a casual get together, a festive holiday party or a seasonal soiree, finding gifts for someone who is known for being the host(ess) with the mostest can be a difficult task. That's why we put together a few ideas to get you started on your shopping!

1. Vintage Glasses and Ice Bucket Set - For serving all those holiday cocktails 

Vintage Drinking Glasses and Ice Bucket

2. Decorative Serving Bowl - Whether for entertaining or daily use a serving bowl adds a touch of elegance to any table.

Tortoise Serving Bowl

3. Faux Fur Bottle holders are a chic way to gift a bottle of wine. Just add bottle.

Faux Fur Bottle Holders

4. Coasters - These glamorous gemstone coasters put the "fun" in functional.

Rablabs Lumino Gilded Coasters in Purple/Silver

5. Cheese Plate and Accessories: For creating the perfect cheese platter at any event.

Aldo Marble Cheese Plate and Aldo Oval Knife Set

These are a few of my Favorite Scents

These are a Few of my Favorite Scents:

One of the many reasons why I love the Fall

There are many reasons why I'm in love with the Fall. The crisp cool air, the red, yellow, and orange changing colors of the foliage and the crunching sound of fallen leaves under my feet, combined with the wicked fun of Halloween and the joy and family togetherness Thanksgiving brings and I can't forget about fall boots and cozy sweaters. All of this is and more are what make this my favorite season. While I associate all of these things with Fall, one thing I didn't mention which I love most of all are the smells and aromas of the season. Pumpkin, delicious spices and the smell of burning from the fireplace all come to mind and it's no surprise to those close to me that once the weather starts getting cooler I start to want scented candles lit ALL THE TIME. So needless to say, I go through quite a few candles in the Fall and I wanted to share a few of my new favorite scents. 

 
Bonfire by Fifth & Madison 

This rich scent quite literally smells like a burning fire and is the next best thing to sitting next to a burning fireplace 

Chai Pumpkin Latte by Fifth & Madison
This delicious and spicy scent, quite simply, smells like Thanksgiving Day and homecooking.

Embers by Aquiesse

This woodsy scent combines essences of indian saffron, cardamon, english leather, tobacco, ollbanum & musk 

Golden Amber by Aquiesse

This spicy mix delights the senses with a combination of bergamot, lavender, orange blossom, muguet, and cedar.

 

Kips Bay Decorator Show House

I had a wondrerful time visiting the annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House.  This year it is being held in a townhouse on the Upper East Side.  There some fabulous rooms and some I wasn't as into.  It was harder than normal to take photographs and mine didn't turn out well.  Habitually Chic got a sneak peak and took some fabulous photos. Enjoy!

The Great Gatsby Set

The Great Gatsby is widely acknowledged in the literary world as the great American novel.  I haven't seen Baz Luhrmann's interpretation yet but I definitely intend to.  I'm mostly excited to see the setting, architeture, and design which should be the perfect companion to this tale.  As a nod to literary classics I've changed our blog background to the Osborne & Little "Penguin Cover" wallpaper which features classic books published by Penguin.

Achritectural Digest got a sneak peek at the set and I've posted those photos below.  What do you think about the roaring 1920's set and extravagant decor?

Gatsby's ballroom

Gatsby's bedroom.  I love the black lacquer bed and the open closet above.

The Gatsby estate.

Nick Carraway's perfect cottage.  I would prefer to live here over Gatsby's mansion.

Carraway's cottage interior.  Love the piles of books!

The Buchanans' brick estate

The Buchanan's sitting room.  I don't love red, but in this room, it's fantastic.

 

Claridge's Hotel London

Claridge's is one of the great hotels of London.  While in college I went abroad to London and visited Claridge's a few times because of the amazing chandelier!  I fell in love with this piece looking at the beautiful details of the hand blown glass.  This chandelier is a work of art.  The kind of art that you could spend hours looking at and still find something new.

 

Spring Arrivals

Looks like we knocked spring down and went running into the arms of summer.  78 degrees tomorrow!  Here are a few fun new arrivals that are coinciding perfectly with the arrival of Spring/Summer.

Our fabulous cream linen and emerald embroidered 22" pillows.  A pair with a simple square border and an English Garden pair.

A better look at the pair of the English Garden design.  Emerald is so fresh and I love it with white on this navy sofa.  See, I have a little prep left in me!

The color came out very blue in this photo but these have a touch more green in them in person.  One set of 22" squares with a chain border and 13" x 20" covered in coordinating gems.

Our driftwood designer delivered some great new pieces this morning.  He's trying a few new things like adding epoxy and inserting stainless steel.  We have two more traditional style that are not pictured.

 

Architectural Digest Home Design Show 2013

Acrylic paint on layers of plexi. Amazing depth!

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of visiting the Architectural Digest Home Design Show.  the show was filled with art and innovative design that inspired.  I highly recommend going as it is open to the public.  Here are some of my favorite installations from yesterday.  I'll be posting about kitchen design separately!

Love the simplicity and retro vibe.

Such a cozy idea for a garden party.

Adore the background installation.

Fantastic light fixture.

Incredible oversize table lamp gives the feel of a chandelier and generous light.

A lot of vignettes were using stools instead of traditional dining chairs.

Ralph Lauren Dine in Design table.