How to Score Super Bowl Party Triumph: Winning Cocktail Recipes

It’s a first and goal-to-go all game-long if you have the right party ingredients!

While most folks might opt for what has become traditional food fare: chicken wings, spinach dip, baked nachos, tacos - there’s plenty of diversity in America’s Super Bowl food and drink menus. In fact, I was kinda’ “super” surprised to see the Super Bowl 2019 food trends by state, as per Google. Just goes to show the true diversity and the similarities that link us together make us more alike than we realize is truly what makes America great. To whit: Super Bowl food favs: Irish Stew in the Plains, Cobb Salad in the Carolinas, Cupcakes in the Gulf AND the Dakotas! See, we’re more aligned than we think.



With Gladys Knight singing the National Anthem - we’re surely be tempted to toast the evening as an homage to Knight as a national treasure. And bask in her her classy performer’s “kick-off” to the annual, entertainment extravaganza that is - as we all know - much more than a game.

Look here: The Half-Time entertainment show includes: Maroon 5, Travis Scott, Big Boi.

Then there’s the game itself (ha) -- The New England Patriots and The Los Angeles Rams.
(It’s a kind of coastal, power game competition, isn’t it?)

But let’s be really honest. The Super Bowl is a food and drink entertainment spectacle. So then; from an added entertainment vantage point - -- I suggest you think of the food and drink menu not so much as a one or two dish offering but rather - in the true sense of a performance - as an orchestration.

Seriously, to be a truly outstanding host - whether it’s a big party or a party of one - you can kick it up in a style is a glamourous, unforgettable, tasty celebration.

Let the games begin.

Pre-Show

All things celebratory usually begin with the bubbly. Champagne or Sparkling Wine says party like nothing else. Therefore, I suggest a Mimosa or a Bellini.

The orange is a salute to the Rams’ California citrus pedigree and the state’s iconic fruit. In fact, the citrus was planted in the early mission gardens and the Golden State is now the nation’s leading supplier of oranges. (and lemons).

The Bellini is a nod to the Super Bowl locale: Atlanta. Everything in this great city is Peachtree this or that. And Peaches and sparkling wine is a bellissimo pairing.

To make a proper Mimosa or Bellini, choose your bubbly and for the Mimosa - mix one to one - orange juice to the sparkling wine.

For the Bellini, put about 2 ounces of peach pureé in a glass to about 4 ounces of sparkling wine - Prosecco or Champagne. (2 to 1 ratio). I love that we grow our own peaches and jar them up for a year's worth of heavenly Bellini's.

Cheese, nuts - or something salty - rolled prosciutto for example - is always tasty with Champagne and sparkling wine



First Quarter
This is the time when all things are possible. It’s a truly happy, blissful time of hope.

And given the time schedule - especially for East Coasters - this is really cocktail time.

Therefore, I suggest my classic - the Duchess Martini - my signature cocktail - and a featured drink in my swoon-worthy, soon-to-be-released The Art of the Garnish



Duchess Martini

Ingredients:

I keep the potato vodka in the freezer, along with the martini glass, and the Dolin Blanc Vermouth in the refrigerator. Cold is key to the crisp, refreshing flavor of the Duchess martini. Dolin vermouth is preferred because the variety and quality of the botanicals is extraordinarily fresh, flavorful, and smooth. There simply is no substitute. One does not want a sweet or bitter vermouth. If drinking a gin martini with the gin being very botanical by its character, you can use the Dolin Dry Vermouth.

There is a symphony of martinis that have contributed to this cocktail’s classic status: Dry, Perfect, and Dirty.

Method
My shorthand to make the Duchess Martini is to pour Dolin Blanc vermouth into the frozen martini glass - ⅔ full, swish around to “coat” the sides, and then pour ⅓ vodka. Increasingly, I also pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with some ice and shake it up till iced and strain and pour into a glass that's been nesting in the freezer.
I guess you can say I like it both ways, Mr. Bond.  Shaken and stirred.



Garnish
Lemon peel, lemon twist as curling ribbon. Those who also adore martinis garnish with the classic Olive. Many enjoy a “dirty martini” adds a splash of olive brine along with the olive garnish. There was a time when I enjoyed a Gibson martini and it’s cocktail, pearl onion garnish. The briny onion pickled in turmeric offers a savory, umami note of flavor.

Food Pairings
Almonds -- good-for-you-healthy, nuts. There are endless varieties of almonds, from straight-away salted or unsalted, to my favorite: salted and roasted Spanish marcona almonds.

Oysters on the half shell are the sigh-worthy, local food complement to a good martini. The salty, briny, crisp medley of bivalve tastes mates well with the martini. It’s a classic pairing - especially because both share local waters -- and that brings the terroir “sense of place” taste to resonate. In fact, there are only five species of oysters in the US - the endless varieties offer differences in taste that comes from their local waters. My favorite oysters come from Long Island’s Peconic Bay, Malpeque, and Kumamotos.

Second Quarter
Now the game is shaping up. We’re getting a feel of the players and the show’s vibe. Now is the time to serve up a some beer -- but not straight away -- rather use the brew to create beer-infused cocktails.

Sailor Jerry Throw Shade


Credit: Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum

Ingredients:

• 2 parts Sailor Jerry Rum 
• Juice of half a lime
• 1.5 parts simple syrup
• 8 mint leaves
• Amber lager

Method:Muddle simple syrup & mint.
Add Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum and shake over ice.
Double strain.
Serve in beer mug or pint glass on the rocks.
Top with Amber Lager.

Garnish 

With lime and mint.

The Backyard Bouie Credit: Drambuie

Ingredients:

• 1 part Drambuie
• 2 parts Grapefruit Juice
• 4 Mint Leaves
• 3 parts Weissbier

Method:Lightly shake Drambuie, grapefruit juice and mint leaves together.
Add beer to the shaker before straining over ice.

Garnish 

With a mint sprig.

Monkey Shoulder Ginger Brewsky



Credit: Monkey Shoulder

Ingredients:

• 1 part Monkey Shoulder
• ¾ part Ginger syrup
• ¾ part Fresh lemon juice
• Beer

Method:
Add all ingredients other than beer to shaker.
Shake well with ice.
Strain into glass and top with beer.

Food Pairings: 

Pretzels, Pigs in a Blanket, Mac N’ Cheese and artisanal pizza work well with these “brewsy-cocktails.”

HALF TIME - Show and Adverts

Take a break. Toast the Entertainment and sip a few glasses of sparkling water. Cleanse your palate. And indulge in local, regional soda. Back when soda pop or tonic -- or the other various terms for the soft drinks were called -- soda was as special and unique as the geography because of the plant-based flavors.



We see that A&W Root Beer was founded in California in 1919. Still one of my favorite drinks -especially in a float. Indulge. You deserve it after two long Super Bowl Quarters.




Massachusetts has more than its fair share of “wicked” soft drinks: Polar - my favorite sparkling, natural flavored spring waters. And you can’t say the Bay State without loving your Moxie soda - one of the first-ever bottled sodas in the US. I wrote about Moxie some years ago -- and was delighted to learn it has become a favorite of chefs and a well-deserved source of New England pride. At the same time, it’s a bit nerve-wracking that Coke-Cola acquired this iconic brand in August of last year; hoping it retains its charm and taste.

Third Quarter

Here again, I can’t resist sharing a sneak peek preview from my Garnish book.

I developed this cocktail and think it’s a fun transition from the soft drink of half-time back to the robust cocktail. Plus you get a prize with the Cracker Jack treat!



I’m Nutty for You
Blends smoky, earthy, herbaceous flavors; cherries, caramel and honey notes

Ingredients:

• 2 jiggers Best Damn Cherry Cola
• ½ to 1 jigger Vanilla-infused lapsang souchong tea simple syrup
• 1 jigger gin
• 1 jigger Averna (herbal, caramel) 
• 2-3 shakes Fee Brothers or Modern Bar Cart Black Walnut bitters
• Handmade or artisanal (i.e. “real”) Maraschino cherry garnish - with speared 
• Cracker Jacks 

*This cocktail offers a special secret prize, too!

Fourth Quarter

Now is when you’re either getting a wee bit nervous or are hoping the clock runs out. So sit back and enjoy the last of the skirmish.

Here’s a drink from the Garnish book - by way of Aperol - that is oh-so-appropriate for this time slot of the game:

Let’s Make it Interesting

The light and crisp ingredients - with grassy undertones of Sencha tea, fruity strawberry, floral rose and bright rhubarb -- and as an added bonus, its champagne topping make this oh-so-interesting to sip through the third quarter -- when you need a pick-me-up to keep things light.

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Rose and Strawberry Sencha tea-infused vodka
• .5 oz Aperol
• .5 oz lemon
• .25 oz simple syrup
• Champagne

Method:
Combine all ingredients but the champagne into a shaker. Shake and fine-strain into a chilled cocktail glass and top with the champagne. Garnish with a single rose petal.

*Rose and Strawberry Sencha Tea-Infused Vodka

Combine a heaping quarter cup of strawberry Sencha tea to 750ml vodka and 1 drop rose water. Let infuse for 30 minutes. Strain and bottle.



Also from the Garnish book, courtesy of Hennessy, is the Game Changer. Perfect for right about now -- especially if you’re hoping for a “Hail Mary” winning play!

Game Changer
Ingredients:

• 1.5oz Hennessy VS
• 1/5th oz Ardbeg 10 year old single malt scotch
• .5 oz Fresh Lime Juice
• .25 Agave Nectar
• 2 Dashes of Angostura Bitters
• .75 oz Pineapple juice

Garnish: 

2 pineapple leaves

Glass: 

Rocks

Method: 

In a shaker tin add all ingredients with ice and shake until chilled, strain into a rocks glass, with ice and garnish with two pineapple leaves.

Description:
With a surprisingly great combination of smoke from the scotch, spice from Hennessy and sweet from the pineapple, this drink changes perceptions. Designed after a Caribbean dessert of grilled pineapple with grated cinnamon that was then flambéed in alcohol and served. The Ardbeg’s smokiness mimics the grill, while the Hennessy add’s the depth and base to this drink it also adds to the spice factor from the angostura bitters, there to add the cinnamon. The pineapple is a great addition to any shaken drink as the proteins in it froth when shaken to create a foamy top to any drink. The garnish of pineapple leaves is a nod to its tiki or island heritage and they help to create some contrast in the drink by having a dark color against the white foam and yellow drink.

Denouement or Post Game

Of course, you can make it all so easy on yourself and prepare “Pitchers and Punches” brimming-with-cheer. I often make punches for parties and holidays -- always to guests’ surprised delight. (Which in turn is surprising.) The The Essential New York Times Book of Cocktails offers more than a few as captured and curated by author Steve Reddicliffe who explained to me, “Punches were so popular in the late 1800s and early 1900’s when the Times first started covering drinks.” There are nearly 30 -- from David Wondrich’s “Original Chatham Artillery Punch” - a sure-fire knock-out that combines bourbon, Cognac, rum, and Champagne!)

I do hope you enjoy the game -- and the entertainment on the screen and in your glass on and on the plate. Please remember, it’s the clash of the sport not the winners or losers that matter.

Cheers to this classic American tradition.  May the best team win.

The Secret to Creating a Glamorous, Memorable Holiday Tablescape

There’s no more important sign of the magic of the season than a fully dressed table to greet, entertain, and wow your family and friends. After all, you’ll be gathering to enjoy many meals together around your dining table and this “heart of the home” sets the mood for the gathering.

You want to delight your guests; to elicit a kind of adult cry of joy not unlike those toy-filled, wonder holidays you conjure from childhood. Long into January, you want them to carry this special memory of sparkling conversation; the luxury of good food and drink -- all ignited by a very personal table decor that is a reflection of you.

The secret to creating that glorious, glamorous table design they’ll be sharing with their friends and social media followers is to tell a story. Your story. Will it be sophisticated? A fantasy? Elegant? Whimsical? Traditional? Political? (maybe not that last one!)

One of the best things about creating tablescapes is they change with every holiday. With every season. With your state of being… It’s a contextual art form. And it’s a fun, expressive, thoughtful way to entertain because every tablescape you make is unique.

You’ll want to tell your holiday story in a themed way. Avoid mixing genres. I find it can be subtly jarring - an avoidable dissonance. Ultimately, you’re creating a stage or setting for the pleasure of dining, drinking, and talk.

Winter Holiday tablescapes -- Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa -- work best when they convey the season’s iconic charms or images. And let’s not overlook Mother Nature. Even in warm or tropical zones, the landscape has its own seasonal splendor. Use what is local or native and natural to augment the artifice of the created tablescape.

That said, there is no doubt there is a Christmas-y “look.”

Think sleigh bells (despite or in spite of climate chaos we cling to these iconic holiday themes…), metals of silver and gold - oh those Three Kings or Wise Men - and lighting -- especially twinkling ones; glitter (can’t ever have too much glitter, now can we?) - and color.



This year, because I was so very engaged with a work project -- the European Union supported EVOO Consortium (more on this later - plus the olive branch tablescape adornment creations that social media found so Instagram swoon-worthy!) ) that I wanted - er, needed - a tablescape that would transition from Thanksgiving to Christmas and further - straight through New Year’s without a lot of time and work as I was schedule-challenged to complete the project work and the report. (with a cracker-jack team of course!)

Here, I hope that my design(s) will inspire you to create your special tablescapes. (If that’s an aspiration but not a doable - contact me and I’ll do it for you!)

Another “secret” to creating memorable tablescapes is to “build” the look. What does that mean?
Don’t attempt to create a look all at once by dropping it in, so to speak. Add elements and then evaluate. Step back and ask yourself - “How does that work? What would augment that element’s addition?” See, each item balances another. Remember - it’s contextual art. t’s also an a zen art form. You need to determine when the composition you have designed is “enough.” Or when to take away something.

Indispensable to most every tablescape design story - especially for the holidays - is lighting - faux candles of various shapes and sizes, strings of lights to run around and through the table tableau, is a secret ingredient to swoon-worthy tablescapes.




Maybe it was all the talk of the Mandarin Duck in Central Park or that more banal turkey talk of Thanksgiving - but birds seemed to be on my brain. (Hey, no bird brain jokes allowed!)

So for whatever reasons - Feathers figured into my design as the key or central theme.

Pheasant feathers; blackbird feathers, grey fluffy feathers (to better match our new, eight shades of grey fireplace look ) All in, I purchased maybe four different kinds of feathers (from a local Michaels craft store). I already had the peacock feathers (naturally - because I adore all things peacock and flamingo) and I added those later for the Christmas tablescape design in the hallway.




Silver was the theme color for Thanksgiving. Color is a “secret” design consideration. Do you want your tablescape to excite? To soothe? Look at a color wheel if you can’t focus on a color theme -- and always going with red and green is not de rigueur. Like a good garden design - you will see how opposites on a color wheel can complement the look. Or stay within a color spectrum.

Grey is a superior color that I used to feel was sad or glum but now I see as nuanced and elegant and varied. My use of grey might surely be enhanced because of the magic of living near the water…

For me, the silver not only enhanced the new grey painted stone fireplace but allowed me to use our classic Royal Doulton wedding china. (And imagine our delight when viewing Mary Poppins Returns at the cinema this week, to discover that Royal Doulton has a starring role! We liked the movie - did you? It was frothy - just wished for a bit more of the “spoonful of sugar” or a “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” or two. I adore all the actors: Emily Blunt, Lin-Manual Miranda, Meryl Streep, and the surprise cameos of Dick Van Dyke and Angela Lansbury.

Back to the tablescape. Our Royal Doulton ‘Sarabande’ has the classic white, black, and silver pattern. Perfect for a grey color-scape.

I got a few “silver” candle holders to add to my real silver candle holders. Overall, I find it works great to mix or blend the real or quality with an inexpensive but good-looking faux. This is true in fashion looks (Gap with Armani) and in tablescape looks - classic crystal - ours is ‘ Vesta’ by
SPIEGELAU and some Waterford; and in addition to the The Royal Doulton, Lenox, with additional sets from Williams Sonoma and some Etsy artisans.

One of my favorite, go-to design strategies is to use items I re-purpose -- meaning they were originally used for something else but in the end, add so much allure to a tablescape. For example, small, ceramic banks - from fish to elephants to monkeys - they add an inexpensive themed statuary to a table design; vases filled with betta fighting fish, snow globes personalized with a guest’s photo, adds a super personalized touch. Then there’s

jewelry ring holders, and flea market, “Game of Throne” mini chalices that work as decor and after dinner drinks - and complement the silver crown music boxes.

egg timers,

and music boxes that work as design elements and as servers for the amuse-bouche.

Hope you enjoy this little video.  Wait for the music box opening up to the amuse-bouche -- I made a kind of caprese "salad" ingredient. I wrapped prosciutto around a cheese cube - so guests can just pop it in their mouth - (and amuse their tongue!).  A fun and tasty way to start an elegant meal. And a real conversation starter...

I purchased some new grey linen napkins from Wlliams-Sonoma - love that crisp-looking detail - and found place-setting name cards with a silver look. You could make these too.

I wasn’t happy with any of the table runners I had to accent the silver look - so rather than purchase a traditional runner - I thought that I might approach this in a different way. I found a gauzy, glitter-inflected scarf in a local pharmacy’s gift section (and for a lot less than a tabletop runner costs).

The billowy scarf allowed me to run two strings of battery-powered lights inside the diaphanous scarf - I mean table runner -- so that the glimmer is all the more magical.

Get creative!



I added the silver candle holders for the gold faux candles.

Feathers festooned the runner.

I placed the grey and black feathers inside the Royal Doulton napkin rings hugging the grey linen napkins.

I liberally glittered the table runner and the matching grey linen placemats - thereby creating a kind of exclamation or punctuation mark on the side of the silverware.

Adding to the Silver color theme, were a few accessories. During the year, I keep a few of dinner poultry wishbones and then spray paint them accordingly for a winter look - and guests love making a wish with their partner or seatmate. I also paint inexpensive faux pumpkins - here they are a glitter gold. Vintage linen cocktail napkins with silver embroidery, small round or square mirrors are an ideal base for any number of items - plus they reflect the lights and glitter.

Layer in the glassware or crystal. Strew with faux crystal, cut ice -- and it’s good to go!

Oh - and I left the table just as it was after our Thanksgiving dinner and breakfast with dear friends. (cleaned up the dishes and serving pieces, of course). I find a post-dining table tableau very sexy. It’s almost as if you can still hear the clink of glasses and the “sterling” chatter.






For Christmas I figured I only needed to add a few extras. For the December partying, I added in some carefully curated gold items, silver “sleigh bells,” glitter silver sculpture,

Plus, I received these beautiful gold petal votives and gold cherry blossom cocktail napkins from my niece Marissa and her boyfriend Ed. How’d they know?

And on the entry hall table - I merely added the beloved peacock feathers, a “cranberry” runner that I ran white lights through for that romantic glow - and a few glitter votives filled with battery-operated color changing lights. These, along with the year-round, battery operated candles that turn on with a timer (a great, low-cost investment that saves time too) - offers a warm welcome embrace to holiday guests as they enter the front door and we take their coats to hang up.

And a cotton-candy fluff of pink muhly grass cut from the gardens in October sitting atop a floor/standing vase is an ethereal complement to the pink orchid showcased in the speakeasy door. A nice touch.



Despite my crazy schedule I couldn’t resist finding a few moments to create a front porch tableau. Even though I was super crunched for time - I wanted our neighbors and guests to arrive with a seasonal welcome.

What to do? First, wrap the front porch pillars as we did for my clients’ welcome entries.
I filled the two urns with holly and cherry laurel from our landscape. Free! And a good horticultural practice too.

We all love the red berries of the evergreen hollies. Here, in the North East US we’re most fortunate to benefit from the Garden State’s Rutgers’ breeding and cultivation of the extraordinary ilex - from as early as the 1930s - a cross between American and English hollies - (Ilex opaca) with English Holly (I. aquifolium) resulting in such glorious hollies as ‘Jersey Princess’, ‘Jersey Delight’, and ‘Jersey Knight’.

Why hollies at the holiday? (they kinda' sound alike??) No. According to the UK’s Independent, “The tradition of decorating the home with holly at Christmas has been popular for centuries. Since Roman times, houses have been decorated with lights and greenery to celebrate the New Year, a habit that spread during the Middle Ages to the Christmas festivities. Evergreens were seen as symbols of survival and everlasting life, and holly was often used to deck the halls simply because there was very little else to use.”
Traditions are enduring and are meaningful. Embrace them.

A new “tradition” I launched was to add the bird houses I purchased from a local merchant at near our country house - Fair Mountain Coffee Roasters (we LOVE Barbara and Greg’s dedication to organic growing and their personalize roasting.) You’ve also probably seen me Instagramming their wares and coffees after my weekend yoga.

Well, I was delighted to discover they were offering hand-made bird houses that help encourage sustainable coffee plantations and forests. Plus the bird houses are so pretty I figured I could incorporate them into a home decor design. I first used them at Thanksgiving and they transitioned nicely to Christmas! So here again, I’m using an item meant for something else - using a repurposed item to decorate and create a unique look.

Thanksgiving Urns with Birdhouses

Christmas Urns with Birdhouses 

Who did it best? Ha.

The look transitioned very well. So another “secret” is to create a design that will carry through with just a few trade-outs.



I think you’ll agree the birdhouses add an organic, thoughtful charm to the front welcome urns.

For Christmas I added a battery-operated snowball light I had in a crystal ball along with the glittery, silver balls that light up in different reds and blues and greens - that I used on last year’s Thanksgiving tablescape. See how you can mix and match and more?

Happy Holidays.

Even if you are even slightly schedule challenged - as I suspect we all are -- if you follow my guidelines - you too can create elegant, glamorous, whimsical, and memorable tablescapes that you celebrate!

I wish you and your families a happy, healthy, peaceful and glamorous 2019.

Thank you for being a part of my Garden Glamour family. I am most grateful…

Cheers.

How to Create Elegant Halloween Entertaining Tablescape & Home Decor ~ Redux

Halloween Tablescape Update

Spooky Halloween Tablescape Original Creation 

This Season's Updated Look 

Everything design can be updated, refreshed and given a spark of a new look.  In that spirit - well, perhaps a bit of a ghostly spirit! I turned this year's tablescape design around a bit to achieve a slightly new charm.  I built off of last year's Halloween table design and the desire to celebrate the spooky season with a bit more refined, glamorous tablescape and hallway greeting than the usual gourds and orange pumpkins.

I was looking for a refined “adult” version of happy trick or treat.

I wanted it to be more about the Art of Tablescapes for this most favorite holiday.
(Did you know that, in fact, Halloween is now only second to Christmas in terms of popularity?)

Given that Halloween has, at its core, dressing up in costumes, it only seems apropos to “dress up the table and noteworthy home spaces with some inspired, seasonal masquerade.

Especially when the harvest season screams out for luncheon, dinner, and cocktail parties to celebrate the abundance we enjoy and share this time of year.

So let’s delight in dressing up.




I began my Halloween tablescape and home decor compositions as I always do -- by dreaming a bit.

And by answering the question: “What story do I want to tell?”

Tablescapes, of course, are more than mere centerpieces. The overall tablescape look comprises the entire table, amplifying an event or holiday or your guests -- with your personal style, color, and dimension.

It tells your story; your fantasy… While making your guests feel welcome and relaxed.

The visual stimulation of a compelling composition sparks fun and conversation.

Good tablescapes create a sense of balance, harmony and personal style.

For this Halloween tablescape look, I was drawn to artful skeletons - more as sculptural objects.

I went for the skulls, especially... Skulls and skeletons can be pensive (Rodin?!) or rather sweet - even humorous.

In terms of color, witchy black was the spooky shoe-in, right? Dark, mysterious - and sophisticated.

To harmonize, I thought the color gold and gold accent pieces would add that touch of elegance, along with the basic black.

I use the tiny white (battery operated) string lights for most every tablescape. The evening twinkle is frothy and romantic - and can stand up to our cityscape view that sparkles out on the horizon - seemingly within reach.

And I always create a trompe l’oeil or a kind of “vehicle” that allows me to hide the battery pack for the two light strands. After all, we’re creating illusion..

For the last tablescape display, I used the decorative blue box designed to look like a grill - that the wood fish came in which styled perfectly with the fish and beach composition - complete with live Beta fishing fish in their own four, individual glass vases with plants.

What could I use for the Halloween to hide the battery pack in?

Keeping with the gold color and elements theme, I repurposed two small gold urns and topped the batteries with store-bought mini green and gold gourds that caught my eye at a store.



It’s always best to lay out the designs and look on the table; then determine what you have in your own decor inventory or household items that could work in the design. You’ll be surprised how many items can be repurposed.

Next up is to make a list. This keeps you focused when you get to the store and become overwhelmed or distracted by displays there.

My initial ‘search and shop’ was in a local store where I could get those spiky succulents.

There, I also found perfect small black lacquer pedestal urns - (they looked as if the front porch big urns had incubated teeny offspring!)

The shiny, black urns were perfect: size and price wise so I got four - two for the table and two for the entranceway.

Halloween Horticulture!  

I also found spiky air plants to use.
And delightful architectural succulents - with ghoulish spikes and a blood-red hue. 

I kept all the plants healthy and pretty all year so just had to post them back on full display this year!

Last year, I got small chile plants -- one with yellow pepper plants and the other with purple peppers.

This year I got cut flowers that look like eyeballs! The baneberry (Acetaea pachypoda) is probably right in your yard - or local grocer.  Red-Twigged Dogwood's berries work too. 

What I wish I could have in the garden is the skull look of the Antirrhinum majus - the snapdragon's seed pods look like a Dragon's Skull!  Crazy creepy!



I was building the composition.

I bought a black, felt “spiderweb” table runner.

I got packs of “eyes” to place inside the web. This is a whimsical element that is so much fun when dining. All those “peepers” looking back at you!

I also got eye rings -- where the eyeballs actually roll a bit - and placed them on the runner, too. Fun-as a kind of kooky cocktail ring!

Skull banks worked - just like the live Beta fish-filled vases did for a previous composition. This year I stuck some black "spiders" into the back of the skull's coin slot.

The point here is not to limit your design to items that are expressly made as decor - but to think of elements that can add charm and style - whatever their original utility might have been.

I placed the plants in two of the black urns. In turn, I placed them on the round mirrors. The mirrors amplify the main element’s value in the composition.

I wanted gauze to add that spidery look and to help cover the lights’ “wires” but when the party store didn’t have the gauze - I just went to the pharmacy and bought a roll of gauze (for a lot less money) and wrapped that around the urn and over the lights.

Then I placed teeny, tiny skulls around the mirror, on top of the gauze.

You don’t see the wires and at night when it’s lighted -- the illusion is dramatic and elegant.

I also spray-painted four artificial pumpkins gold (no real pumpkins that would go bad and get mushy on the table). And this year I added the squash and pumpkin soup

And I purchased the most adorable (to me, anyway) gold insects for the four corners of the spider runner. I figured they could work for a multitude of future tablescape designs.

Creepy, elegant, fun.






When all was in place, it just needed something more. As if a hand was directing me, I was compelled to turn to the fireplace and shazaam, targeted the four wrought iron candle holders. Perfect! They and their gold, battery operated candles were soon transported to the tablescape. That finishing touch completed the look.








Halloween Tablescape Luncheon
For a “Ladies Who Lunch” affair, I found mini pumpkins in the garden and used them for the name placeholders.

Black napkins and gold napkin rings accented the table look, as did the ceramic gourd soup bowls (Williams-Sonoma).

New Look this year

Redux Tablescape elevated look 

The seasonal menu included most everything from our garden: onions for the French Onion Soup: (Photo courtesy of Angie Lambert)

Fresh-grated Consider Bardwell Farms Rupert cheese - An aged, raw Jersey cow milk cheese inspired by great European Alpine cheeses like Gruyère and Comté.





We enjoyed Mother’s homemade bread, and garden-fresh eggplants for the Eggplant and Pasta with truffle buffalo mozzarella entree.

(photo courtesy of Angie Lambert)




Photos courtesy of Angie Lambert 

I couldn’t resist making my trademark punch with garden ice floating ring for the Ladies Lunch.

(Photo courtesy of Angie Lambert)

I used Mint as the frozen in ice greens. This you must start a few days ahead of time, freezing distilled water halfway in a bundt pan. When frozen, place your greens or flowers or whatever you want that will amplify a party theme - on top of the half frozen mold.

Then, fill the bundt pan with more distilled water to help cover the greens or flowers. Some will stick up from the mold -- which makes it all the prettier.

As the ice melts, the greens stay in the circular shape -- so that it comes to rest in the bottom as the punch is consumed. Lovely…



Ladies Who Lunch guests: Angie (L) and Maria enjoying the smoky punch.

For Halloween, I had to try the dry ice to produce a holiday, smokey drama.

I ordered the dry ice from our local Party Store. They told me I had 15 or 20 minutes to experience once I broke up (be sure to wear winter gloves) and ignited the dry ice with water.

It lasted longer than that but be advised.

The result was even better than I hoped for. It was giggling-good!

I encourage you to try this hostess treat for your next party.

Garnish the punch cocktail with fresh, local green apples.

Entry Hall

For the hallway table, I already had two “hands” that look like Thing from the the long-ago TV show, “The Addams Family.” (They’re creepy and they’re spooky…)

For the entry hallway, I was inspired by those “menacing-looking” spiky, small succulents.

Heading to our garden, I cut the spent hydrangea macrophylla -- the ‘Lady in Red’ cultivar offers gorgeous petioles and a red-veined style that I interpreted as a bit of blood-red color that paired well with “eyeball” picks decor for the vases.

I purchased glow-in-the-dark rubber-like “insects” that rest on the prickly succulents and red-swirled Murano glass bowl that is perched atop the antique Asian table there.

The “Thing” hands are sparkly, with an insert for a candle; I put little light globes in them.



And behind the bowl I placed white globe battery lights that I had previously purchased for holiday decorations.

The hallway table has black wrought iron sconces topped by battery operated candles - so with a few masks and tiny tin buckets filled with candy treats -- along with the shadow art the sun etches across the walls there - it’s a welcome Halloween tableau.



The little spiders are available in black - for the tablescape - and orange - which complemented the saffron/orange in our garden room so I strategically placed them on the spiral staircase. So whimsical!

Front Door Entry

For the front door entrance’s black urns -- one on each side of the front door - the ferns are still looking good in this warmer than usual weather (I read today of ‘Hotumn’) and I already had two happy witches from years past. So I nestled our girls in among the ferns.

To add to the look, I got two of those Mexican, Dia de los Muertos skull heads to place in the big urns along with the witches. I love their colorful look and the significance that they represent prayer and remembrance of family and friends who have died.




The PS / funny part is that the squirrels knocked out one of the skulls - but the glue job made it only all the more realistic!



A string of pumpkin fairy lights illuminate the spooky but welcoming entry.



Boo to you! 

What will your table be wearing for Halloween?




And the arbor twinkles with a view of the harbor