San Lori Reader Giveaway for Blushing Followers

San Lori, a most spectacular and creative invitation and stationery house, kicks off eight weeks of fabulous holiday giveaways here at Blushing Hostess!



The Blushing Follower-winner of this week's giveaway will recieve 48 pieces of San Lori's new personalized labels in the style of their choice!
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To enter this week's giveaway, please take both of these steps:

1. Leave me a comment telling me which label you might choose if you won, you can look all their fabulous new styles over here and here.
2. Go to facebook and click to "fan" San Lori here (top center of the page). Leave a note on their wall.
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*** You will receive one additional entry for each of these efforts: Post about the giveaway and link to this post, Tweet about the giveaway, or mention the giveaway, or post the giveaway link on facebook or myspace. So let me know that in your comment below, also!


Here are just a few examples of the labels you might choose, though there are literally one hundred or so others (How beautiful are these labels, seriously? It was agony trying to choose only a few examples!)












Enter before midnight on Tuesday, October 6. A winner will be drawn and announced on Wednesday.

Good luck to all and happy early holidays!

To buy these labels, shop here.

Divine magnolia

I know it is early. Maybe you are not ready to consider this. But I, for one, cannot help but love these magnolia wreaths, mantles, and garlands at Charleston Gardens.

I know a few porches which are already awaiting their glossy green magnolia swags, be sure to order early.

Dahlia: Centerpiece workhorse

The dahlia is plentiful in this season and blooms in every shade and size one could wish for, making it, in my book, one of the best flowers for centerpieces. My grandfather grew dinner-plate sized lavender dahlia on a largely shaded corner hill of his home. Each year at this time, I note all the dahlia's in magazine arrangements, think of that remarkable patch of earth, and wish I had those bulbs. Luckily, it is not difficult to get equally as spectacular cut dahlias from the market florist when I grocery shop. Here is some of the inspiration I am using for centerpieces this fall.

What is in your vase this week?

Credits: apartmenttherapy.com, countryliving.com, marthastewart.com

Florals: Centerpiece envy

My goal is to get an arrangement of this nature on to my entry hall sideboard this week.

"This arrangement includes roses, daffodils, ranunculuses, calla lilies, tulips, and hypericum berries in fall colors -- yellows, peaches, and shades of orange."
- marthastewart.com

It may not be the easiest set of blooms to put together in this part of the world this season, but we will see what comes of it. I saw, and foolishly did not buy, some sparkling votive candle holders at Homegoods last week that would have been fabulous here... one more trip might be in order...

Blushing Hostess tips for this floral centerpiece:

To lengthen the life of your pumpkin-vase, melt some candle wax and use it to coat the inside of the pumpkin. The coating will delay (not prevent) rotting from the inside out.

For using pumpkins as vases: Get a large enough pumpkin to hollow the pumpkin out and place a smallish vase or vessel on the inside to hold your flowers in water. Allow a small bit of candle wax to drip to the inside bottom and place the vessel on top to hold it in place.

Finally, do not forget to put a drop of bleach in the flower water to hold off premature arrangement decay.

Beauty on the Bar: Paul Smith for Evian

Looks great with the mixers on the bar and a few bottles make a glam hostess gift.

Paul Smith for Evian, in limited amounts until Christmas.

What they ate: 2009 Emmy's Governors Ball

After getting a look at the tables for the ball in this Blushing Hostess post, I thought you might be interested in the menu for the 3,600 guests who dined on the culinary work of the Patina Restaurant Group. The Governor's Ball is the largest known singular catered event in the nation each year and an impressive orchestration of event and catering talents. (I was suuuper busy cleaning up spit up and checking temperatures, so I could not make it. Again. But I have a mole/ incredibly famous dear old friend who goes and whispers secrets in my ear. None of them appear in this post, under threat of a slashing of my shoes. Oh, she knows me far too well.)

The Emmy Awards, 2009 Governors Ball Menu

Melange of peppers, eggplant caviar, red mustard leaves, potato salad, olive, smoked mushrooms, tomatoes, melons and medjool dates

Filet mignon with polenta ravioli with cauliflower and vadouvan butter, whole roasted zucchini blossom and Bloomsdale spinach

Dove Silky Smooth Milk Chocolate dessert infused with raspberry creme and paired with yuzu gelee and mint lollipop rounds

Just festivals of color and luxury on the plate, yes?

Obviously, I wasn't missing anything exciting. Pisssssshaw.

Credits: examiner.com about.com

Hostess style: Taking camel to the party

Flipping through Harpers in the hair salon while waiting for the teensiest little bit of bleach to take (eye of the beholder, People: so what if it came in a gallon sized bowl?), I was stuck for a few minutes on this photo. Not that Tommy does anything for me, but it reminded me that my camel hair coat needs a new lining.

I dread new linings now that I no longer work on Seventh Avenue, where the mighty tailors of the district could knock one magnificent lining out of the park of a lunch hour with one hand while eating macaroni with the other. Tailors on the outside look at you like: Get with it, no one does this anymore. This is a throw-away culture, go charge yourself a new one and pay for it for five years.

Not so fast. I love that coat, bought it eight years ago in London and of all the other camel-hair jobs I have ever seen, it is still the best and sleekest. And sleek is key in this game because camel hair can get a bit overwhelming, thick, and bunchy.

Nonetheless, in that very state, it still has provided iconic images.

Though, I like mine to look less mannish, have smaller or no lapels, and I want a finer weave with baby hair. Not so mans-overcoat-y.

Still, I considered it, if only to wonder what it might look like this season:


Ralph, Darci baby camel hair wrap coat, and is about the only stylish one out there. Believe me, I have looked.

And here is my complaint: With all these capes all over the place, why can I not find a clean-lined camel hair (or even camel color) cape? Like this, only in camel:



All the buttons, maybe? Maybe not? Slap some gorgeous tiger-eye buttons on this in baby camel, and I promise, I will make a believer out of you. Elizabeth & James.

I have seen it around though, I really like it as it was photographed for Real Simple, only their magazine tells me it is $695 not $395. Confusing. I digress.

The closest I have found is this, though I am not purchasing it... it's a little too Batman.

Isabella Oliver

In conclusion: Camel styling. Totally abysmal this year. Check it out here, here, and here.

Camel hair cape: Non-existent. Shame. Would have been great with these styles...

Oliver Peoples

Loeffler Randall

Joie, OTK

Time to start scouring vintage resources.

Table style: Rock the Casbah

The alluring table setting of the Emmy's Governor's Ball, September 20, 2009 by Sequoia Productions.

Take me to the Casbah on any scale, is always my policy.

Dress it up.

Jean Louis Coquet Hemisphere Matte Gold, Gumps

Moroccan tea glasses

Horchow

Even the buffet.


Horchow

Pare it down, maybe.

Tangiers, attractive on a bare tabletop

But always serve Blushing's Moroccan Chicken.