Guide to Entertaining

There's pretty much nothing I like better than having a house full of people, any time of year. But around the holidays--and by "holidays" I mean anytime between Halloween and New Year's, since in my family a bunch of birthdays and other excuses to feast fall in those autumn months--it's especially fun. Pie baking. Cider mulling.

On Apartment Therapy, they've posted about some fall entertaining trends here.

I'll admit it: I like being on-trend. When I see something cool in a magazine, my next step is pretty much always to see if I can get it in the shop. Usually, I can.

Striped paper straws, here. 

Mulling spices, here. 

Throw a party, why don't you? With letterpress coasters, cocktail accessories, specialty bitters, and a full dozen or more cookbooks, it's kind of what we do here.