I truly enjoy working with Mary Tuttle’s, a beautiful home décor and fresh flower retailer in Chesterfield, Missouri.  I’ve worked for them for over seven years creating their marketing campaigns and developing their marketing strategies.  Walking into their store is like walking into a magazine.  Every nook is filled with inspiration on interior design and entertaining.

Each year, they are part of a tabletop event for a local St. Louis publication.  This year, they chose to create a holiday table with the centerpiece that didn’t include a Santa, Christmas Wreath, or Christmas Tree.  This year, their centerpiece was a bunny.  A cute stone bunny that was tied with a burlap bow, wearing a necklace of cranberries, nestled inside a tartan napkin filled punch bowl… and I’m not done yet…sitting on top of a cake plate covered in pine clippings. Yes, that was the centerpiece and it was DIVINE!!!

The tablecloth was a simple burlap and the place settings were all different, with primarily holiday themed Juliska plates in Country Estate Winter Frolic.  Even the wine glasses were different which added a casual feel to the table which still looked festive and holiday themed.

I love the new tartan napkins and beautiful napkin rings. And of course, a gold votive at every pacesetting is such a wonderful touch.

So for your holidays this year, step out of the box a bit and bring out those bunnies to create something unique and unforgettable! Oh, and most importantly, if you live in St. Louis, stop by Mary Tuttle’s and get inspired with a lot more creative ideas.

I have a wonderful friend named Rachel who is obsessed with Smitten Kitchen.  Rachel invited us to a fabulous bagel brunch at her home.  The bagels were from a famous local bakery where they make water bagels and we were excited to finally sample a few.  Rachel not only supplied the delicious bagels, but she also made several outstanding recipes from Smitten Kitchen and Dash and Bella.  First, she made Baked Eggs with Spinach and Mushrooms. They turned out delicious! Secondly, she prepared a Persimmon Salad which not only tasted fabulous but was also one of the most beautiful salads I have ever seen.  Rachel outdid herself and I had to share some photos as well as links to both the recipes. So, if hosting a brunch is in your future, the recipes in this post will be outstanding.

I’m shining the spotlight on my friend Rachel again.  Rachel is no stranger to fabulous parties, she organizes fun events which look effortless and always filled with delicious goodies.  For anyone who feels like it takes too much work or preparation to host a book night or craft night, you will love this post.  Hosting these types of mini-parties are very easy and don’t require as much work and planning as a typical party. When Rachel decided to throw a craft night, she asked all the guests to bring their favorite snacks. One guest brought a delicious white bean dip with pretzels.  Another brought home-made chocolate covered pop-corn… SOOO GOOD… and another brought yummy gourmet chocolates.  Rachel did an outstanding job of organizing a night out and creating a fun craft.  And since all the guests were more than happy to bring something fun, Rachel also made her life a little easier.

Gold and red Thanksgiving tablescape from Pottery Barn

Today is Halloween and I’m sad because, if you know me,  you know that I LOVE everything Halloween!  However, I won’t be down for too long because during the holiday season, when one holiday passes, another one is just around the corner!

My focus for the next few weeks is going to be Thanksgiving! I love Thanksgiving because it’s all about fall… the colors, textures, but most of all, the food! Thanksgiving makes me think of warmth and comfort. I love watching QVC and seeing all the fuzzy blankets, flannel sheets, and pajamas that go on sale. I love the cool crisp air and the fragrance of peoples’ fireplaces burning in the evenings. It’s just a fabulous time of year.

I had a chance to visit Plaza Frontenac, a shopping center in St. Louis, and stop in some of the stores which display beautiful tablesscapes.  Here are some of my favorites.  Also, I am going to show Christmas tablescapes as well since I know some people like to put out their Christmas china on Thanksgiving.  Enjoy!

Another Pottery Barn Fall Table Setting

Stunning silver fall table setting from Williams Sonoma

Loving this color combination of black and gold fall table setting

Another beautiful Williams Sonoma fall tablescape

Reindeer, reindeer, reindeer! I can’t help but adore this whimsical reindeer themed place setting from Pottery Barn

Plaid tableware from Pottery Barn. I will always love plaid. It’s one of the most classic and elegant winter patterns. I can definitely see using these plates and mugs even after the holidays.

Plaid and Santa… Need I say more? Pottery Barn never disappoints.

Spooky Bloodied Eye Punch

Recently, I attended a SPOOKY book club which was beautifully organized by a mom from our school.  “How did you do all this, Mini”, everyone asked. Mini wasn’t secretive about how she was able to create such a fabulous buffet while being a working mom…. she outsourced everything!

As a hostess who loves to outsource myself, I always keep an eye out for great places to contact when I am throwing my own shindig.  Mini contacted Straub’s, which is a local supermarket that specializes in gourmet food.  The book we discussed was Educated by Tara Westover, which is a wonderful book… I highly recommend it! But I have to admit, the highlight to my evening was the beautiful way Mini entertained her room full of guests and the delicious accompaniments to the wonderful book discussion.

I loved the stuffed mushrooms and the melted cheese with chutney. The chicken skewers were also easy to eat and delicious.  However, my favorite part of the appetizer buffet was the Bloody Eye Punch.  It was a mixture of juices topped of with a little champagne.

My friend Sandra is an incredible hostess!  She is a professional floral designer but in reality, she is an artist.  Here is link to a video where we showcase her beautiful home decorated for Halloween… yes, that is a Halloween tree in the photo and she has FOUR of them! Each year, I can’t wait to see what she creates for Halloween.  It is truly spectacular. Click on the above image to go directly to the video and view her home.

Blingy Halloween Pumpkin by Sandra Fulton

I also had to post one of her favorite Halloween pumpkins. Sandra calls herself the Queen of Halloween and she LOVES bling!! This pumpkin, encrusted with rhinestones, gold sequins, and a myriad of other stones, is one of her favorites.  She posts it every year on her Facebook feed.

Halloween Party Buffet

My friend Maureen, is a party genius! She throws many beautiful parties for all sorts of occasions, but her Halloween parties are simply SPOOCTACULAR!!! Unfortunately, I arrived a bit late to photograph the buffet before other guests arrived, so you are seeing things which have already been enjoyed.  But I think you can get some fun ideas and inspirations if you are planning your own Halloween party.  One of the things that I loved is she set-up this entire spread on her pool table.  This gave her plenty of room to have a large buffet without having to put two tables together or take up extra room with more set-up.

I think Maureen included almost every Halloween recipe.  The puking pumpkin, hot dog wrapped mummies, witchs’ fingers, pumpkins, skeletons, green dips, white dips, cakes, chips, pizza… I can go on and on!

Kudos to Maureen for all her fun ideas.  It was a real treat for everyone who attended!

Two of the moms who made the party possible!

As some of you may know, Halloween is my FAVORITE time of year.  I love Christmas and Thanksgiving, but Halloween…. OH… it just gives me so many more opportunities to be creative! Plus, I also love seeing how creative other people can be and this is why I spend way more time than I should on Pinterest and Instagram looking for fun and innovative recipes for my Halloween parties.  Each year, I throw a Halloween bash (or what I like to call a Halloween Taste Testing) every Friday for the entire month of October.  I invite my friends, my sons’ friends and their parents, and anyone who wants to come! I ask everyone to bring a Halloween dish they love and we set it out on the buffet. Then, we all try what was created and talk about our favorites.

The below goodies were created by the many parents who attended and were considered the favorites of the taste testing! Enjoy!

Delicious Rice Krispie Treat Monsters.

The above Halloween Rice Krispie Treat Monsters are made just like any Rice Krispie treats.  However, I also dipped the top portion in candy melts and my son decorated them with various sprinkles and candy eyes.  They came out adorable.

Yummy vegetable jack-o-lanterns filled with healthy vegetables.

My friend Rhae brought these healthy jack-o-lantern pepper snacks.  A wonderful and healthy addition to the table!

Halloween Cheese and pretzel broom sticks… so CLEVER!

This pretzel and mozzarella stick broomsticks are ADORABLE.  I love the presentation as well.  Just two ingredients and a wonderful salty addition to a sweet buffet!  Way to go, Carrie!

Candy Corn Rice Krispie Treats

One of the moms brought these Halloween Candy Corn Rice Krispie treats.  I love how she packaged them (many kids took one home as a favor), brought them in a basket, and even displayed the recipe for anyone else who wants to try making them.  So thoughtful!!

Halloween Skeleton Slow Cooked Weenies (A.K.A. Guts)

Halloween Skeleton Weenies (A.K.A. Guts)

Helping herself to some Skeleton Guts!

OOOOHHHH… SOOOO GROSS!!! But it’s Halloween… RIGHT??!! My friend Gina (not the one pictured above), is super creative and brought the ULTIMATE snack to the party!  She needed some extra space and set-up time, but this incredible treat was a SHOW STOPPER!!! The kids loved it.  She dressed up a skeleton and inserted a slow-cooker inside his chest filled with BBQ mini hotdogs or cocktail smoked sausages.  She also brought Hawaiian buns to pair with the mini hotdogs. The kids  (and adults) had a treat scooping the “guts” or hot dogs on to their plate.  I know… I know… not for the faint of heart, but it’s HALLOWEEN!!!

Yummy cookie pizza

You can’t go wrong with a cookie pizza and this dessert was a fun treat for our guests.  Loved this creative idea from one of our moms!

Brownie Monsters

These adorable brownie monsters made everyone smile!  They are simple brownies with candied eyes and a gummy worm as a tongue! Another dessert winner on the buffet!

Mini Chocolate Bar Robots for Halloween

This dessert was such a fun idea  Simply take any mini chocolate bar, insert pieces of pretzels for the legs and arms, and decorate with candy sprinkles on the body.  You can make them look like anything, monster, spiders, and in this case, robots!

Halloween Candy ghosts

Hate trying to make your cake pops look perfect? Here’s the answer! These wonderful cake pops did not have to be perfectly round to be  winners.  Once they were dipped in candy melts, they simply were allowed to free form.   After the candy melts set a bit, the mom carved in some faces, which also did not need to be perfect.  Two thumbs up for this fun and creative dessert!

I love how these adorable desserts looked together!

My Halloween flowers. I love how some stores dye their flowers black during Halloween. It gives me so many ideas for arrangements.  I also love the background of the skeleton.  Sort of reminds me of a grave!  Okay, now I’m getting a bit gory!

Adorable Halloween guests.

Halloween Orange Jack-O-Lanterns filled with fruit salad.

I always give two thumbs up to anyone who brings healthy desserts.  This mom went all out and created these fun Halloween orange Jack-O-Lanterns.  She filled them with fruit salad and voila!

Pumpkin cake I ordered at Sam’s

As you may or may not know, I love to throw my two sons Halloween parties.  I invite tons of kids and their parents and it becomes a fun potluck.  I ask the parents to bring one Halloween dish they would love to showcase and they NEVER disappoint.  Here are some of the fun and easy Halloween dishes the parents brought to the party.

Healthy monster jaws.

I love these delicious apple, peanut butter, and marshmallow treats made to look like monster jaws.  The mom also added a fruit roll-up as the tongue. This was a fun treat for the kids.

Monster, ghost, and pumpkin cookies from Sam’s

If you know me, you know that I outsource as much as I can, especially baked goods.  When it comes to my annual Halloween parties, my favorite place to outsource from is Sam’s.  I order my Halloween cakes from there as well as any thematic cookies. I would imagine Costco has the same fun desserts, but either way, buying in bulk is always a great thing for parties, so I highly recommend it!  Best of all, these cookies were a fraction of what I would pay for custom designed cookies.

Dirt n’ Worms

You cannot help but fall in love with this adorable dessert created by my friend Zalina.  Dirt n’ Worms! I love how she used fun black kettle containers.  Needless to say, I don’t think we had any left over!! They are filled with chocolate mousse (or you can use pudding), crumbled Oreo cookes, and gummy bears.

Monster Eye Cake Pops

My friend Tara did NOT disappoint with these fun and funny Monster Eye Cake Pops! We all know how hard it is to make cake pops look perfect… well, with this theme, the more imperfect the eye is, the better!  She made a regular cake pop mixture, rolled it, and dipped it in candy melts. Last but not least, she popped a candy eye on top and VOILA!!!

Fruit ghosts and pumpkins

Seriously… can these be any cuter? My friend Jenna created these adorable tangerine pumpkins and banana ghosts. Adorable and healthy!!

Spider Web Dip

I’ve made spider web dips before, but mine NEVER came out so cute! This was a delicious seven layer dip created by my friend who is an incredible entertainer.  This Halloween dip was a HIT and was the perfect savory accompaniment to all the sweet items on the buffet. DELICIOUS!!

Some of the kids enjoying the Halloween buffet.

The calm before the storm.  This was early on in the party when just a few kids arrived. I typically have fifteen or more people hanging out in my kitchen which include adults and children.  When the party starts, everything is so well organized and displayed.  By the end of the party…. it’s not a pretty site!

Halloween Bat Wings

My friend created these fun Halloween Bat Wings from Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups, Oreo Cookies, and candy eyes. They are ADORABLE!

My collection of easy Pin Push Pumpkins.

I loved this segment I did with Better Kansas City on super easy pin push spray-painted pumpkins.  I also made them two-sided, which means I made one side Halloween themed and the other was Thanksgiving themed. I also made some universal designs which can be displayed during Halloween and Thanksgiving.

Halloween Rock Stud Pumpkin

This is a black pumpkin which I designed to look like the Valentino “rock-stud” collection.  It is a fun and colorful way to bring a little influence of fashion into your pumpkin decor.  This was the “Thanksgiving” side, the other side was a Halloween side which had pins made into a web.  Check out the previous photo.  It’s the black pumpkin on the right.

Halloween side of all the pumpkins.

This is the Halloween Side.  Each pumpkin has a Halloween theme.  The silver one has a silhouette of a witch on a broom.  The white has silver pins saying “Boo” and the black one has the spider web.

Thanksgiving side of the pumpkins

This is the “Thanksgiving” side with the silver pumpkin having a turkey, white pumpkin having a wood-grain theme, the black pumpkin having the “Valentino Rock-Stud” look.  I also love my silver and gold thumb-tack pumpkins.  Be warned, they take HOURS to create.  I started in September pushing in the thumbtacks while watching TV with my husband.  They are time consuming but are well worth the time.  I also used a real pumpkin stalk as a finishing touch.  The stalks last for years and years, so you don’t have to worry about them rotting.