Hostess with the Mostess™

1. Today at GlamDish: Whim by Cynthia Rowley (highlighting some of the stylish outdoor entertaining pieces from Rowley’s new Beach, Picnic, and Party collections at Target)

2. Today at Simply Stated: Celebrations: May Flowers for the Table (dinnerware, melamine, table linens, and more - all featuring fun floral motifs for spring & summer entertaining)

These ultra-contemporary tea towels by tikoli™ will add a splash of modern design to your kitchen in a snap! Influenced by Japanese prints and mid-century modern design, and printed on 100% cotton. $8.50 each at tikoli.com

2JANE is a very cool & unique online shop that features beautiful, imported home decor & accessories. At 2JANE , you’ll find wonderful pieces that are artful and inspired , yet practical at the same time… the perfect mix of fashion + function!

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Okay…get ready to feast your eyes on a truly amazing Giveaway package from chic and and eco-savvy online shop: Zanisa . Zanisa carries a wonderful array of contemporary gifts, home decor, accessories and jewelry, and focuses on items that are handmade, natural, recycled, organic, fairly traded and sustainable. Added bonus: Zanisa’s website is just as stylish and functional as the products they carry!

For The Ultimate Holiday Entertaining Giveaway , Zanisa is offering up a truly fantastic prize package valued at over $370 and filled with loads of great stuff! Let’s start with what’s pictured in the image above:

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Modern-Twist is definitely a company after our own heart at HWTM, which might be obvious by the brand name alone…but will be even more obvious once you check out their fabulously contemporary entertaining products! The silkscreened silicone-based placemats, table runners, coasters, and Vinotagz are not only well-designed with a funky, yet minimalist feel - but you can actually write on all of them with ballpoint pen (!), then wipe the markings off later…pretty cool! So go ahead and write your guests’s names on the products or doodle to your heart’s desire…
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I’m loving the modern bird pattern and fun colors in this cute bird and polka dot apron, coordinating fabric coaster set and bright lime floral bird pot holder - all available in the Dapper Duds etsy shop…adorable!

Another super-cute pot holder design with a fantastic color combo…

Eco-friendly online shop VivaTerra always has ultra-chic entertaining finds, but those finds are even better when they’re on sale! A few favorites from the current clearance rack:

{clockwise from top left}
Slate Tray & Petal Servers - were $49-$69, now $19-$27
Blue Spiral Tablecloth - was $118, now $44
Hand-formed Dipping Set - was $65, now $26
Kiri Wood Footed Trays (set of 3) - were $79, now $54
Sol Carafe (lime or tangerine) - was $29, now $20

With hot July days still in full-swing, it seems crazy to already be talking about Fall, but the new fall cb2 catalog just arrived and these fantastic oha placemats just had to be shared! Pictured here in white/green and black/white for $3.95 each.

For a very pretty table, pair them with cb2’s super-slick cayman dinnerware and ultra-versatile white square dinnerware. Very modern-zen!

Susie from Rock Scissor Paper sent me an email on Friday with some very good news: the brand-new Home Collection from RSP is now available! I’ve been anticipating the arrival of this new line ever since Grace posted some sneak-peek snapshots from their tradeshow booth a few months back – and now that everything is here – the new problem is that I want it all! I have a feeling that hip hostesses everywhere will be digging these ultra-modern aprons…

…and drink coasters…

…and tea towels!

The Inspiration
I’m pasting part of Susie’s email below - in which she talks about what inspired herself and sister Heidi to create this new textile collection - because I thought you might enjoy it as much as I did:

“I just wanted let you know that Heidi & I just listed our new kitchen aprons, tea towels & coasters on to our site. This is our first foray into textile design and we are so excited about this collection!

Our father was a textile designer and manufacturer in the 1960’s-80’s. His specialty was knit fabrics in prints. He made his fortune (a very small one) on double knit fabrics in the 70’s. You know the fabric of the infamous leisure suit. He designed double knits to look like denim, in 70’s op-art prints and gingham to name a few. You can only imagine what our childhood wardrobes looked like when our Mom made our clothes from our Dad’s fabric!

Our father is no longer alive, but he definitely was there in spirit when we were designing this line!”

Last but not least, in celebration of the new home collection, Rock Scissor Paper is running a special deal where you get a surprise goody bag filled with assorted RSP products when you spend $40 or more between July 7 - 20th! With all the cool stuff at RSP, I’m pretty sure these goody bags will be good

Summer entertaining usually brings lots of bright colors, flowers, and modern floral prints - but chances are that most guys won’t appreciate how gorgeous those fuschia plates look with the orange trellis cocktail napkins nearly as much as the girls do. So if you’re looking for a tabletop design for an upcoming Father’s Day dinner or graduation party that’s summery and festive but not overly girlie - here’s a color palette from cb2.com that would work nicely: bright blues & greens toned down with neutrals like charcoal, ebony & white.

{pictured above} striped lounge runner , palette dinnerware in blue and green, round rope placemats , straight-sided candleholder , taper wine glass , mudra placecard holders , and fresco vase in storm.