TODAY Show: Memorial Day Entertaining

Good Morning!  TGIF!  Are you excited about the long weekend?  If you have plans for entertaining this Memorial Weekend, I hope you had a chance to catch me this morning when I shared my tips with Savannah Guthrie on TODAY.

Keep it clean and put a small basket of Wheat Germ or Moss in a basket to catch the drippings from your drink dispenser.  We added flags to give it a patriotic look.  The Drink Dispenser is from Sur la Table and the Glass Dryer Rack is from Farm Housewares.

Invest in serving pieces that can go from the kitchen to the table.  I love the paddle from Chef Tim Love’s collection for Sur la Table.  The rubs are amazing too!

Set the table using your favorite red, white and blue pieces.  I love John Robshaw’s block print linens and this blue and white pattern took on a patriotic feel when we added a red plate.

The centerpieces were made by my talented and crafty friend Katherine.  She had them at her home and I asked her to loan them to me for the segment.  Aren’t they brilliant!  They are simply old glass soda bottles and jam jars that she painted white. She had yellow flowers in them but I used red gerbera daisies to keep with our red, white and blue theme.

Set up a popcorn bar for your guests.  It is a fun treat for adults and kids alike!  Simply stack brown paper sacks full of plain popcorn and let your guests add condiments.  We had red and blue M&Ms, parmesan, bacon bits, various salts and pepper, and cranberries.  The three-tiered basket if from Southern Living’s collection for Ballard Design and it can be used tiered or as separate baskets. Brilliant! I stamped the brown paper sacks to give them a bit of style and I labeled the condiments with ribbons and signs made by The Left Handed Calligrapher.

Add mood lighting in style with BHLDN’s three blue and white lanterns.  I love the way they mix patterns!

Keep the kids entertained with a paper tablecloth and a centerpiece made with Crayola Colored Sand and red, white and blue crayons.  So easy!

Don’t forget the music! I didn’t get to the Rukus in the segment but I am crazy about it!  It is solar powered and you can connect your music to it by bluetooth or USB.  I think everyone needs one for summer!

Speaking of music, I snagged a picture with artist, Pitbull, before he performed his new song off of the Men in Black III soundtrack. 

New York looks wonderfully patriotic decked out with American flags to celebrate our veterans.

I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day!