Featured...Al Fresco Dining on Style Me Pretty

A bit ago we decided to have some friends over for a dinner party...but since Im inherently an event designer, I can never to just a simple dinner party (actually, this was pretty simple for me). I wanted something interactive, not that i dont love cooking an meal and then ending up in the kitchen half the night. I was looking forward to spending an evening with friends, so I decided to do a build-you-own-pizza night, have several local artisan cheeses and meats, and make my own dough and sauce.

I wanted the evening to be light and carefree, enjoying the last bits of warm summer evening before the fall chill kicks in.

For decor, I have always loved the look of candle wax dripping...clearly having been lit over and over in the same ritual. I created the look with empty wine bottles and candles, letting the wax trickle down the sides.

There is a little French restaurant here locally in San Diego (Kensington to be precise) called Bleu Boheme; a quaint place, tucked into a corner building, with chalkboard walls with hand lettered and painted menus, reclaimed wood floors, exposed stone walls, and silver candlesticks that have been burning candles in their same position for years. The wax drips and puddles on the tables, off the edges. There is just something so blissfully romantic to it all...something I just cant quite put my finger on. Anyhow, I digress.

I brought out a stack of my vintage china plates, antique flatware and linen napkins. I love the look of stacked and mismatched china, with their little patterns and colors peeking out around the edges. I never can pick a favorite...