Entertaining Essentials--Checking Things Off My Wishlist

It's no secret that I love to entertain.  Making things pretty to me is almost as good as eating something delicious.  As time goes by and I figure out and learn what works best for entertaining, ranging from hosting small dinners to large backyard parties, I occasionally find new serving pieces to add to my wish list.

I am all about function and style--I want pieces to be versatile, easy to store, and can go well with any theme.  I like to look for nesting pieces that can stack on top of each other as well as stick to white and glass for the most part so that the pieces are always interchangeable (and I am very picky about white--white and cream or off white are not the same!). 

I have recently gotten obsessively hooked on watching QVC lately.  I have yet to buy anything but I find watching the home and cooking sections incredibly enjoyable and inspiring!  They have been talking a lot about fall and it has been getting me in the mood for holiday season entertaining.  While most of the items they are selling are not particularly my style, I find myself leaving inspired to find similar pieces that are more me.

In comes my online hunt--usually browsing Crate and Barrel, Macy's, and Pier 1.  Since I do not exactly have a large budget to go buy all of these things, I add them to my Pinterest Wish List board so that I will not forget about them later.

Since I recently had a birthday, I had some cash and gift cards to finally snag some of these items I have been looking for.  Oh what fun to cross things off my wish list!

I originally found some water/tea goblets over at Crate and Barrel's website, but the one's I wanted were about $10 a piece.  This was a bit too steep for my budget.  So I hunted online as well as in local stores and found these Libbey glasses.  They come in a set of four and I ended up purchasing a total of 12 goblets.  Want to know how much and where?  $5 for a set of four at Walmart!  It cost me $15 for a set of twelve!  I was pretty impressed with myself!  It was most definitely worth the hunt!

The glasses are great quality and thick enough to stand up to our not always super careful use.  I have some other Libbey items so I knew I would be happy with the set.  These goblets are going to be perfect for dressing up a table for a dinner party or for a ladies tea.  I am very excited to finally add these to my entertaining essentials!

Another item on my wish lists were some nice white ceramic baking dishes.  I love the handles of these ones from Crate and Barrel.  They are simple but just dressy enough to make a casserole or batch of brownies seem a little more special.  I purchased them in the square size and small baker.

The last item I added to my collection are these glass ice cream dishes.  They were partially purchased for food staging recipes for the blog but they double as sweet dishes for candy, ice cream, or individual size desserts.  These were also found at Crate and Barrel.

Besides showing off all my cute new serving wear, my point I want to leave today is it is okay to shop around and browse.  My desire is to have timeless entertaining pieces that I can use for many years to come.  To be patient and invest in items I really love, I am less likely to be adding my pieces to our annual yard sale pile.  I only have so much room in my home to store items and I want the pieces I keep around to be used as often as possible.  By being picky and realistic with how I entertain, I am putting together a collection I can love.  It also helps me to not make impulsive purchases and instead shop more intentionally only buying things that are on my wish list.

To see what I am shopping for you can check out my Wish List board on Pinterest.  Once I have purchased or received the items, I will move it over to my Things I Have That I Love board to share pieces I would recommend.

// Are there any essential entertaining pieces you are currently on the look out for?  Anyone else have a secret obsession with QVC?!

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Today the darling Evani of Simply Evani is sharing her thoughts on my new ebook, 31 Days of Creative Homemaking for the Modern Day Woman.  Check out her lovely lifestyle blog and hear what she has to say about the ebook!

Today's post is part of a week long series promoting my new ebook, 31 Days of Creative Homemaking for the Modern Day Woman.  If you are looking for more ideas on entertaining and creating a beautiful and welcoming place for your guests, this ebook is for you!