Fancy-ish gatherings
On hosting joyful dinners, working outside and discovering good butter.
For the love of books and butter
I have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to butter. Which is why it’s unsurprising that I was inspired to purchase a butter dressed up in bubblegum pink packaging after reading Carley Fortune’s new book, This Summer Will Be Different. This creamier, slow-churned variety uses milk from Prince Edward Island and is from Cows Creamery, a Canadian company known for its ice cream, cheese and even cute merch. I got mine from its picturesque location in Niagara-on-the-Lake where I’ve often gotten ice cream on hot summer days but never the butter. This time around, I walked in with a mission and went straight towards the fridge. Even though it was a nice little slice of PEI—quite literally with buttered toast—I’m still convinced that I need an actual trip to the East Coast to experience the butter in all its glory and all the other wonders the island has to offer as beautifully written about in Carley’s book.
On a side note, thinking I should maybe start a series called, “A Book I Read and A Thing I Ate”?
The joy of working outside
Last summer, we finally decided to redo the slowly sinking deck in our backyard, but didn’t get around to doing much else like replacing the old furniture. This year, we were determined to spruce up the space and gave ourselves an end-of-May deadline, which we managed to meet! Since we put in all that effort making it nice, my husband insisted in working outdoors sometimes. The first time I sat outside with my laptop was a deep hit of dopamine—the warmth of the sun, the fresh air, the scent of the roses wafting through with the breeze, and the birds chirping all around. Within minutes, I was buzzing with William Wordsworth energy. I’d been missing out!
As cozy as I’ve made my home and as indoorsy as I am, there’s something really nice about being outside of my usual little work bubble and breaking from routine. I’m planning on being outside a lot more this summer, for work and play, and making good use our little outdoor oasis.
Q&A with Sasha Mei of Yu + Mei
Sasha Mei (pictured on the left) is one of the most stylish people on my Instagram feed. She’s also a consummate host and the co-founder of a Toronto-based supper club called Yu + Mei, which she started with her childhood friend, Amy Yu. Their dinner set-ups look as dreamy as they do delicious, and the guests always look delighted to be there. They’ve also worked with several brands like Shiseido, Pandora and Joe Fresh, bringing their beautiful moodboards to life with plenty of heart and style. I asked Sasha about what goes into hosting a supper club, from decor inspo to menu-planning.
What is Yu + Mei and what inspired you to create it?
Yu+Mei is a community collective that we started to connect the people in our lives together. Food is integral—it is how we both grew up showing love and building relationships, and we consider this the main focus of our events. We wanted to strip away the fluff and guarded nature of industry events by mixing groups that may not have typically interacted together to create meaningful and engaging interactions. Yu+Mei also evolved as a natural integration of all of our interests: food, wine, fashion, beauty, music, and people.
What’s the key to planning a delicious menu for your dinner parties?
Hire a good chef, and make sure you try their food beforehand and get references!
Your supper clubs always look beautiful. Where do you get your inspiration?
From life, and Pinterest! We do a lottttt of pinning and moodboarding and visual research. Conversations with the brands that we're working with are always important so that we get the basis of their overall vision aligned, and then we provide an artistic interpretation of that. We're always keeping an eye on homeware and lifestyle brands that inspire us, as well as people in the creative industry who are producing great things. We source inspiration from art, from nature, from literature, from interior design. For us, there's no limit when it comes to what we can dream up for an event. We're both very driven, solution-oriented people with can-do attitudes, which means that no problem is too big and no task is too menial. We're very hands on with getting crafty to execute our visions!
You both always look great even if you're in the weeds with planning and cooking. What's your secret?
Delegate and do as much in advance as possible! We don't cook for our events, but we work with incredible chefs who are in charge of making sure that they have everything that they need. We trust the vendors that we work with to bring the vision to life, and everyone knows their role and timing on the day of. The entire day of an event is devoted to setup, and we always designate 30 minutes to an hour to getting ready. We always know what we are wearing in advance—this is key! Never leave things like that to the last minute or you'll be indecisive and stressed. Plan your hair, makeup, and outfit in advance, and have everything steamed and ready to go.
Favourite thing about hosting?
Seeing everyone have a good time is really special, as is seeing the artistic vision come to life. We also love seeing when people who have never met before are deep in conversation.
How to romanticize your cleaning routine (whatever helps get it done!).
Meet the onigiri croissant.
Loved this episode of The Splendid Table podcast with tips on cooking seafood like frozen fish.
Do less—it’s really good for you!
Your love language according to your zodiac sign.