Yes Way Rosé - Late Summer StyleBlueprint Spread

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By this point in August, it’s inevitable that rosé has stolen our summer hearts and this season’s wine cellars. The “yes way rosé” mantra has captured social media, restaurant and patio concentrations (mine included). I simply couldn’t say farewell to the season without throwing a wine-tasting party with the girls — thus, the rise in rosé’s popularity not only prompted our party’s culinary palate, but also every other detail, as well.

Click to see my first seasonal entertaining feature in StyleBlueprint!

Special thanks to Micki Martin photography, Social for tablescape details, and Kirby Wines for the gorgeous rosé selection!

The wines...

• Bella Glois Pinot Noir Blanc

• Gerard Bertrand Cote des Roses

• Chateau du Berne Impatience

• Monmousseau Rosé d’Anjou

• Pascal Jolivet Sancerre Rosé

• Vin Gris of Pinot Noir

The menu...

• Watermelon + feta arugula salad

• Heirloom tomato + ricotta tart

• Charcuterie board + accompaniments

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A Boys Birthday Bash

Hang up the bunting banner, stock up the bar cart, and send out your invitations. It's party time.

My fiancé and my childhood best friend were both celebrating birthdays just days apart, so I took charge to host our friends for bourbon drinks and sophisticated (and very simple) snacks.

I began with a quick farmers market grab of sunflowers and a trip to Miss Cordelia's for cheese, charcuterie and other appetizer ingredients. Though the presentation might have made this look like an all-day labor, the assembly was absolutely easy. Keep scrolling for step-by-step creations to throw together a cocktail party in a matter of minutes!

The hors d'oeuvres...

Mozz pops

1. Take a package of mini fresh mozzarella balls, rinse in water and pat dry.
2. Place each mozzarella ball on a mini party skewer.
3. Place store-bought or homemade basil pesto in a dipping bowl.
4. Serve on a slate tray with even ends of mozzarella bites

Cheese + charcuterie

1. Place mini plates of brie, goat, and gouda on a large cutting board.
2. Add a side of honey or grain mustard.
3. Accompany cheese wheels with cheese knives.
4. Fan charcuterie (I like soppressata) and fig grain crackers around the cheese.

Pork belly and peach flatbread pizza

1. Prepare pork belly the morning of the party.
2. Thirty minutes before guests arrive, top store-bought flatbread crusts with all recipe toppings.
3. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes.
4. Allow to cool slightly before slicing in squares to serve.

Homemade guac with fresh cilantro and heirloom tomatoes

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Last Minute Fourth of July Entertaining Tips

I'm heading to the beautiful Washington, D.C. to celebrate a patriotically perfect Fourth. But if you're in charge of your Sunday or Monday holiday gathering, have no fear -- my last-minute entertaining tips (featured today on StyleBlueprint) require neither a Party City haul nor messy DIY.

Let the ingredients fulfill your patriotic color palette. Rather than stress over striped and polka-dotted red and blue serve-ware that only suffices for the one-day holiday, use white and wood palettes as a canvas for a bold menu of blue and burgundies. A pitcher of sangria, watermelon and feta bruschetta on a wood board, and a blueberry compote baked brie on marble make for show-stopping holiday hues.

Picture above -- Radish Goat Cheese Toasts

Pictured below -- Cherry Crostinis

Celebrate your independence—from the kitchen. Save sautéing and simmering for another day. This Fourth of July is about no-mess menu planning! Provide room temperature-friendly bites, like a top-your-own crostini bar, cheese boards or mason jar stacked salads.

Pictured below -- Nautical Beach Picnic with Art in the Find

Ginger Ale Summer Cocktail

Let the pre-July Fourth week commence. Alex and I are heading up to D.C. for a long holiday weekend, where we'll be patriotically celebrating the Fourth as well as Alex's birthday and our five-year anniversary! Yes, what a doozy.

If you're hosting an outdoor gathering this weekend, I know just the right beverage to fill your coolers or mix into a cocktail -- the all-natural Bruce Cost Ginger Ale.

Photos by Christen Jones

Each bottle is made from whole fresh ginger (rather than the ginger oil or other manufactured products used for the gingery flavor). Naturally sweetened with pure cane sugar, the beverage line offers flavors from pomegranate hibiscus to jasmine tea and passion fruit.

Concepted in Bruce Costs's James Beard-nominated kitchen in San Francisco back in 1995 and later served in Chicago, the ginger ale is now brewed and bottled in Brooklyn. Now, it has made its way to my Memphis doorstep, and I'm finely impressed!

I'm making Fourth of July cocktails with my Bruce Cost twelve-pack, but note that you can sip the original flavor to alleviate nausea, aid digestion, and even fight the common cold. Talk about benefits!

Keep scrolling for my peach-infused summertime Moscow mule, served in darling copper tumblers that'll keep our cocktails plenty cold. Enjoy the celebrations this weekend -- Cheers to the simplicity and festivity of summertime.

Makes 2 cocktails

1 bottle of Bruce Cost ginger ale, chilled 3 ounces vodka, divided Juice of 1 lime 2 lime wedges, to garnish 1/2 peach, sliced

1. Divide vodka among two tumblers. Add two slices of peach to each and muddle. Then add a few cubes of ice.

2. Pour ginger ale in each tumbler, followed by a heavy squeeze of fresh lime juice.

3. Garnish with lime and peach. Cheers!

This post is brought to you by Bruce Cost Ginger Ale and Christen Jones Photography. Thank you for being supportive of my sponsors!

How to Keep a Clean Kitchen All Summer Long

It's inevitable -- one of the biggest entertaining "fears" of our time is the post-meal process of clean-up. We're supposed to be the hostesses who can juggle prep, presentation, and conversation all at once, right? Now as a homeowner, I have a whole new respect for my mom's graceful -- if not effortless -- portrayal of dishes and miscellaneous dinner duties while growing up. And thanks to So Fresh and So Green Clean, I understand how simple and cerebral the concept of post-party cleanup can be.

Photos by Christen Jones

The Memphis-based green product line was created by an adorable couple who has specialized in housekeeping for five years. For owner Lauren Parks, her company is not just about cleaning houses; it's about making someone else's life just a bit easier.

Realizing that some "natural" cleaning products contain quite a few undesirable ingredients, Lauren and her husband Andrew decided to create their own organic products with only pure essential oils that have a cleaning purpose. All of the So Fresh and So Green products are handmade in small batches—even the Castile soap that goes into them.

I picked up their "everything," "stone" and "glass" bottles last weekend at the Farmers Market, where the Parks family now sets up shop every other Saturday. Andrew threw in the castile and avocado soaps, too, which my guests now enjoy in the bathroom off of the kitchen.

After a Sunday evening garden party-inspired dinner, where we choose to picnic on pillows around the lucite coffee table, I gave the "glass" spray a whirl. Stains instantly vanished without one visible streak, and the mint aroma was far more enjoyable than the typical Clorox wipe. I think I'll have to forego the back-up fragrance spray, since these products manage to clean and perfume the room.

The "stone" bottle has become my new best friend for the marble countertops, which require careful attention throughout the cooking and serving process. A splash of coffee or spilled crumbs from a cobbler can be wiped off in an instant, boasting a pure aroma of oregano.

And for those of you who simply don't want to decipher which bottle is appropriate, grab the "everything" spray, which works on...yes, everything. Citrus scented and full-proof tested, the orange label stands out and stands up to spills during dinner parties and cheese board-focused happy hours.

Here's my kitchen hostess clean-up routine. What's yours? Check off the list with So Fresh and So Green Clean.

• Wipe down counters with "stone" spray.
• Wipe off wood table, the sink and cabinets with "everything" spray.
• Don't forget the glass coffee table, where guests placed their tumblers and toothpicks. Spray with "glass" spray.
• Discard leftover and expired party ingredients, and wipe down shelves with "everything" spray.
• Empty trash.
• Wash your hands with castile soap.
• Pat yourself on the back.
• Plan your next summer fête.

This post is brought to you by So Fresh and So Green and Christen Jones Photography. Thank you for being supportive of my sponsors!