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Ideas and Tips for Spring Celebrations
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Room decor sets the mood for love and romance. We've chosen to entertain our Valentine in perhaps, the most publicly visible part of the home, the living room.
The living room is the place where you display your personal collections, it's the space you save for those very special occasions --- a perfect setting for a romantic pas de deux.
Begin your evening by dressing your table to impress, plan the menu, the music, and the lighting. Accent your space with Asian novelty items, such as lanterns, characters and ornaments.
For our tablescape, we used a sangria-red cloth dramatically draped over a cocktail table. Cinching the fabric with a silk Asian-poppy keeps things low and luscious. Large overstuffed pillows adorned with ornaments extend the flavor and make for generous, cushy seating.
To further heighten the mood and the senses of our tablescape, we used Asian ornamentation to accentuate the boldness of line and scattered roses to bring in scent and sensuality.
The contemporary pieces in the place settings are topped with authentic Asian serve ware and ornate chopsticks. Mixing your pieces makes it exciting and interesting. Small, square pedestals normally used for candles give height to the teapot, the character and other accessories.
To set everything aglow, use candles, candles and more candles. It doesn't matter if they are votives, tapers or bricks.
And in keeping with Asian custom, remember to remove your shoes . . .What happens next is up to you.
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Mardi Gras
Shake that thang like a salt shaker . . . Get your groove on . . . Laissez les bon temps rouler!
No matter how you say it, Mardi Gras means Pah-tay in the biggest way.
Nearly every facet of Mardi Gras -- the colors, the decorations, the parades -- has a rich history. The colors, for instance, purple, green and gold, stand for justice, faith and power. The beads, coins and masks represent the Carnival and the parades.
In keeping with tradition, use the Mardi Gras colors and artifacts to give your tablescape an authentic look. On our table, we used beads, feathers, doubloons (coins) and other elements to showcase the French, Spanish and Native American influences on Mardi Gras.
Drama and scale are vital to Mardi Gras decor, so keep your design pieces large and playful.
The table was draped with a white cloth, then topped with a swatch of purple sequins. Blooms inserted into paper masks were placed on top of the dishes. For sparkle, use gold flatware and other metallic touches.
One look at the table and your guests will be ready to shout laissez les bon temps rouler! (let the good times roll!) all night long.
The crowning glory of Mardi Gras is the King Cake, a colorful braided brioche in which a tiny plastic baby, representing Baby Jesus, is concealed. The tradition goes, that whoever gets the slice of cake with the baby must supply the next cake and chose the site of the next Mardi Gras party.
If a woman gets the slice, she is queen of the Mardi Gras. A man becomes the king.
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Spring Fling
Don't let the doldrums of winter keep you from thinking spring. An indoor garden party can uplift everyone's spirit.
We chose our palette from the colors of the Mediterrean, soothing bright blues, laid-back oranges and yellows. We accented our table and surroundings with greens for a outdoor garden feel.
Even if your party is during daytime hours, use candles on the table. They're great mood-lifters.
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