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Easter Egg Cakes As Place Cards

  It is easy to give an individual look to a table setting by placing monogrammed Easter egg cakes on each plate.  It not only looks special but dessert is easy to serve!  When there are the usual last minute details to take care of right before dinner is served, it is good to know

Can a DQ Cake Look Elegant on a Formal Table Setting? Yes!

I wanted to use a Dairy Queen cake as part of a formal table setting but wasn’t sure if it would have the right look.  I called the manager, Michael Short, at the Dairy Queen in Apple Valley and explained what I was looking for: an elegant cake that didn’t look too busy and would

An Easter Table Setting: Roses, Mousse, and Candy

The white chocolate mousse turns up again and again on our tables because guests love the dessert and it can be made in advance.  I have noticed the cloth napkins are seldom used; however, they look so nice that I almost always put them on the table.   Then I add paper napkins because guests

Centerpiece: Using Easter Egg Candles & Flowers

  The Easter centerpiece was easy to put together by placing the egg candles in votive candle holders and then on a cupcake stand.  I didn’t light them, though! Keeping the cellophane on the candles adds a nice shine. Adding little bits of the fresh flower, Baby’s Breath, easily fills in spaces on the arrangement.  

It was the 1960s and music was blaring from the Zenith Hi-Fi…

It was the 1960s and music was blaring from the Zenith Hi-Fi.  My parents were having another party! It might have been their party, but it was sheer entertainment for us children to watch them get ready before the doorbell rang.  The recreation room was decorated with balloons and crepe paper (it sounds kind of

Christmas Centerpiece: To Add or Not to Add Lights

Which centerpiece photo do you prefer: the one with lights or the one without lights?  The LED lights add a brightness to the table; however, I think they look the best at night because the strings really stand out during the day.  Next year, I am going to spend more time working with them because I

White Chocolate Mousse: A Decorative Dessert

1 & 1/2 packages (4 oz. each) of Baker’s White Chocolate Squares 1 & 1/2 cups whipping cream, divided A few drops of Madagascar Bourbon vanilla Melt chocolate squares in 1/4 cup whipping cream until melted Cool for 20 minutes Beat remaining whipping cream in medium-sized bowl until soft peaks form (Do not overbeat) Add

Nordic Table Settings on Display at the American Swedish Institute

If you are interested in holiday traditions and table settings as much as I am this exhibit is one you won’t want to miss!  I spoke with Karen R. Nelson, Marketing & Communications Manager at ASI, and she explained that along with the Jewish community five Nordic countries are featured: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and

A New England Clambake in Minnesota

When my cousins from Boston called the night before their arrival to say they wanted to have a clambake, I never dreamed they were going to bring live lobsters on the plane with them!  Live lobsters!  I didn’t even know they could do that, but after obtaining the OK from the airlines, the lobsters arrived

Using Gift Wrap as Table Runners at Bachman’s

Dan Varey, Designer, and Paul Sternberg, Stylist, from Bachman’s worked with layering and colors to create an extremely festive table setting.   Their idea to use gift wrap on the table was really resourceful!  The table setting began with a white tablecloth and then two different lengths of gift wrap.  A fabric runner was placed on