Innehållsförteckning för Entertain Decorate Celebrate May/June 2015 från Southern Lady

If you haven’t tried your hand at Chalk Paint® yet, now is the perfect time to start. This fun and easy hobby has quickly become a popular way to express one’s creativity. Developed by artist Annie Sloan, this decorative paint has a matte finish that can produce a variety of results. Many love the textured and distressed finish it can give furniture, but Chalk Paint® can be used in multiple ways beyond your basic tables and chairs. Patty Brees of Green Table Gifts knows this firsthand. She discovered Chalk Paint® shortly after opening her vintage and handmade gifts store in 2011. Patty was refinishing furniture the old-fashioned way—sanding and priming with traditional latex and oil-based products. After seeing the store’s displays, customers started requesting her painting and refinishing services. Using…

Create the Look: Utilize your bar cart in three ways: serving a signature cocktail, displaying the lovely party favors, and hosting the birthday gifts. This will save space and keep set-up time to a minimum. Take advantage of the outdoors by using the shrubbery as a natural backdrop. Then give the table a floral touch, organizing plants and flowers in cement floral baskets. Inspired by the look of English gardens, we decorated with garden roses, ivy, and hydrangea, as well as white lisianthus and ferns. (Win these baskets! Enter at celebratemag.com.) Use assorted patterned plates for serving. This is a great way to display your lovely antiques store finds with only a few plates in each pattern. Your guests will adore the mix and match that adds to the table…

Create the Look: Bring the calming colors of ocean waves to your table décor by using recycled blue-glass vases and wineglasses. For a natural feel, mix and match dinnerware in hues of soft green and peach, then add a rustic touch of wood. In keeping with the fresh color palette, create a centerpiece using hypericum berries, orange spray roses, silver brunia, mini pom greens, and white mums. Fashion it low to keep guests’ view unobstructed. Incorporate a few small arrangements at varying heights on the table and the buffet, adding texture with large orange pin cushion flowers. Even your place cards can evoke beach serenity. Choose a long shell that has a slender opening (we used an olive shell), and hot-glue a piece of cardboard or a paper clip to…

Fresh ingredients and mouthwatering flavors are just the beginning of what you’ll experience with the popular farm-to-table dinner concept. Knowing exactly where your food comes from and having an opportunity to show off the fruits of your labor in the garden make for a unique event. Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails, of Milton, Georgia, gives visitors a taste of just that with their “Seed to Fork” dinner series. Held throughout the year, these dinners are hosted outdoors in the beautiful garden Milton's Acre, located just behind the restaurant. Ever since the doors opened in 2006, food and photo stylist Victoria Katsikis has been an integral part of Milton’s. She is the style guru for many events that take place there, collaborating with the team to design the décor for all the…

CHIPOTLE BURGERS WITH PEPPERED BACON Makes 6 servings Prep: 20 minutes Grill: 10 minutes 2 pounds ground chuck 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon ground black pepper ½ teaspoon salt 6 hamburger buns, split and toasted Chipotle Ketchup (recipe follows) Fried Red Onions (recipe follows) Toppings: Monterey Jack cheese, lettuce leaves, sliced tomatoes, dill pickle slices, peppered bacon ONE Spray grill rack with nonflammable cooking spray. Preheat grill to mediumhigh heat (350° to 400°). TWO In a large bowl, stir together ground chuck and next 5 ingredients. Divide mixture into 6 portions, and shape each into a 5-inch patty. Grill burgers, covered with grill lid, for 5 to 6 minutes per side or until a thermometer inserted in thickest portion registers 155°.…

PICKLED SHRIMP Makes 2 to 4 servings Prep: 20 minutes Chill: 8 hours 2 shallots, thinly sliced 2 lemons, thinly sliced 1 clove garlic, minced 1 cup champagne vinegar ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil ¼ cup drained capers ¼ cup chopped fresh dill 6 bay leaves 2 tablespoons celery seed 1 tablespoon sugar 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 pound large fresh, cooked shrimp, peeled, tails left on ONE In a resealable plastic bag, combine shallots and next 11 ingredients. Add shrimp, seal bag, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours before serving. PROSCIUTTO-WRAPPED ASPARAGUS Makes 2 to 4 servings Prep: 15 minutes Bake: 10 minutes 1 (4-ounce) package sliced prosciutto 1 (1-pound) bunch asparagus, trimmed 1 tablespoon olive oil ½ teaspoon kosher salt ¼ teaspoon…

Five years ago, Party On! Designs founder Amber Lyden crafted a new business out of paper scraps. “I owned a scrapbooking company for several years, and once we sold it, I still had lots of supplies,” she says. “I started a little shop on Etsy making custom invitations by hand, and it has grown ever since.” Now a thriving online storefront, Party On! specializes in personalized party supplies and décor. From confetti to cupcake wrappers, the shop offers creative celebration décor and accessories in a rainbow of colors and themes. Amber also takes custom requests and orders. “When a client says they are looking for something outside the box and describes their vision, I just truly love bringing it to life from start to finish,” she says. “I love a…

Create the Look: Any pool partygoer will need a towel, so have extras rolled up and available for guests. Towels can also double as tablecloths for your outdoor party! Set out “sunny essentials,” such as travel-size bottles of sunblock and plastic sunglasses. We labeled these with simple tags made out of scrapbooking paper. Slip the sunglasses into white favor boxes tied with colorful ribbon for a stylish takeaway. Create easy centerpieces using blue-glass or painted Mason jars. To make, spray-paint jars the color of your choice (this may require two or three coats to get an even finish). To create multicolored stripes, first spray-paint the jar white or a light color, then spray or hand-paint each section by taping off the other sections. Fill jars with white hydrangeas and daisies…

ENTRÉE win it! Visit celebratemag.com to enter to win a basket full of Nashville goodies. Trey, a Nashville native, had a dream of owning a restaurant with a Southernfarm- focused menu. And in 2013, it came true. The concept is to buy only from the United States and source a majority of the goods from the South, primarily within the community and surrounding cities. The menu is ever-changing, but you’ll always find Southern dishes that have Trey’s creative spin, such as pimiento cheese beignets and crispy sweet and sour pig ears. His approach is simple: “Great ingredients make great food. Don't take shortcuts, and be true to your palate.” GRILLED SWEET TEA QUAIL WITH CORNBREAD SUCCOTASH Makes 4 servings Prep: 30 minutes Chill: 48 hours Stand: 30 minutes Grill: 6…

Whether it is by cruise ship, car, or plane, make sure your adventure takes you inland to experience some of the areas and attractions the locals treasure. TALK OF TALKEETNA If you are staying in Anchorage while in Alaska, take a day or two to visit Talkeetna–at the base of North America’s tallest peak, Mt. McKinley. The favorite way to journey to this historic village is via the Alaska Railroad. The threehour guided ride puts you deep within the beautiful scenery of Alaska. Dine onboard, and then sit back and relax until you arrive. While in this quaint area, say hello to the mayor, whom you may see roaming around. You’ll have to look down, though, because Mayor Stubbs is a cat. He is quite the politician, always posing for…