WELCOME to Nest by Tamara blog

WELCOME to Nest by Tamara blog
Hi- It's Tamara. I'm happy you've stopped by, and since 2010 I've been sharing my passion for interior design, history, art, entertaining, travel & fashion. I am an interior designer, textile designer and writer living and working in New York City and East Hampton, Long Island. My musings have taken me to international design, art, antique and epicurean events and I have lots to share. I'm grateful to have been listed as the #1 top design blog, blogs to watch, top design blogs and named and awarded Rising Star of Design by the IFDA NY industry organization. Please feel free to reach out to our team for an interior design consultation at NestbyTamara.com -Tamara
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ENTERTAINING COLUMN: My Story for Love& Magazine about Hosting a Cocktail Party

Thoughts On 
Hosting a Stress-Free 
Cocktail Soiree 
with Your Significant Other!
Tamara's Art of The Table party at Bilotta Kitchen
Over at Love& magazine I write the Feathering Your Nest column, and this week I contributed a story about hosting a cocktail party with my husband.  I show tips and tricks in order to take the stress out of the experience, by wielding what I call "dividing and conquering" skills then coming together to make it fun.  With the Spring Season on the horizon, I suspect there may be quite a few fetes in our future.  For the full read and sources, please head over to 
Feathering Your Nest  
Love& is a new magazine for young couples, taking readers through the trials and tribulations, the good and sometimes bad.  The magazine is a real look at marriage, showing that while it can be messy, marriage can also be sexy and fun.  For more information, check out this Love & magazine video

Is it Friday yet?  
I am also sharing a delicious cocktail recipe.  This Mandarin Mojito channels summer and during this particularly rainy, February week in New York City it feels wonderfully aspirational.  The muddled fresh mint gives it a special flavor.  I created this recipe for a cocktail party I organized in Atlanta for the Marriott Hotels  program, Travel Brilliantly.  I hope you'll bookmark this recipe for your next get together. 
Happy Nesting
XO Tamara
Tamara’s Mandarin Mojito
recipe is for one cocktail:
Cocktail rim sugar
2 teaspoons simple syrup*
4 fresh mint leaves
½ lime, cut into wedges (reserve one small wedge)
½ mandarin, cut into wedges (reserve one small wedge)
Crushed ice
2 ounces Anejo Caribbean rum
Club soda
Simple Syrup*
1 cup water
1½ cups sugar
To make the simple syrup, bring water and sugar to simmer in a saucepan, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves. Let cool.
For each cocktail, coat the rim of a highball glass with rimming sugar. In the bottom of the glass, muddle simple syrup and the mint leaves. Squeeze wedges from the lime and mandarin into the glass and then add reserved wedges. Add crushed ice, stir in rum, and top with club soda.

Check out other stories 
I wrote for Love& magazine:
Our Favorite and Sexiest Beds, Assuring Wedded Bliss
A Romantic Tree Trimming Party For Two