THE LATEST FROM FRAN BERGER
Lifestyle
There is something very special about drinking tea out of a beautiful cup
There is something very special about drinking tea out of a beautiful teacup. Most people use mugs – you know, the same ones they use for coffee, soup, even ice cream? Just imagine how different it would be if you...
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Help! I’m Having a Party – How Much Wine do I Need?
Do the Wine Math: It’ll save your party every time. I get asked a lot about how much wine is needed for a party and my answer is always the same: do the Wine Math. No, it’s not New Math...
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Sophisticated Living – What is it?
More important, how to I obtain it? I often talk about sophisticated living and how everyone can live their lives that way. But, I think many people are confused about what I mean and how to achieve it in their...
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What’s the Best Summer Beverage in this Heat?
The simplest spritzer to help keep you cool in this heat. It’s summer. It’s hot, even in the evening. You have friends coming over and no one wants red wine. Even rosé just doesn’t seem cold enough. What to do?...
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Tips on Storing and Serving Wine
How do you know if you’re doing it right? Picture it: You’re at a good restaurant with friends and one of them is a self-proclaimed wine snob so you hand him the wine list. He chooses what he says will...
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How to set up a hot beverage station for your morning ‘brew’.
It’s so easy to create a place for coffee or tea in your kitchen. We all have our routines that we follow in the morning. It might be that you jump up and head straight to the gym with just...
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Use Your Move to Declutter your Entertaining Spaces
How to replace ‘pack and move’ with a little ‘edit and love’. I love my clients and I love my friends even more. So, when a great friend, who is also a client, calls me and says she’s sold her...
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Dress up your table with just the right placemats!
For every meal you host, there’s a place setting that’s perfect to celebrate the event and mood. When I think about all the best dinners I’ve attended or planned, I found that the tiniest details made a huge difference. That’s...
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The Making of a Beautiful Morning Coffee Service
How to make your morning more beautiful with the perfect way to serve coffee. I’d love to share a food memory with you. It was several years ago on one of my many trips to Italy and I was staying...
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Pre-party Check: Favorite soap in the powder room?
Often overlooked by you, but not by your guests. As my mom used to say, “A little soap goes a long way.” I’m not sure this was what she was thinking of but the sentiment is good. Checking for that...
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What your dinner party guests really care about!
At your next dinner party, try these ideas to keep a fun night really rolling. I can’t tell you how many different dinner parties I’ve attended. Maybe almost as many as I hosted? I’ve been invited to some that were...
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2018: Fran’s list of Gifts for Women
Challenged by originality? Remember to be thoughtful. It’s probably a huge generalization, but I think it’s a lot easier to get a gift for a guy-friend than it is for a girl-friend. Not saying that guys are less sophisticated or...
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2018: Fran’s list of Gifts for Men
Putting thought into gifts for men takes a little effort, but it’s so very rewarding. I admit it. I can get pretty particular sometimes. I still hand-write letters and thank you notes to friends and family. Yep. On paper! I...
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Tips for great holiday party lighting.
I have a lot of friends who work in stage, film, and video entertainment. One has been a “lighting designer” for going on 40 years. What that means is that he works with the set designers and comes up with...
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In Search of the Perfect Coffee Mug
What are the qualities that sets one coffee mug apart from all the others? Ever notice how we collect coffee mugs? And we all have different reasons not just for accumulating them but also for keeping them. I have a...
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How will you make your football party stand out?
It IS great time to entertain your friends and family—make those memories stand out with a themed cocktail drink! As you plan your football party, there are some quick and easy ways for you to enjoy the day too. Keeping...
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Entertain like an Italian and Enjoy the Spirt of the Aperitivo
Enjoy the relaxed pace and informality of a timeless continental style. One of the reasons I became a restaurateur is that I love to entertain. And, one of my favorite ways to entertain guests follows the Italian Aperitivo style: informal...
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Home Entertaining in Style: The best way to build a collection of fine silver and crystal
The secret: estate sales, flea markets, thrift stores. And they’re fun! For some folks, having the perfect set of home entertaining “ware” is a matter of inheritance. If you are one of the lucky ones to have inherited crystal, china,...
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Two Drink Recipes, for a Nice Summer Afternoon Spritz
Bringing you 2 fabulous spritz drinks to help you keep cool during California’s dog days of summer-early fall. It’s not the end of summer in California until we endure those final “dog days” through early fall. It’ll be boiling here...
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How will you pick the perfect wine glasses for your home?
With so many options, designs, and ideas sometimes it’s hard to settle on a choice – unless you have some professional help. They say that if you really know what you want in life, making decisions is easy. But, that...
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