Be BAMBOO-zled!

Hello All!!

OK, so it has been WAY too long since I last wrote to you all.  I made it through finals, the holidays and now starting my winter semester at school.  The days have been dark and cold here in Chicago and my blogging motivation was depleted.  But, now I am back and will try to keep my thoughts flowing more often!

Since we now are in the deep dark days of winter here in the Midwest and certainly in the Northeast and also because of the tight budget that everyone in the country is on (or should be), it is the time of year to host friends and family over for dinner.  If everyone trades off hosting, it is cheaper than going out and is a great option on a cold Friday or Saturday night. 

I love hosting people for dinner or even just drinks and it is fun to mix things up and use different kinds of serving pieces, wine glasses or in this case flatware. The big trend that you see everywhere in furniture, fabric, accessories etc. is bamboo (or faux bamboo!).  I love Juliska's bamboo flatware as seen below. It is unrealistic for me at this point in my life considering it is $155 per five piece place setting, but it adds texture and interest to casual or fancy tabletops.

 A great alternative for the smaller budget and for people that just want to use something fun, trendy or different is the faux bamboo place settings from Target.  The are only $25 for four five piece place settings (or 20 pc).  My Mother-in-Law Carol was nice enough to get me two sets of the 20 piece place settings for Christmas.  Even though they are not the highest quality of stainless steel, I now have a modern alternative when entertaining and extra flateware when we have a bigger sized party. They are not forever, just for fun for now. Below are some pictures of my faux Target bamboo flatware.

 I think Horchow's web page also has the same bamboo flatware as well at www.horchow.com. 

So, stay warm and out of the cold.  Invite some friends over and enjoy entertaining!

- Katie