The Hostess With The Mostess

Last night, Mrs. Emerald and I went to an event thrown by the fabulous writer of the equally fabulous blog, Hostess with the Mostess. We had a little champagne, tasted a few hors d'ouevers, and gossiped about the other guests and the location. All in all, it was quite a fun evening!

The event was sponsored by Chambord liquor which meant lots of yummy raspberry flavored cocktails. Blue Plate catered and impressed me a bit with their hors d'ouevers and desserts- not the quantity, because we headed straight for dinner afterwards, but the tastes were great. The only thing that was a bit of the bummer was the location. The Ivy Room at Tree Studios has been talked up as this magical new Chicago venue. I was under the impression that it was mostly an outdoor space, but the focus of the venue is the large ballroom overlooking a beautifully landscaped patio. I don't want to say too much, but... meh. Our word for the evening was "vanilla."

Jenn Sbranti, the founder of HWTM, was our hostess and walked us through an easy "Tropical Zen Soiree." Although none of the ideas were earth shattering, she made the the execution seem simple, yet stylish. Everything was quite affordable and do-able, and I was inspired to be a little more theme oriented with my dinner parties. Jenn was great, too! We were able to talk with her for a bit about how she started her business and where she plans to take her site.

Something about the lighting in the room made the pictures awful- anything that was remotely far away come out purely black, even with the flash, and the flash washed out our faces to the point that I didn't want to post these pictures. I am, however, willing to take one for the team in the hopes that the WB readers can imagine me with makeup and blue eyes rather than red.

Me, Jenn Sbranti (THE hostess with the mostess) and Mrs. Emerald pose for a photo.

Unique ways to present your menu

Raspberry sorbet, Chambord and Korbel. Yummers.

Jenn's suggestion of a way to present the appetizers.

The place setting. Check out the little coconut cups- they were our favor for the evening!

A very simple and straight forward centerpiece, although it really glams up the table.

Another easy centerpiece. Jenn made one of these as a demonstration.

Jenn mentioned that her next stop is in NYC shortly after Fashion Week. The focus of the event will be more high fashion cocktails rather than luau. I definitely recommend signing up. It was free, the drinks were yummy and we learned a few easy ways to perk up a dinner party.