Hosting a Restaurant Birthday Party

May 14, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Have you noticed a growing trend towards celebrating birthdays at restaurants? It’s a great solution that involves no mess, no fuss and no cooking… What’s not to love?

If you’re planning on hosting a birthday party for a friend or family member then you should know that with a little pre-planning you can turn a regular restaurant visit into a memorable evening with a few special touches. Read my latest Ehow blog post for some great tips covering everything from venue choice to party favors.

Happy birthday party hosting!
xo,
Elizabeth

Filed Under: Uncategorized

A Floral Lunch For Mother’s Day

April 30, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Mother's Day lunchIf you’re looking for a new way to honor and celebrate mom for Mother’s Day, take cure from my  garden floral lunch. Inspired by this year floral trend in everything from fashion to home decor, I designed a garden party for mom instead of a traditional restaurant brunch.

Read my latest post on eHow where I show you how  food, drinks and centerpieces change a normal lunch into a floral masterpiece.  You can read the full post by clicking here.  Enjoy and have a wonderful Mother’s Day!

Filed Under: Entertaining, Recipes

Plan a Farm-to-Table Cooking Party

April 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Malibu Farmers Market

Some Farmers Market Goodies

I love my girlfriends – they keep me sane, put things in perspective and keep me grounded. In turn I love hosting special get together’s and planning new ways for us to bond and enjoy our time together.

In my latest Ehow blog post I describe how to plan an unusual and fun way to spend a day with your girlfriends starting with the farmers market and ending with a healthy farm-to-table family style meal. You can ready the full post by clicking here. Enjoy!

Mixed Berry Dessert

Our Berry Delicious Dessert!

Filed Under: Entertaining

Upcoming Spring Events in L.A.

March 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Spring is almost here and the air is already alive with nature’s sweetest perfumes!  An exciting thing to do during the spring season is visit some of the LA garden tours and my friend Cynthia Herschorn  has been so kind as to share their schedule with me.  Below are a few happening in April and May:

Robinson Gardens

Pacific Palisades Garden Club tour - Sunday April 14 (12-4)

Santa Monica Spring Garden Event - Sunday April 21 (11-4) – benefits CHLA and showcases a range of garden scales.

Open Days tours - Sunday April 28 - allow you to go to any or all of the gardens on their tours. Each home, which is usually historic and beautiful, costs only $5.

Venice tour - Saturday May 4 (10-5) – a fun mix of architecture and exteriors which are walking tours of a neighborhood with the homes typically very creative in their uses of space, both inside and out.

Robinson Garden Tour - May 18 (10-4) – the ultimate day of delight with access to several estate gardens and a lovely luncheon, decorator showcase and boutique sale at the legendary Robinson estate in Beverly Hills. The day costs $200.

Another note-worthy event happening in May is the LA River Revitalization Corp, a Salon that discusses the plans to beautify and enhance the public well being of our wonderful city.  Cynthia Herschorn  will be hosting the event, you can check out her website, www.unycyn.com, to see some of the best examples of global and local groups and projects focused on these areas. Speakers at the Salon will be Mia Lehrer, whose Landscape Architecture firm designed the LA River Master Plan, Omar Brownson, the Executive Director of the LARRC, and Glen Drake, a Landscape Architect working on the Rio Vistas projects.

The LA River

See you at the gardens!
xo,
Elizabeth

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized

The Perfect Pet Sofa Protector

March 8, 2013 By 4 Comments

You love your new couch and so does your dog… What’s a girl to do? You might pull out an old blanket to cover up half of your beautiful new furniture piece or go online searching for sofa protectors. But alas… although you’ll find some options they’re just not pretty. Who wants to ruin the look of a new sofa or decorated room with an ugly quilt or towel?

This was the dilemma of a client of mine who we had just delivered a beautiful custom made and upholstered sofa that her beloved Bichon Frise also took an instant liking too. The problem was not only would his favorite corner risk getting dirty but he also has a habit of drooling just ever so slightly when he sleeps. Sigh. Of course we wanted to let him still be able to enjoy the sofa, after all he is a woman’s best friend!

To solve the dilemma I designed a completely custom, gorgeous slipcover piece that acts as a sofa dog protector but at the same time looks and feels luxurious , doesn’t move around and absolutely does not detract from the beauty of the new sofa. I used a soft chenille fabric  that I knew the dog would love to curl up on so (making sure he’d stay in that particular corner), and custom fitted it to the arm of the sofa. By matching the color of the original sofa and using an exquisite fabric allowed me to create a uniform look that fits nicely in with the newly decorated family room. How’s that instead of an old blankie eyesore?  And for those who wonder – yes, it is machine washable.

Custom sofa covers start at $250 and range to $500 depending on fabric and size of area. Contact roomatthebeach@yahoo.com or call the shop at 310-456-9777 for details.

best pet and dog sofa cover

Happy Dog = Happy Owner

Filed Under: Custom Furniture, Interior Design

Tra Di Noi Artichoke Salad Recipe

March 1, 2013 By Leave a Comment
shaved artichoke and arugula salad

Tra Di Noi Artichoke & Arugula Salad

A perfect recipe as our Spring weather begins to roll in!  Shaving the artichoke very thinly is the key to this salad.  To ensure the artichoke is ready for this salad you should make sure the artichoke is not fibrous.  Discard outer leaves and  test a leaf.  If you can chew it, it is just right.

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

1 big bunch arugula
1 endive cleaned and sliced up into small pieces
2 lemons
8 baby artichokes, trimmed
Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or fresh basil leaves, for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Squeeze juice from 1 lemon into a large bowl of ice water. Slice artichoke hearts and bottoms, if tender enough, as thinly as possible, adding them to the ice water as you slice.
  2. Thinly slice Parmesan cheese so that you have about as many slices of cheese as you do artichoke slices. Zest and juice remaining lemon; set aside.
  3. Remove artichoke slices from water and pat dry. Toss with olive oil and juice from remaining lemon; season with salt and pepper. Layer artichoke slices on a platter with Parmesan; season with salt and pepper. Garnish with reserved lemon zest and herbs.
  4. Wash arugula and endive and let dry. Toss together. Place big bunch on a plate then top with artichokes and Parmesan.
  5. Finish with lemon and olive oil; serve immediately.

Recipe courtesy Tra Di Noi, Malibu, CA.

Filed Under: Recipes

Malibu Beach Inn Bloody Mary Recipe

March 1, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Malibu Beach Inn Bloody Mary Recipe

The Malibu Beach Inn Bloody Mary Recipe

IN BLENDER:
1 can of tomato juice
4 scoops horseradish
2 cans of V8 juice
Olive juice (to taste)
Salt and pepper (a lot)
Lots of Worchester Sauce
1 tsp. Tabasco or cholua
1/2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning

ADD TO TASTE:
Pinch of cilantro, thyme, oregano, sage

GARNISH:
1/2 jalapeno
1 celery stick
2 olives

Recipe courtesy Malibu Beach Inn

Filed Under: Recipes

Final Days of Our Annual Winter Sale!

February 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Our Annual Winter Sale is coming to an end and we still have lots of goodies in the store. Last day is Sunday February 24th, make sure you stop by the shop this weekend!

Filed Under: Malibu Shopping

Favorite Thai Shrimp Curry

February 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Ingredients:

1 can coconut milk
1/2 medium size onion, sliced into wedges
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp. Red curry paste*
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup assorted vegetables, such as snap peas and sliced red bell pepper

* I prefer the Namjai curry pastes for their incredibly authentic flavor.

Heat oil in wok and fry onions until softened then add garlic. When garlic is fragrant add curry paste and fry for a few minutes to release flavors. Pour in 1/2 can of coconut milk and simmer curry sauce until reduced by half. Pour in remainder of coconut milk and bring to boil then add shrimp and vegetables. Cook 3 to 5 minutes or just until shrimp turn pink and vegetables are tender-crisp.

Filed Under: Recipes

Superbowl Party Ideas

January 26, 2013 By Leave a Comment

The Super Bowl is coming up and we’re getting ready for the biggest competition in our country.  It’s a day of rivalries and good old American fun and the perfect day to invite friends over for a good time.


Invitations
Set the tone and jump start the party with the invitation. Send out an invite through mail or via email with both the Ravens and the 49er’s on each ends of the invitation. Request your friends and family to RSVP by sending back the side with their favorite team.

Game on!
From the moment they walk through the door, let everyone know they are in Super Bowl Headquarters.  The competition has begun!  Have fun competitive games scattered throughout your party creates a fun atmosphere. It’s game day, right? Here are some of my favorite Superbowl party games:

  1. Set up a Boggle station and have  4 players at a time to see who can make the most words having to do with football. Touchdown!
  2. Make everyone guess who will sing the national anthem. No googling!
  3. Come up with trivia for both teams. Which of the coaches is the oldest brother? Who makes more money? Who was a quarterback before he was a coach?  Keep score of the points and give out small prizes, like  a Starbucks card or car wash tokens. Field Goal!

Host & hostess can wear referee shirts to add some flair to game day instead of traditional team shirts.

Let’s face it… It’s all about the food!
Let the menu and the decor follow the lead from the opposing teams.  This year it is easy  to be inspired! Crab dip from Baltimore, sourdough bruschetta from San Francisco, and some good old gumbo to highlight New Orleans. No red flag here!

Decor
The decorations can follow suit and take inspiration from the opposing teams. The Ravens : pull out some Halloween decorations and put birds on the platters and hanging from the chandeliers . The 49er’s: go online and get some inexpensive trolley cars. Line them up on the table for a feast. Load up the table with sour dough loaves.

Create Your Own Half Time Show
Keep the competition by introducing a kick game. Kick the tomato, that is! Stock up on cherry tomatoes pre-game and see who can finger kick a cherry tomato the longest. (10 yard penalty for smashed tomatoes). It’s a game where all ages can compete on an even playing field….

Enjoy the friendly rivalry going and everyone will feel like a winner no matter how the big game ends!

xo,
Elizabeth

Filed Under: Entertaining
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