Bottle brush tree holiday tablescape

I love creating fun tablescapes and the holidays are a perfect time to bring together a bit of creativity and joy for entertaining. One of the best parts of this tablescape is that everything can be reused as regular Christmas decor, which I definitely did after hosting my annual Friendsgiving.

Another awesome thing is that I already had most of the elements and just brought them together! The base is actually a macrame wall hanging that I just folded up, I had thrifted all the candlesticks previously, I had most of the bottle brush trees from last year (and bought a few more from the Target dollar spot to fill it out), and the felt trees were a DIY craft project I did last Christmas season!

A few tips for putting together a stunning tablescape:

• Don’t skimp on the candles, they bring such a warm glow and instantly create atmosphere. I always have lots of candles when I’m entertaining.

• Vary heights and create levels. When you vary the heights of items in your tablescape, it allows the eye to keep moving. I made sure to spread out the different sizes of trees so there were different levels throughout the vignette.

• Add texture! While the macrame base was mostly hidden, it still added a lot of texture and warmth. The felt trees have a wonderfully cozy texture, and the bottle brush trees had their own unique texture and sparkle that complimented the other softer textile elements.

• Greenery! Okay so this table doesn’t technically have greenery like most of my designs, but I grabbed some sparkly white faux branches from Michaels to bring in that natural plant-based element. Even though they’re totally obviously fake, they still read as a plant element. A super easy way to add real plants without breaking the bank or having to learn floral styling? Buy a bundle of eucalyptus branches and lay them in the middle of the table, interspersed with your other decor elements. It fills the space beautifully, adds a lovely touch of green, and bonus: you can dry it and keep it as year-round decor!

Jameson Caskmates hop field adventure

A couple weeks ago I was contacted by Jameson to see if I’d be interested in going on a little adventure out to Yakima for the launch of their newest Caskmates series collaboration with Bale Breaker Brewery, and I was 100% down. We left Seattle on a bus yesterday afternoon, and a couple hours later we arrived at the Bale Breaker Brewery nestled in the middle of acres and acres of hop fields. The lovely founders of Bale Breaker, Kevin and Meghann Quinn, and Kevin Smilth, gave us an amazing tour of the brewery (accompanied with a taster of their Topcutter IPA), and then we hopped on the bus for a quick trip a few minutes away to check out the hop fields where they grow all the hops for their beer, and the original building where they started the brewery (though you might say it was more of a shed-sized “building,” haha. It’s always incredible to see where people’s visions began and the humble start to what would become an incredible, successful, growing business).

We did a little tour of the hop fields, were served delicious Jameson Whiskey cocktails, and had some mindblowingly delicious appetizers, and were treated to watching Ger Buckley, a 5th generation cooper, demonstrate how a barrel is made, which was super interesting and surprisingly entertaining! And then… the real magic began…

We were treated to an incredible meal out in the hop fields, tucked between towers of hop vines, beneath zig-zagging cafe lights. Tasters of the Caskmates whiskey, plus the Topcutter IPA (which is the beer that was first aged in the Jameson barrels, then those barrels were sent back to Jameson for them to age the Whiskey in to create the Topcutter IPA Caskmates Whiskey. Such a cool collaboration!), and then some mouthwatering dishes crafted by local chef Matt Lewis which were truly unbelievably delicious.

The whole evening felt incredibly special and it was so much fun to take part and experience it all. I was able to bring my husband Dan with me, which was exciting, as he’s a big whiskey and beer fan, so I loved that he also got to be a part of the experience. As someone who loves putting together beautiful events and photographing beautiful events, it was a really fun and inspiring evening. Trying to convince Dan we need to plant some hops at our new house so I can have my own hop field dinner in our backyard, haha.

I mean, come on, how magical is that?! Huge thanks to Jameson for the invite and to Bale Breaker for the hospitality (and to Dan for coming with me, even though he had to wake up at 5:30 the next morning to go to work!).

Holiday charcuterie board with Tillamook

Thank you Tillamook for sponsoring this post. Try Tillamook Maker’s Reserve! Available at Costco.

One of my favorite things about the holidays is all the get-togethers with family and friends… and all the delicious food at said get-togethers. It can feel a little overwhelming to whip something elegant and fancy up, on top of hosting a party, so my favorite thing to do is put together a charcuterie and cheese board. It’s always a crowd pleaser, and you can make it look super lush and inviting without a lot of work! And the best part is you don’t have to cook anything!

For this spread I partnered with Tillamook to feature their Maker’s Reserve 2013 Vintage White Cheddar. Here in the Northwest we’re pretty big Tillamook eaters, and I’ve actually been to the Tillamook factory in Oregon twice! Watching all those blocks of cheese getting cut and wrapped in the factory is kind of mesmerizing!
I’m a fan of sharp cheddars so this cheese hit the spot for me. The Maker’s Reserve line of cheddars are bold with the flavors unique to the year they come from (2013 in this case).

If you want to add some to your own holiday charcuterie board, you can find Maker’s Reserve 2013 Vintage White Cheddar (18oz.) can be found at select Costco stores in the Pacific Northwest and San Francisco Bay Area (search at https://www.tillamook.com/where-to-buy.html to see if your local store has it!).

Not sure what to include in your Charcuterie + Cheese board?
Here’s a list of some of my favorite things to plate up!

• Cheese- You can get a variety and get a couple more exotic types of cheese, or stick with something classic and widely enjoyed, like a cheddar or brie

• Rustic Mustard- This is great for spreading on crackers or bread, and is a little fancier looking than your standard mustard.

• Fig Jam or Honey- I like having something a bit sweet to counteract all the savory that goes on with a Charcuterie board

• Olives- There are lots of varieties, and some grocery stores even have an olive buffet so you can pick out a bunch of different kinds!!

• Prosciutto/salami- There are lots of different kinds you can get, pick your favorite or get a few different types

• Fruit- Pear slices always make it onto my board, but I also like to pick something seasonal. When I saw Pomegranates in my grocery store, I picked one up to include on this board!

• Sliced bread/crackers- Gotta have a delivery system for all your cheese! I like to pick a rustic bread, slice it up, bake it with a bit of butter spread on each until they’re slightly golden, then cut a garlic clove in half and swipe it on each little toast- it gives them the perfect bit of garlic flavor!

• Nuts- Marcona Almonds are my favorite to include, but you can choose whatever you like! Specialty or gourmet grocery stores will usually have some fancy nuts to choose from.

Now you’re ready to party! Grab a plate or a big cutting board to arrange all your items on, and your guests will flock to it! Happy holiday partying!

Dreaming of a White Christmas

I have wanted a white Christmas tree for probably 4 or 5 years. It feels like forever. This year I decided to finally go ahead and just go for it, and I’m SO glad I did. I’m head over heels in love with it. I knew with my black chalkboard wall it would go perfectly, and I’m really happy with how it fits in my space! It’s still early in the season and not even December yet, so I’m sure I’ll make some additions to my holiday decor as we approach Christmas, but I wanted to share my little white tree because I’m so happy with it!

White Christmas Tree: Wayfair
Jute Rug as Tree Skirt: Wayfair
Tree Topper: Amazon
Ornaments: Thrifted

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Thanksgiving Pumpkin Tablescape

I had a ton of fun throwing a “momsgiving” for the group of mom friends I’ve gained this year. I really wanted to celebrate with them all sans kiddos so we could actually hold a conversation, and it was so nice to hang out with adult mamas without our kids for once.

My house isn’t big, and it doesn’t have a dining room, so I dragged my low outside dining table into our living room and we all sat on poufs and cushions and snuggled in all cozy like. I love putting together beautiful tablescapes, and I wanted to keep this one feeling autumnal without being super colorful, so I went with white ghost pumpkins, seeded eucalyptus, artichokes, and olive branches.

I made the place tags with letter stamps and air drying clay, then just tied a sprig of rosemary and a little gold leaf pendant to each one with some bakers twine. All the brass candlesticks and candles were thrifted!

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