Neha Leela

When I started my first blog (Simply’s predesseccor – My Cuppa’ Tea- now, extinct) in 2007,  it was not only to entertain my journalistic fantasy  but to leverage the social web for its true purpose and namesake.  Though My Cuppa’ Tea eventually fizzled,  I still maintained my eagerness to meet other  design and style obsessed and food and travel enthusiasts and did so quite succesfully through other digital means, Yelp and Twitter — not to mention, the real world.

I decided this year to re-start the blogging adventure with the same hope as before. Last night marked my first opportunity since starting Simply to meet other Bostonian bloggers in person.

Red Plum, a savings and deals site that spans home, beauty and gourmet, used the square shaped 4th floor of the Liberty Hotel  to lead Boston based lifestyle writers around a line up of affordable holiday gift and decorating inspiration.

We started the evening on a sweet and bubbly note with a sommelier led tasting with Andover-based Wine Connextion. Tablescapes came next and Ikea alleviated my typical disdain for Sandra Lee-esque table tops with a festive decor that was simple and tasteful.  My favorite of which was their use of  woven ratatan placemats, earthy ceramics topped with a  starkly contrasting white faux Lily, tied together with a handwritten tag to make this arrangement welcoming and elegant.  

The rest of the setup showcased stationary, scents and other stylish goodies for gifting.  Among those that caught my eye, was the  2009 collection of notecards from my  long-time favorite in letterpress design, Linda & Harriet.

While noshing on mushrooms swathed in puff pastry, salted lamb and brie doused in lavender chutney (did I mention the bubbly?), we talked  blogging, social media, fabric, brunch spots and must-reads. Lots of thanks to Red Plum and Starving Artist, The Clean Plate Club, Petey Pumpkin and Annelise Normand for the conversation and celebration of the things we love.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 5:09 am and is filed under Decorating, Entertaining, Food, Friends, Shopping, Stationary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.