Living in a small NYC apartment means that when we have friends over for a movie night or to celebrate a special occasion, we gravitate towards the living room since it fits the most guests, and tends to be where we can all cozy up and enjoy conversation. Having said that, we recently had a few close friends over to celebrate the start of Fall (yay!) and since I knew we would end up in the living room anyway, I set up a delicious spread for my guests to enjoy that evening. It turned out so beautifully, I had to take a few snaps - sharing those below!

I partnered with Harry & David to upgrade our spread and believe me when I tell you, it was GOOD! We’ve been so busy with our kitchen renovation, that the idea of prepping food and drink for even a small gathering sounded like a bit too much to take on. Harry & David has launched a new collection of distinctive gourmet fare, created for everyday entertaining with elegance and ease - Harry and David Gourmet. Their selection of gourmet food and drink makes it a breeze to host any event, big or small. From their website, you can design an occasion tailored to your specific budget, as product offerings range from $10 to $400. I didn’t have to make a single trip to the grocery store! Everything arrived beautifully packaged and ready to be enjoyed. GAME CHANGER.

I love incorporating sparkling wine when celebrating, so we had to try the new Harry & David Sparkling Wine which includes light citrus aromas, notes of crisp apple and pear, and just a hint of fresh grapefruit for an elegantly clean finish. mmmmm.

Everything was devoured so quickly, I’m glad I took a few photos of the table setup before our guests arrived! Huge thanks to Harry & David for making this event not only a breeze to put together, but beautiful and delicious as well!

Is your mouth watering yet?!

This post is sponsored by Harry & David. All opinions, as always, are my own.

This post is sponsored by Fireclay Tile, but as always, all opinions are my own!

When putting together our ideas for the new kitchen space, we knew we wanted to bring in new tile for the backsplash, but only dreamed of re-doing the floors as well. Before we were even given the green light by the owners of our building to re-do the kitchen, I spent A LOT of time stalking my favorite tile company, Fireclay Tile. I loved their expansive color, pattern and size options, and was absolutely floored (forgive my pun) when I discovered their hand-painted collections.

Once we found out that we could go ahead with a kitchen reno (more on that later), the first thing we did was order an embarrassing amount of samples, since we couldn’t decide between going neutral or bringing in some color. Spoiler alert: we went neutral.

I fell immediately for Feldspar in the 2x6 size. It’s neutral off white tone and the natural texture was swoon-worthy, to say the least. The color immediately gave the room a warm and earthy look, and I LOVED it.

After spending what felt like weeks on Youtube watching any and all DIY tiling tutorials, we decided we would be able to manage to tile ourselves. We (let’s be real, David took over and pretty much installed the entire backsplash and floor himself) started with the backsplash and were pleasantly surprised by how straightforward the process was. I have another post coming down the pipeline with links to all of the videos and articles we found most helpful!

The finished backsplash! We had to go up to 30” since we are not installing a hood, but that’s a story for another time. Once we settled on Feldspar, I knew the Fallow hand-painted tile in their White Motif would look killer on the floor. When we were mapping it out, I couldn’t believe how perfectly it fit into our scheme. To be honest, my design decisions are made mostly on gut feeling, and I can only hope that everything looks as good in real life as it does in my head - ha! It’s not usually recommended to installed glossy tile on the floor, but I liked how the Fallow is a mix of matte and glossy glazes, which allows for a lot of natural light to bounce around, but is not glossy enough to be slippery.

Installing the floors proved to be bit more labor intensive than the backsplash, but once it was all in place, the hard work felt SO worth it. We still need to grout the floor, but we’re well on our way to the kitchen of our dreams!

Thank you, Fireclay Tile!

It’s no secret that I love, and I mean LOVE, surrounding myself with houseplants. My number one piece of home decor advice always is to make sure to include greenery in your home. Houseplants bring the outdoors inside in the most beautiful way, and are the perfect complement to home decor. Not only that, but according to the National Gardening Association, the houseplant business in the U.S. has increased to $1.7 billion in the last three years, with demand driven by millennial customers and individuals seeking the health and wellness benefits of plants. Looks like I’m not the only houseplant lover, huh?!

I recently partnered with 1-800-Flowers.com Plant Shop to bring some additional greenery to our newly re-designed bedroom, and I’m loving the results! The Plant Shop at 1-800-Flowers.com currently offers more than 130 plants, including houseplants, blooming plants, succulents, bonsai, bamboo and more. I knew I wanted to add a larger tropical palm, and after a quick search on their website, landed on this beauty.

1-800-Flowers.com has also introduced a Plant Gift Guide, where you can obtain resources to help select and care for plants, such as shopping by plant type, viewing best sellers and read exclusive curated content such as Easy-to-Care-for Indoor Plants, The 7 Best Plants to Use in Your Office, Health Benefits of Plants and more. They really make selecting a new houseplant as seamless as possible — I definitely plan on bookmarking that gift guide for future reference!

This post is sponsored by 1-800-Flowers. All opinions are my own.

I was also on the hunt for some smaller houseplants for styling and filling awkward corners. I ended up picking this lovely Pilea Peperomioides and Aloe Vera Plant. All of the plants came in modern neutral-toned planters, which I really appreciated. No need to repot!

I moved the plants around a bit to see where I wanted them to live. I loved the way the green really popped on this white shelving unit. They ended up back in the bedroom, but I’m glad to know they can move around and look good anywhere!

I’m feeling all sorts of excited to transition to Fall in our apartment this year. I’ve noticed a shift towards warm neutrals and natural materials for fall/winter over the usual velvety and autumnal hues. I love to update our space by bringing in decor items, switching out textiles, and bringing in one transitional piece. I’ve linked a few of my favorites below!

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While we are still loving our Marte Bed Frame, I still find myself “window shopping” online (does anyone else love doing this?!) at new bed frame styles. It’s no surprise that I love furniture made of natural materials. Give me allllll the wood, cane, rattan, straw, wool, etc..

While rattan has had its moment for quite some time, it looks like cane has taken over its spot as #1 in my heart, especially in bedroom furniture. I’ve linked my found favorites below!

sweet dreams! ✌️