Hosting a Wine Tasting Party

Having your own wine tasting party can be a huge amount of fun and they are easy to set up. All you need are some good friends, a selection of wines, lots of glasses, some appetizers to nibble on and something for everyone to write on. A wine bar is a great item to have handy.

Try to keep your wines in the same range as far as type (red, white, chardonnay...) and offer 5 or so wines to taste, this is so you are comparing like against like wines.

You won't need one bottle person, remember you're tasting wines here and yes, a fair amount of wine will be consumed, it certainly won't be copious quantities. If you have 10 people coming, 8 bottles of wines (2 per type) should be more than enough.

The bottles should be covered so only the necks are within view, this way it is truly a blind test. Mark each bottle with a number or letter so it can be referenced in the wine tasting notes. Serve the wines at a consistent temperature to make the tasting fair.

Have water and crackers available to clear the palate. You will be either be pouring the wines into separate glasses or taste the wines in order by letting everyone reuse their glass. There is no wrong way to do this.

Let everyone keep notes and give people some pointers to keep notes on such as the color of the wine, how it looks in the glass. Next is taste - reading the descriptions can be a fun time all on its own. Forget professional terms, you're here to have fun. If the wine tastes like a dead cat - say so. Texture of the wine is another item to write down. Is it full bodies or thin and watery?

Having a wine tasting is a fun way to gather up your friends and who knows? You might just start a tradition.
 posted by Allure Furniture Designs   

Liven Your Room with Plants

Sometimes when you have the window treatments done just right, your upholstery looks fabulous. You have area rugs and accent pieces and yet something just doesn't seem right in your room. Try adding some greenery to your decor.

You will have two choices with plants in your room. If you have low lighting or a decidedly brown thumb you will probably want to consider adding high quality silk plants to your decor. If you haven't seen silk plants lately, they are very different from the pieces of cut fabric that was supposed to resemble plants. The silk plants of today are made from silk and other material mixtures and unless you actually feel the leaves, it's very hard to tell what is a real plant and what is not.

If you're blessed with good lighting in your room and a thumb that is even tinted green, you can have some nice greenery growing in your room. The manner in which you display your plants is up to you.

A wrought iron shelf with a swirling ivy hanging down looks fabulous when placed under a favorite artwork hanging on the wall. If you have a corner that just needs "something"; try placing a tall skinny plant stand in the corner with a bushy fern or dramatic flowing plant. Tall sturdy bamboo is not only elegant and needs little space, it is also rumored to bring luck! Try adding small delicate pots of violets or other small flowers around a table with a lamp to add a cozy feel to your room.

No matter if you choose to go with a silk arrangement or real plants, you can't go wrong adding them to your decor.
 posted by Allure Furniture Designs   

Make the Mood with Lighting

If you want to create a certain mood for your room, you don't have to completely redecorate; you can do it all by just changing your lighting scheme.

Going for a cozy, conversational feel for a gathering in your living room? Try switching out your table lamps with some fun accent lamps with soft bulbs to create a warm feeling in your room.

Another option if you have a small space but need extra lighting is to use floor lamps. They are usually tall and slender on a base that will fit nicely in a corner. You can further extend the light put out by a floor lamp by placing a mirror at an angle on each side in a corner and it will catch the light and project it outward in addition, the mirrors will create an illusion of a larger room.

Sconce and wall lamps look fantastic when paired alongside of a favorite artwork or over a sculpture piece. Wall lamps used to highlight room accents normally have brighter bulbs to draw attention to the piece they are highlighting.

If you're ready for a real change in your room, add a hanging lamp. They take up zero floor or wall space and make use of your 5th wall (your ceiling). You can get a cool hanging crocodile lamp that will add an exotic air to any room. Depending on the mood you wish to create - keep it soft or brighten it up - depends on the wattage of bulb you use.
 posted by Allure Furniture Designs   

Hope Chest Making a Comeback

A hope chest was used early in the history of our country for girls who "hoped" for marriage. Over the course of a girl's young life she would collect things she would need later in her life as a married woman. The chest would also include items handed down through generations of women in the family.

Pressed flowers from times past, a century old family bible, a wedding veil that belonged to a grandmother or great grandmother are all items that can be found in a hope chest.

If you have a daughter, you can make her a modern hope chest that will be fun to add to over the years. Add your wedding dress to her hope chest when she's older as something she can look forward to wearing. Many families have veils that they hand down from generation to generations. Add beading or pearls and pass it on to your daughter. Traditionally, girls would spend their early years making hand embroidered linens to put in their hope chests for use in their married life.

You can make bathroom towels, kitchen towels and other special items to hang in her new home when she's ready to take the plunge. Family photographs, especially old ones are other good items to add.

The baby blanket your daughter was brought home from the hospital in or the gown she was christened in make great additions to a hope chest. And those are just a few ideas. Ask your daughter if she'd like a hope chest, if the answer is yes - tell her about the history and find out what items she'd like to have in it. Planning the future is fun!
 posted by Allure Furniture Designs   

Family Game Night

Studies have shown that families who take the time to devote two nights a month to each other have a lower incidence of teenage criminal activity, better communication and their kids scored consistently higher on aptitude tests.

When Mom and Dad work, the kids are involved in soccer, girl scouts and a host of extracurricular activities; it can be inviting to literally collapse in your chair each night and unwind from the day. Most people do this unwinding in front of hours of television watching. The kids might unwind by surfing the internet or playing video games. All of these solitary activities are fine on their own, but humans are by nature social creatures and need input from one another.

Make two nights a month a family night. Play games together, cook a special meal and just talk, bust out the baby albums for the kids and remember when they were so small. It can be great fun and a real bonding experience for the whole family.

A Wilmington Game table with four chairs will allow everyone to gather around and enjoy a fun game of chess, backgammon and some families play card games in exchange for pennies or chores. Chore poker is where different members of the house play for chores they want to get rid of, such as cleaning the cat box or bathroom detail. The loser of the hand assumes the chores - it can be fun seeing what your family comes up with to bet.

Make time to reconnect with your family - you'll find family time is naturally stress reducing and relaxing and the bonds you'll strengthen will last a lifetime.
 posted by Allure Furniture Designs