Housewarming Gift Ideas for Spring

Host/Hostess gifts can sometimes be a challenge to think up.  Wine is always an easy go to, but lately I have grown tired of being so predictable and have been on a search for great gift ideas.  Here are a few of my favorite housewarming gifts for spring.

Agate Coasters

When hosting a party, I always make it a point to have my coasters strategically placed around the house and in abundance.  As a hostess or host, you are always wanting protect your home from accidents (ex. water rings on wood surfaces), so it's important to set your guests up for success and keep coasters easily accessible.  Why not have chic and unique coasters, like these agate coasters from West Elm?!?  These coasters come in a variety of colors that can definitely add a spring-like feel to any space and a personalized touch to your gift by choosing a color that may work best with your hostess/host's room decor. 

A Beautiful Book

Depending on your hostess or host's interest, a really well done coffee table book or cookbook can be a great gift.  A few of my favorites include: Scalamandre Haute Decor, Beauty at Home, Plenty More, Houses of Veranda and Ad Hoc at Home.  

A Fragrant Candle

Candles are a staple in my home.  Each room has at least one (and sometimes more than one) candle with its own unique scent.  Fragrant candles are a great addition to your coffee table, bedroom and of course the bathroom!  There are so many deliciously fragrant candles on the market, you really can't go wrong gifting your host/hostess with a beautiful candle.  If you are concerned about selecting the right scent, do a little research on your host/hostess to figure out their scent preferences.  If you aren't inclined to do that, here are a few that I would highly recommend:  Nest Fragrances Blue Garden, Williams-Sonoma Vert Frais, Voluspa French Cade & Lavender, NEST Fragrances Luxury Mini Votive Set, Jo Malone Wood Sage & Sea Salt. 

A Set of Gourmet Chutneys or Jams

When I am hosting guests, especially overnight, there is nothing I love more than to receive a set of delicious and unique chutneys or jams.  Why?  Because I can use them right away!  Chutneys make a great addition to any cheeseboard and jam is a must have when I am hosting guests for breakfast.  For chutney, I am a huge fan of the Virginia Chutney Company's entire line of products, as you may or may not have noticed from their regular appearance in my cheesescapes.  For jam, I am really loving the Eat This jam company (they were also mentioned as one of Oprah's Favorite things this past December).  These jams have very unique flavor combinations that work beautifully together and can be paired with both savory and sweet foods.  Both the chutneys and jams come in very unique flavors and beautiful packaging, making them ideal housewarming gifts.  *I recommend gifting a set of 3 chutneys or jams.*

My belief is that a housewarming gift should be somewhat unique but also practical.  A pretty coffee table book or set of fancy jams might not be something that the gift recipient would buy for themselves, but they would certainly use and enjoy if they were gifted with these items.  Whatever you decide to bring, as long as it's a thoughtful gift your host/hostess will be appreciative. 

Chinoiserie-Inspired Tablescape

If there is one thing I love in terms of decor, it's a splash of chinoiserie.  Around my house I have all sorts of little chinoiserie touches like my foo dogs on the dining room window sill, my giant ginger jar in the bedroom and my beautiful tea jars in the bathroom.  The colors, patterns and styles associated with chinoiserie decor add such fabulous and unique dimension to the overall aesthetic of my home.  The hardest part of incorporating this particular style of decor into my home has been to refrain from oversaturating my house in chinoiserie, because I love it so much and could very easily get carried away.  

Recently Williams-Sonoma debuted a new collection of dinnerware in honor of the Chinese New Year called the New Moon Collection.  Of course the moment I laid eyes on the collection I fell in love with every piece!  In an effort to avoid getting carried away and oversaturating my table (just like my rule for home decor), I kept my purchase to a single set of the New Moon accent plates.  Why the accent plates over the other pieces?  These New Moon accent plates are colorful, fun and could certainly transform my table into a beautiful and unique setting.  

For this tablescape- I referenced the colors used on the New Moon plates to figure out the best accent colors to incorporate into this table design.  For the setting, I chose to go start with these navy blue quilted placemats (similar here).  I framed my everyday dishes with my new rattan chargers from World Market.  This provided a very neutral foundation to ensure that my accent plates would pop.  The gold rim on the accent plates made it an easy decision to use brass napkin rings (which also gave my classic white napkins a little luster). In addition, the gold tray was a natural fit for the base of the centerpiece.  

For the flowers- I was all about the yellow freesias.  Freesias are in abundance at the store right now and I love their intensely colored stems and petals.  To finish off the centerpiece, I situated my rock-cut crystal votives around the base of the flower vase.  Votives are a great way to enhance the ambiance at your dining table (and a favorite table accessory of mine).  For drinkware- I opted for my highball glasses for water, bordeaux glasses and champagne coupes (why not have a little bubbly at your next dinner party?).   

This might be one of my favorite tablescapes for two reasons.  The first reason being, I love chinoiserie.  The second reason is that I was able to create an entirely new look for my table with the addition of only two new accessories (accent plates and fresh flowers).  I think I am most amazed to see how the slightest change can give a tabletop aesthetic a completely new look.  I hope this tablescape has inspired you to explore the possibilities for tableware that you might already own. It certainly has inspired me!

Preparing for Houseguests

I really enjoy having company come and stay at my home overnight.  It's fun for me to share my home and I love having the opportunity spend more than just a few hours with some of my friends and family who I may not see very often.  When prepping for any houseguest, I have a mental checklist that I usually go through to ensure that I am prepped and ready for my guests arrival.  Going beyond cleaning the house and putting out fresh flowers, this checklist helps to ensure that my guests are made to feel comfortable during their stay at my home.  

Water

One of the first things I do to prepare for a houseguest is set up a water station by their bedside.  I always get that parched feeling in the middle of the night and keep water at my bedside, so why wouldn't I provide this amenity to my guest?  I like to put out a large bottle of sparkling water with either 1 or 2 glasses (on coasters) depending on the number of guests in the room.  If you would prefer to put out flat water, using a water carafe is always a great form of presentation and can save on tabletop space. 

Towels

Hygienically speaking, just like razor blades and tooth brushes, towels are one of those personal care items that should never be shared.  Your guest should not have to fumble around the bathroom to find a towel to use when washing his/her face or a wash cloth when bathing.  I like to lay a set of towels at the foot of my guest's bed prior to their arrival.  For a male guest, I will lay out a bath towel, hand towel and wash cloth.  If I am hosting a  female guest I will lay out 2 bath towels (one to dry her hair), a hand towel and a wash cloth. 

Coffee

Coffee is very personal to each individual.  We all have our preferences for how we take our coffee and/or tea in the morning and your guest is no exception.  When possible, I will try to get in contact with my guest prior to their arrival to find out how they take their coffee in the morning.  Having the right sweeteners and creamers on hand for your guests adds a very thoughtful touch that will help your guests to feel more comfortable.  

Food

In addition to asking my guests prior to their arrival about their coffee preferences, I will also ask about any dietary restrictions and favorite foods.  Since most of my guests typically arrive after work, I like to have enough food for an impromptu cocktail hour (see my post on Cocktail Party Preparedness - Food & Beverage).  In addition, I also like to have a few breakfast items on hand.   Some of my favorite breakfast staples to serve my guests include Ina Garten's Sour Cream Coffee Cake, Perfectly Perfect French Toast and/or my Sun-Dried Tomato, Feta and Wilted Kale Frittata.

"Mi Casa es Su Casa"

This is a mantra I learned from watching my mom host houseguests over the years and I think it is great!  The goal of hosting houseguests is always to make them feel welcome and to have an enjoyable stay.  If at the onset you tell your guest "mi casa es su casa" (my house is your house…meaning "make yourself at home") and to feel free to open the refrigerator, use the television, laundry, etc..whatever.  You will instantly create a more welcoming and comfortable environment for your guests to feel at home in your home.  

There are plenty of great resources available to aid you in preparing for your houseguests (like these checklists from Real Simple and Martha Stewart).  It's easy to get carried away with preparations, but I always make a point a reigning myself in and keeping my preparations reasonable.  The last thing my guests want is to be greeted by a tired and stressed out hostess, so I have found that sticking to my own checklist has been the best way to ensuring that my guests are comfortable and I am not completely exhausted before they even arrive!

Sharing a Different Perspective on Wine Glasses

My husband and I enjoy indulging in the occasional glass of wine after work.  Of course I usually am not able to show any restraint and find myself "scaping" a setting even when its just two glasses of wine and a bowl of nuts!  I like to mix up the stemware and use different cocktail napkins depending on my mood and/or time of year.  Among my favorite sets of wine glasses to use would have to be my Riedel Bordeaux Crystal Wine Glasses.   They are so delicate, stately and personally I think they make the wine taste even better!  

Unfortunately I have found that there is a drawback to using my nice stemware…the cleaning!  At the end of the night after a glass wine or two, the last thing I want to do is head over to the sink and start hand-washing glasses.  Fancy glasses can be quite fragile and my husband and I have both been at fault for more glass casualties than I care to count.  We even had to implement a fancy glass washing rule- If you have been drinking then you need to refrain from glass washing until morning (along the lines of don't drink and drive…don't drink and wash).  

While our stemware washing rule is effective, I have also found a stemware alternative- Dishwasher Safe Wine Glasses!  There are some really great wine glasses available in stores that look very high end and are actually made of glass.  Unless you are holding the glass, discerning between the glass vs. crystal isn't easy to do, so why not go for glass?  You can still have the same look and not have to worry about hand washing at the end of an evening.  I am particularly fond of World Market's bordeaux and chardonnay glasses.  I also love these Schott Zwiesel Cabernet Wine Glasses and Pure Sauvignon Blanc Wine Glasses.    

Formal hosting and special occasions will always be reason enough for me to pull out my nice stemware.  However, I must say that having a set of dishwasher safe wine glasses to use on a random week night is certainly something I appreciate.  Above I have posted pictures of my favorite Riedel Crystal Glasses (approx. $25/glass) and the World Market glass equivalent (approx. $5.99/glass…which I also love).  Can you tell the difference?

Hosting an Elegant Winter Cocktail Party

This party idea was inspired by the newest addition to my cheeseboard collection.  I recently found this fabulous new marble cheese board with glass dome at Crate & Barrel, and decided that it only seemed fitting to take it for a test drive (aka host a cocktail party) ASAP!  

My goal with this look was to keep everything sleek and sophisticated.  I kept the color palette to a minimum by only using black, white, gray and silver table accessories.  I wanted to have a low but full floral arrangement, so I decided to go with white hydrangeas in a low glass cylinder vase.  Instead of using a table runner, I lined up 3 of my square gray croc embossed placemats (similar to these). I also chose to accessorize my new cheese board with my simple but modern CB2 cheese knives. 

Unlike my previous cheesescapes, I kept this board fairly minimal.  The reason for this approach was two fold.  First, the actual surface area is generous but not overly abundant.  Adding in my cheesescape extras (herbs, fruits, etc.) would have created a cluttered/cramped look.  The second reason (really the main reason) being that I did not want to take away from the fabulous dome!  The dome is such a unique and sophisticated addition to this board, so I wanted to make sure that it remained the focal point.  

Cheeses for this board included: Cypress Grove Midnight Moon (a personal favorite), Aged Cheddar with Carmelized Onions and a classic Bucheron.  Stonewall Kitchen's Old Farmhouse Chutney accompanied these three cheeses under the dome.  All nuts, charcuterie, fruits and crackers were served along side the cheeseboard in both silver and glass bowls.  

This party was so much fun and I loved that my new cheeseboard forced me to go outside of my comfort zone.  In the past I would have thought to only include all cheese accoutrements directly on the cheeseboard, because that always seemed to be most practical.  This time I was forced to think outside of the box to find a functional yet aesthetically pleasing way to include everything.  All said and done, I would have to say "mission accomplished!"