Infusing grandeur into otherwise drab Mondays with five things/ideas/events for the week:

I.  A few weeks ago, I posted about my banana leaf obsession and the prints I ordered for my foyer. Then I changed my mind, gave the prints to a friend as a housewarming gift, and painted my foyer black - opting for gold and neon pink accents in lieu of green. Still craving the Beverly Hills Martinique aesthetic and realizing that my dining room chairs were in desperate need of updated upholstery, I decided to kill two birds by ordering banana leaf fabric for recovering. The gorgeous greens play perfectly off of my wicker chairs, and lend a refreshing splash of rustic outdoors to my otherwise classic contemporary dining room. It’s incredibly easy to recover pieces in your home with a screw driver and staple gun (for my project, all that I had to do was turn the chair over, unscrew four bolts, cut the fabric to size, staple around the perimeter, re-screw the bolts, and voila - chic new chairs). Tip: for pieces like dining room chairs and ottomans, which will be heavily trafficked, look for outdoor fabrics - they are much easier to clean).

II.  If DIY reupholstering isn’t your cup of tea, you still have the opportunity to bring the outdoors into your next dinner party with this to-die-for tropical table setting. I’m smitten with the simplicity of the components: fresh palm fronds and pineapples, black plates, white linens, gold flatware, and decoupage palm balloons (instructions for how to make them here). For the pale pink beverage, serve Palomas - equal parts tequila, grapefruit soda, and lime. Now I just have to find an excuse to host my friends so that I can utilize this theme and show off my dining room revamp.

III.  Speaking of hosting, I’ve been out of town the last two weekends in a row with large groups of friends. One group ate at home every morning (bagels and toast brought up to Tahoe from The Mill), the other group wanted something more elaborate and ate out instead (Sycamore Kitchen and Laurel Hardware in LA). While I loved all of this, I couldn’t help thinking that there has to be a way to cook at home for large groups without making a million dirty dishes. Enter the genius Rolled French Omelette. Made on a parchment-lined baking sheet in the oven, this dish easily serves a crowd and tastes absolutely delicious. Here’s how to make it: heat oven to 350, brush both sides of a baking-sheet size piece of parchment paper with olive oil, then place in the pan. In a large bowl, whisk one cup of milk with 1/3 cup flour, then add 8 eggs, salt, pepper, and a tablespoon of Dijon. Pour into the baking sheet, then sprinkle two cups of chopped fresh spinach and a cup of goat cheese over the eggs - place in the oven. Bake until set (10-15 minutes) then carefully lift the parchment paper from one end and roll tightly, removing the parchment as you go. Slice and serve! To up the ante, place a dollop of creme fraiche and a teaspoon of caviar on each serving.

IV.  Try as I might to avoid Blake Lively’s lifestyle company Preserve, I’ve finally caved and become a regular visitor to the annoyingly perfect actresses’s site. Lively offers recipes, styling tips, stories from artisans she collaborates with, and lots of shopping. The products are generally high-end, but lucky for us, Preserve is having an AMAZING sale on everything from clothing to home goods. I especially adore this Lion Coat set for babes, this hemp henley tee (do you think Ryan Reynolds pre-wore it?!) and this fierce leather cocktail dress. Who knew Serena van der Woodsen could curate and create such beautiful things?

V.  Recently, I discovered an amazing news resource from The New York Times. Every day at 6AM, writer Adeel Hassan, composes a synopsis of everything that’s happened while you’ve been sleeping. It takes less than ten minutes to read, and updates you about pertinent issues faster than scrolling through your entire Twitter feed. If you’re like me and don’t have a long commute to spend listening to NPR in the morning, this is the next best thing!

Have a wonderful week!  xx tt