Easy Entertaining

Last week, I invited some of my friends over for dinner. I love to cook, and lately have become taken with perfecting my coq au vin recipe, so I asked them to try the latest version and give me their feed back.

For me, setting a beautiful table is as important as serving a beautiful meal. It's all part of the same experience and both parts need equal attention paid. Your table doesn't need to be "fancy" or feature expensive linens or china, but it should be elegant. For my latest dinner, I selected wonderful green grapes and draped them in small glass bowls, and filled some of my favorite silver pieces with sugared orange slices. These little touches made a big difference on the table, and gave my guests something to munch on between courses!!

Check back for more easy tips to take your next dinner party to the next level!

The Young Women's Leadership Network

Last week I had the distinct pleasure of designing the Young Women’s Leadership Network (Em)Power Breakfast. Even though I’ve helped the YML Network in the past, the individual stories of the aspiring young women never fail to move me.

The YWL Network partners with urban public schools to create single-gender public schools and college bound programs for inner city youth. The YWL Girls’ Schools have given young women opportunities they may not have had without the help of the Network. This year, the students had the privilege of personally interviewing community leaders, one of whom was Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and several business leaders from companies such as RCA/Jive Label Group, Goldman Sachs and The Estee Lauder Companies. They were even lucky enough to meet one of my favorite musical artists, Alicia Keys!

With the fall season in full swing, the YWL Network (Em)Power Breakfast always serves to remind me that children all across the country are back at school and hard at work trying to reach for their dreams. I take great pleasure in supporting the Young Women’s Leadership Network because it allows me to help provide these young students with incredible opportunities. .

For more information about the YML Network please visit their website at www.ywlnetwork.org.