Now that I finally have living room furniture, my backyard looks better and the weather will be cooling down soon, I’m so ready to entertain! That’s definitely something I missed doing last year, and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to do it this year (Delta, go away!!!). Paloma & Co sent me some pretty pieces for an al fresco happy hour, and I thought it would be the perfect time to flex my entertaining skills. They’re also going to feature me in their newsletter with a little Q&A this week – so fun!

Now let’s get into it. You guys know I love a charcuterie board, so this time I tried my hand at the salami rose I keep seeing on Instagram! It’s really easy, but I did have to use two toothpicks to secure mine – the pieces of salami were too large and they didn’t want to stay put! But what a fun way to elevate your cheese + meat platter. I’ll definitely be doing that again! I usually incorporate honeycomb into my charcuterie/cheese boards, but with the bees loving my porch lately I didn’t want to give them any extra incentive to come hang out. This time I opted for fresh fruit, salami and cheese! I have been thoroughly enjoying peach season, so I chopped one up to serve with a few strawberries. I used truffled cheese and green goddess gouda, plus some rosemary marcona almonds! All three of those are from Trader Joe’s.

Another thing I enjoy doing is sprucing up the cocktails I serve. Whether that’s with a fun flavor like lavender simple syrup or with fancy, flower-filled ice cubes, it’s an easy way to jazz up what you’re serving and impress your guests! I purchased these ice cube molds recently and love using them. I thought it would be so fun to add flowers to the ice cubes for a colorful pop in each beverage! Usually you can find edible flowers in the refrigerated section at Whole Foods, but this time I just clipped some smaller flowers off of an arrangement and placed them in the molds with water. The key is to make sure the pretty part of the flower (the top, obvi) is facing out! That way it stays bright and easy to see in your glass. After trying both molds, I prefer the cube to the round ice mold – the cubes are much bigger and stay frozen longer in a drink! Plus, I feel like you can really see the flowers better in those. Side note: definitely make sure the flowers you’re incorporating aren’t poisonous if you’re not using the pre-packaged edible flowers! This goes without saying, but decorate your ice cubes at your own risk ;)

Hope you guys enjoyed a little sneak peek into my entertaining style! Be sure to shop all of the Paloma & Co pieces featured below!