Good guests bring good gifts – especially if you’re invited for a summer weekend and will be enjoying the hospitality of friends for several days. You want to be invited back, don’t you? So here is a list of hostess gifts in varying price ranges to put a smile on the face of even the most beleaguered we’ve-had-guests-every-weekend-this-summer hosts. Everyone loves a good beach candle. Shop now If you don’t have room to pack a gift, send something wonderful ahead […]
We social secretaries stick together, and whenever there’s a new White House Social Secretary, we all want to meet her, give lots of unasked-for advice, and offer our support. The newest White House Social Secretary, Deesha Dyer, is an extraordinary woman who won’t need help because she’s already accomplished so much in her young life. I recently threw a small luncheon in her honor to introduce her to other Washingtonians whose paths she is likely to cross in her work, […]
Serves: 6 Prep time: 1 hour and a half Note: if you don’t have much time, a white cake mix is a pretty good substitute for making a Victoria sponge from scratch Pastry Cream Makes 2-3 tablespoons of pastry cream
This is summertime in a cake, a cornucopia of fresh berries (and sugar plums) from the farmer’s market: blueberries, strawberries, gooseberries, currants, cherries, sour cherries, sugar plums, and black raspberries. Black raspberries! I was so excited to find them at the market. They’re my favorite berry and very different from a blackberry. If you have the chance to try some, don’t hesitate because they have a short growing season. I used these fruits on a Victoria sponge, with some strawberry […]
This is a subject that makes people nervous, because nobody wants to invite friends over and then worry about whether or not they set the table properly – or, worse, that they might use the wrong fork or bread plate at an important dinner and embarrass themselves. Like it or not, table manners are a reflection of one’s education, and people can be judgmental about it. There’s no need to memorize a long list of arcane rules; good manners are […]
