Stylish Easter Decorating Ideas Using Pantone's Color of the Year: Radiant Orchid

Entertaining for Easter?  Your decor does not have to be over the top or cheesy with the typical Easter fixings.  Here are a couple of ideas to help get you started towards a stylish Easter party.

1. Pick a color theme.  This year Pantone's color of the year is radiant orchid, a delicate pastel hue that is a perfect color theme for Easter. A table linen in this color in a lighter shade and your accessories such as napkins, napkin holders or plates in fuscia, purple or pink would match perfectly and look elegant.

2. Less is more.  Entertaining can be overwhelming, and when it comes dishes, a centerpiece and all the essentials needed at the dinner table where do you start!? Begin with your china. Instead of having your fine china displayed only in your china cabinet, display it for special occasions like this and accentuate it with a beautiful floral centerpiece complemented by the radiant orchid color theme.  Adding a simple, elegant candelabra adds to the elegance, along with simple Easter themed napkins, egg cup holders, serving dishes adds a touch of style.

Planning a party can be stressful. Make it easier by picking a theme and a color and sticking to the basics of keeping it simple, but attending to the special details such as napkin rings, name cards and other personal touches help in making your party like it took weeks to plan.  These little things add a unique touch to your party and keeps it stylish. 

St. Patrick's Day: Match Your Beer and Food

St. Patrick's Day preparations are here and it's time to plan on pairing your favorite Irish beer with traditional Irish meals.  Irish reds to rich, dark stouts here are some suggestions to complement your Irish meal and make your party a success!

Stout

Irish stouts like Guinness and Murphy's are dark, rich in flavor. Many do not know that they are surprisingly light and do not have as much calories as people think.  Their flavor is predominantly coffee like, making them a perfect pair with chocolate desserts.  You can also use the beer as an ingredient in your Guinness chocolate cake.  No only do these stouts taste great with dessert, but they also go well with oysters and fish 'n chips.

Red Ale

Irish reds like Smithwick's and Killian's Red Irish are medium-bodied beers.  These beers have a distinct caramel flavor and get their color from the roasted barley that is added at the end of the brewing process.  Their balance of sweetness and bitterness are a perfect paring with corned beef and cabbage and Shepherd's Pie. The saltiness in this St. Patrick's Day staple is counterbalanced by the sweet, caramel flavor of these red ales.  

Lager

Lagers are light and refreshing beer and Harp's and Rogue Irish Lager have the perfect touch of carbonation. Served cold, but not too cold to lose its flavor, lagers should be dry, a little bitter, flowery and bready in flavor. This unique mix of flavors make lagers an ideal ingredient for Irish soda bread.  

Serve all three types of beer at your party and complement them with the appropriate food pairing and you are sure to bring out the flavors of the beer and the meal.  Taking that extra step to perfectly match your meal and drinks, will make your St. Patrick's Day stylish!  Erin go braugh!