Entertaining at Home presents gatherings in the homes of leading tastemakers from the worlds of interior design, architecture, culinary arts, and society--including Lynn Wyatt, Suzanne Kasler, and Julia Reed, among others--who show readers how best to entertain with flair and finesse. Leading party aficionados share their successful strategies for delighting family and friends, offering their personal viewpoints and providing behind-the-scenes details that go into creating memorable occasions. They offer their approaches to arranging flowers, setting the table, selecting menus, stocking the pantry, compiling killer playlists, and purchasing the perfect hostess gift. Included are a variety of easy-to-master delectable recipes, such as bacon-wrapped pretzels, seafood chowder, spicy gazpacho, and refreshing sangrias. From a summer social in New Orleans and a lively luncheon in Texas to a lavish winter smorgasbord holiday dinner in Washington, D.C., the hosts offer a myriad of inspirational ideas. Whether it's an elegant table set with Leontine Linens or Pinot Grigio served in colorful cups and paired with potato chips and caviar, this book is a visual trove of festive get-togethers in beautiful residences. Lavishly photographed, it is the essential new go-to entertaining guide

Menus and anecdotes give away one man’s secrets for entertaining in style. Steven Stolman has a gregarious personality. He loves to entertain: cocktail parties in Palm Beach, football game-day gatherings in Wisconsin, family Passover Sedars in Connecticut, and dinner parties in his New York apartment. “Of all our friends, we have the smallest places, yet we seem to do more entertaining than anyone.” It’s about the people and the food, he says. He also loves old community and church cookbooks from the 1950s to the ’70s. And these are his inspirations for party food: dips and cheese spreads with crackers, family recipes for delicious roasts, breakfast casseroles, and desserts. What Stolman confesses is that he hates hostess gifts and isn’t afraid to say so. He advises women not to take a purse to a party and just “tuck it behind here” to avoid holding it—thanks for ruining my furniture arrangement! He advises about the importance of having silver serving pieces and how to dress for a cocktail party or a dinner party (at least try!). And he confesses that even when he has hired servers to pass hors d’oeuvres, he can’t help but carry a tray around himself! This book will give any novice party host ideas and confidence, and it will inspire seasoned hosts to simplify and enjoy the party. Steven Stolman is the author of 40 Years of Fabulous and Scalamandré: Haute Décor. He divides his time among homes in Palm Beach, New York, and Milwaukee.

An inspiring visual guide to a richer life. “If there’s a thinker to steal from, it’s Jessica Hagy.”—Austin Kleon, author of Steal Like an Artist and Newspaper Blackout How to Be Interesting is passionate, positive, down-to-earth, and irrepressibly upbeat, combining fresh and pithy life lessons, often just a sentence or two, with deceptively simple diagrams and graphs. Each of the book's more than 100 spreads will nudge readers a little bit further out of their comfort zones and into a place where suddenly everything is possible. It’s about taking chance—but also about taking daily vacations. About being childlike, not childish. It’s about ideas, creativity, risk. It’s about trusting your talents and doing only what you want—but having the courage to get lost and see where the path leads. Because it’s what you don’t know that’s interesting.

Dinner parties are back. Cocktail parties are back. Cigars and martinis are back. Before you know it, even pillbox hats may be back! But some things have changed forever. There was a time when celebration meant days of planning, days of cooking, and days of recuperation. But no more! Today, the very thought of preparing one of those sumptuous multicourse extravaganzas has become no more than a fleeting nightmare. For special events, however, there is still nothing quite so welcome as a home-cooked meal. InEntertaining 101,mother and daughter Linda West Eckhardt and Katherine West DeFoyd provide all the information anyone will need to throw a terrific party at home. Each of the recipes has been tested not only by the authors but also by less experienced cooks. Each one has been simplified to eliminate all unnecessary steps. Each menu is accompanied by a carefully worked-out timetable so that every dish will be ready when it should be. And no menu requires more than an hour's preparation time in the kitchen, although some dishes may cook longer unattended--while you set the table or enjoy a cocktail with your guests. The fifty-two seasonal menus--from a Winter Solstice Formal Sage Chicken Dinner to a Summer Supper from the Farmer's Market--will allow anyone to entertain "with style and grace" every week of the year. Each menu includes wine suggestions and useful tips for serving and decorating (although the authors emphasize that there are no absolute rights or wrongs). This may not be the age of Aquarius, but it is certainly the age of liberation--in the kitchen as well as everywhere else.

Ideal for early years to KS1 children who are learning at home. Daisy Upton has two little kids. She loves them - but they drive her mad. So, to try and keep her sanity she started to come up with quick, easy games using stuff from around the house. And @FiveMinuteMum was born. In her first book, she has collected 150+ games that take 5 minutes to set up & 5 minutes to tidy up. From pasta posting to alphabet knock down, it's a recipe book for guilt free parenting! And as Daisy was a teaching assistant, your little ones will be learning while they play! What could be better? GIVE ME FIVE is the perfect companion for anyone who wants five minutes peace. Also available: Five Minute Mum: Time For School Five Minute Mum: On the Go "I love Five Minute Mum. She's managed to come up with a huge array of activities for kids that are fun and educational yet don't require an Art degree or Diploma in Patience to execute."Sarah Turner, aka Unmumsy Mum

Need a break . . . now? Horizontal Parenting offers 50 hilarious and effective activities designed to entertain kids while you lie down. Children are exhausting! In the marathon of modern parenting, everyone needs a break—just 10 precious minutes to rest your body and tune out the chaos. Enter Horizontal Parenting, the super-simple parenting hack for everyone, everywhere. With creative and practical advice for overworked parents and caretakers who "just need a minute," this book includes 50 fun, effective, and hilarious games to play with toddlers and children while lying down. Activities include: • What's on My Butt • Hide and Seek-ish • Don't Wake the Giant • Railroad to Relaxation • And many more! Relax and let your little ones release some energy while you catch your breath (and maybe a few even a few z's). All you need is a comfortable surface, a few household items, and your child's imagination, and you too can master the sanity-saving art of horizontal parenting. • 50 activities to keep your kids engaged and keep you lying down • Entertaining ideas for children and toddlers • No endless supply lists, screens, or batteries needed • Perfect for long days at home • Great gift for new (or seasoned!) parents Perfect for: parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and caretakers of kids ages 2+