Whether stashing away pillows or disguising plain planter pots, baskets are a stylish and clever solution to storage woes.

EAT

April 10-12: Easter and Passover Carryout Meals

Locations, times, and prices vary.

It’s safe to say that this Easter and Passover weekend will look and feel different than any other.
Although more family celebrations will take place via Zoom and Facetime than around the dinner table this year, that’s no reason to forego tradition, which always starts and ends with food. Plan your weekend menu using our guide to local eateries that are offering carryout and delivery specials on everything from “Seder Containers” and matzo ball soup to deviled eggs and “Easter Egg” ice cream in honor of these springtime holidays.

DRINK

April 10-12: Booze To Go

Locations, times, and prices vary.

When Gov. Larry Hogan passed the March executive order to allow alcohol delivery and takeout sales from restaurants, bars, and other hospitality establishments amid the coronavirus pandemic, Marylanders breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Since then, tons of local spots have gotten creative with their to-go booze options, including Mr. Nice Guy Cocktail’s Tiger King-themed menu, Wet City’s signature slushies by Blinky, and Nepenthe Brewing Co.’s at-home brewing supplies. Order “essential supplies” for this weekend using our easy-access guide to Baltimore-based breweries, liquor stores, and eateries, and support your favorite small businesses when they need it the most.

SEE

April 12: Virtual Drag Brunch

12:30 p.m. facebook.com/bookmakerscocktailclub.

If there’s anyone who can transition a popular weekly drag brunch into a Facebook Live performance filled with top-notch performers, raffles, and more than a few breakfast cocktails, it’s Brooklyn Heights. This Sunday, instead of snagging a seat at Bookmaker’s Cocktail Club, pull up the Federal Hill bar’s Facebook page to watch some of Baltimore’s best drag performers sashay for the camera. Make a donation and enter to win raffle prizes to support local queens like Iyana Deschanel, Jasmine Blue, and Bambi Necole Ferrah, and count down the days until we can throw dollar bills at our favorite performers in person.

HEAR

April 10: Mary Prankster

8 p.m. wtmd.org.

Live music doesn’t come to a halt just because we can’t hear our favorite acts play in concert halls or venues right now. Instead, we can listen to up-and-coming musicians play from the comfort of their own living rooms, thanks to WTMD’s new Cabin Fever Concerts video series. This Friday, visit the Towson radio station’s Facebook page to watch a livestream performance by local singer-songwriter Mary Prankster, featuring an hour of intimate solo acoustics. Tune in to hear the reigning WTMD Artist of the Year play fan-favorite songs like “Local Honey” and “Rock n Roll Degenerate,” and mark your calendars for upcoming livestream spots by the likes of Letitia VanSant and Emily Wolfe.

DO

April 10: Fells Point Community Blood Drive

Su Casa Furniture, 901 S. Bond Street. 12:30-6 p.m. Free.

As local and regional hospitals face an emergency blood shortage in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Fells Point businesses and neighbors are coming together to host a community-sponsored blood drive. If you’re able to donate blood, register with the Red Cross and then visit the temporary station at Su Casa Furniture, which is volunteering its closed store to the cause. After making your donation, enter for the chance to win gift certificates to neighborhood staple Kooper’s Tavern.

With handmade signs, carnations, and candy in tow, a group of Southeast Baltimore small business owners are taking to the medians of President Street this week to wave and give out goodies to morning commuters coming into the city.

Among them Tuesday morning was a smiling Nick Johnson, owner of furniture store Su Casa in Fells Point, who stood alongside Sergio Vitale of Aldo’s, Patrick Russell of Kooper’s Tavern, Beth Hawks of Zelda Zen, Max’s Taphouse owners Ron and Gail Furman—who gave away wooden tokens redeemable for free beer at their bar—and others proudly holding signs with slogans such as “You are Our Valentine” and “Small Businesses Welcome You.”

“For me the fun part is I’ve met a bunch of my customers in traffic,” Johnson says. “It’s nice to put a smile on their faces. That was the whole intent. Some people are like, ‘Isn’t there a larger message? Is this a political thing?’ And the answer is no, this is about smiles and waves, and that’s it.”

The mission behind the gathering at one of the city’s most prominent entryways at the bottom of I-83—a location often frequented by squeegee kids, people who are experiencing homelessness, and organizations collecting donations—is part of a larger small business initiative called “Love Local Bmore” spearheaded by councilmembers Zeke Cohen and Bill Henry.

“We’ve heard from far too many people in surrounding counties that they don’t come to Baltimore anymore,” says Vitale of Aldo’s, mentioning negative perceptions of the city based on media coverage of the crime rate. “All of those stories deserve a lot of attention, but at the same time a lot of us here in the city are doing great things, and we have employees who depend on people visiting. So we wanted to counter that narrative with love, positivity, and a little generosity.”

Gathering on President Street is seen by many as the first action plan in moving the Love Local Bmore project forward. Johnson, a Fells Point Main Street board member, says that the idea was a result of him and his neighbors collectively “feeling the impact of fewer people downtown.”

“One of the things we noticed is how conditioned we’ve become to trying to ignore people in the street,” Vitale adds. “It seems like everyone has blinders on, but once we broke through that and people realized we weren’t asking for anything, just giving things away, most of them were super positive. It was sort of a pep rally for small businesses in a lot of ways.”

The owners plan to continue their presence during the morning commute throughout the rest of the week leading up to Valentine’s Day. Vitale even hints that there could be additional free sweets, including cookies made by bakers in Little Italy.

Johnson says that the hope is for this to inspire other business owners in different areas of the city to start similar projects, or even join in on President Street. (Anna Leventis, owner of SoBo Cafe in Federal Hill, was among those waving on Tuesday morning.)

As Vitale puts it: “When you lead with love, all other things fall into place.”

“I had such a blast, all of us did,” he adds. “Gail Furman told me, ‘You’re going to be reinvigorated by this. You’re going to go back to your business and feel super pumped and charged to be in Baltimore.’ She was 100 percent right.”

A retail store lasting for 20 years is no small feat. For Nick Johnson, owner of décor and furniture company Su Casa, the key to thriving has been support from the Baltimore community—through unpredictable weather, new locations, and everything in between.

After a long period of personal and product-driven growth, the team at Su Casa has no immediate plans for expansion and is focusing efforts on its current locations in Fells Point, Ellicott City, Bethany Beach, and Ocean View, Delaware. Collaborating with local artisans like Max’s Candles, Oak & Iron Designs, and Charlie Barton, Johnson places huge emphasis on the importance of small businesses supporting and sustaining each other.

We sat down with Johnson to chat about the history, evolution, and future of the interior design company.

What was the initial inspiration behind Su Casa?
Back then, we had this model all centered around the Big Iguana. It was basically a hippie store, lots of clothes, jewelry, accessories, and then we started doing candles, candle holders, and art—that sort of thing. Our model was to open a new store based on the parts that are doing really well. We wanted to sell more artwork and accessories and small pieces of furniture than would fit into this little hippie store. So, we created Su Casa. I would have never thought 20 years ago that we would end up with four stores, two warehouses, and this customer service model. We just wanted to sell more mirrors and glassware. Then, whoops it became serious.

How has the community in Baltimore treated you over the past 20 years?
We’ve loved it. I think part of it is our focus on the customer. We’ve never been the typical furniture store. It’s never about having Fourth of July or Memorial Day sales. We don’t do any of those things. Our customers have been super supportive, they come back to us over and over. We built policies around taking care of the customer first and the business second. We’ve moved with people and, when you take care of the people, they then support you and do whatever they can to help you out.

The flood in Ellicott City is the perfect example. The second time around was a lot harder for us than the first time, except that we knew what the challenges were and what we would have to do to overcome them. But in the end, we got an incredible amount of support, so we feel we’ve built a much better business the third time around because of the support we received.

What did you have to do for the Ellicott City location after the flooding occurred?
The first time around, we had to do a lot of actual construction because it had never happened to that store before. In the rebuilding, we did things like half-jokingly put in a waterproof floor and we’re like, “Oh, if it ever happens again, the floor’s going to be great. Because it will never happen again.”

And then it happened again. We were truly all set to leave Ellicott City because we had inches of mud covering the entire first floor. And we didn’t know if we could go through this again. We literally, in three days, took every piece of inventory, floor to ceiling, walls, everything, out. Then, the landlord said, “The store looks great, when are you going to reopen?” The store looked terrible. But as it turns out, he understood the importance of businesses coming back and so he jumped into action, cleaned out the store for us, made it happen, and then everybody that supported us financially and emotionally made it so we could come back.

Just like you expanded into furniture, do you plan on expanding the business into anything else in the future?
I would leave that up to my wife. If there’s one person who is more driven than me, it’s her. She has four different businesses right now and she keeps expanding. I love what we do. Other people are like, “You work seven days a week?” But at the same time, I love being at work. I don’t have any crazy ideas of how to pull a concept out of this store and create its own concept right now. But that being said, we have a history of doing that. So, who knows?

Do you have any advice for someone just starting out?
Work hard. Ultimately, some of the areas where we’ve had challenges I’ve overcome it by plowing into it and putting in the hours. I worry that a lot of people these days who start businesses don’t understand that you can overcome a lot just by putting more of yourself into that business. You can overcome being short on cash. You can overcome being short on staff. You can overcome losing the identity of your business, by being your business.

What has Baltimore meant to you?
The city is a great place. It has a lot of challenges right now. But I always end up remembering how fortunate we are to be in this area with things like Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland, Under Armour. They drive a lot of the economy here and being in the city is a part of that. Because I don’t think you get that elsewhere. You don’t have these main drivers in employment and in an economy in every region. So, the city has been great for that—people shouldn’t take that for granted.

Why did you choose to incorporate local artisans?
That has been the most fundamental change for us in the last five years. Some of the things I’m most proud of are the people who started off making things in their garage who wanted to sell it. There are a few stories like that I really love where it’s people who end up aligning what they do with what we do. It becomes a symbiotic relationship where we feed their business, they feed our business, and their business grows into other people’s stores.

Do you have any goals for the next 20 years?
We eventually want to open more stores. We’ve really embraced this idea of being a part of a community and I think that’s the hardest thing to replicate. We don’t want to lose focus on how important a business is to a neighborhood. You can’t just open a new store and suddenly be a part of that. We look at areas where we know we have some influence or we have some support from customers or staff. We’d love to expand into Annapolis or go back up to Towson. But longer term, it’s growth, being mindful of the impact we have, and how we can support and help the communities we are in.

Are you doing anything to celebrate the anniversary?
We hope to throw some sort of party. But being in four different locations, it’s tough figuring out how to handle that logistically. But we will continue to do sales and things throughout the year, where we reinforce the fact that we’ve been around a long time and we hope to be around a lot longer.

Row 1: “Less Monday More Coffee” mug ($15) at Brightside Boutique. Violet and Brooks hair clips ($16) at Punch!. Desperately Seeking Bowie ($16.95) at Trohv. Voluspa Persimmon and Copal candle ($28) at South Moon Under. Voluspa rose petal ice cream candle ($13) at Anthropologie. Studio Oh! animal water bottle ($35) at Su Casa.

Row two: Lavender Stardust Face Body Hair roll on shimmer ($10) at South Moon Under. Thacker Le Pouch suede blush crossbody ($138) at Sassanova. Slant Collections “Hot stuff” lunch taker ($16.95) at Punch!. “Girlgang” straw ($10) at Punch!. Votive Holder ($17) at Poppy and Stella. Rosé All Day baseball hat ($28) at Brightside Boutique.

Row three: “You are Magic” card ($5) at Poppy and Stella. Toucan shot glass ($6.50) at Punch!. Illume candle ($28) at Su Casa. Quay Australia x Desi Perkins sunglasses ($65) at Brightside Boutique. Fringe Necklace ($16.95) at Punch!.

Row four: Corso Como suede flats ($119) at Poppy and Stella. Mignonne Gavigan flamingo earrings ($325) at Sassanova. Austin Apothecary illuminating body oil ($18) at Doubledutch Boutique. Three Potato Four change holder ($6.50) at Trohv.

Wine and dine your special someone without even leaving the house with these romantic and thoughtful items for a date night in.

Lavinia heel ($149.99) at Ma Petite Shoe

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Bordelle bralette ($405) at Polina’s Prive

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Raaka Pink Sea Salt Chocolate ($8.69) at Ma Petite Shoe

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The Food Market at Home ($30) at Trohv

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Narwhal corkscrew ($25) at Su Casa

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Mercury Prism candle ($18) at Poppy and Stella

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XL 4 inch matches ($6) at Poppy and Stella

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Come As You Aren’t adult game ($14.99) at Trohv

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For Love and Lemons appliqué bralette ($122) at Polina’s Prive

1. Pacific Connections tissue box cover ($105) at Antique Exchange. 2. Fire red tea kettle ($48) at Su Casa. 3. Mongolian lamb stool ($399) at West Elm. 4. Orange storage container ($8.75) at Trohv. 5. Middle Kingdom small vase ($12) at Antique Exchange. 6. Lime toothbrush holder ($18) at Su Casa. 7. Tufted pedestal swivel chair ($899) at West Elm. 8. Amanda Adams felt cactus ($56) at Trohv. 9. Leaves of Grass ($16.99) and Meehan’s Bartender Manual ($40) at Trohv. 10. Surya Coast table lamp ($160) at Su Casa. 11. Blue mosaic picture frame ($42) at Trohv. 12. Middle Kingdom Lotus Root vase ($38) at Antique Exchange.

Whether it’s to highlight the color of a certain season or just based on your mood, throw pillows are an easy way to add a pop of color, texture, and personality to any room.

Top row, left to right: Cloud9 Design ivory-and-blue ombré pillow ($265) at Nouveau Home and Interior Design. Scenic landscape pillow ($39) at West Elm. Modern print pillow ($240) at The House Downtown. Middle row, left to right: Flower textured pillow ($124) at Nouveau Home and Interior Design. Silk ikat pillow ($42) at Wishbone Reserve. Ikat composition crewel pillow ($49) at West Elm. Bottom row, left to right: Neutral leopard pillow ($275) at The House Downtown. Custom pillow ($45) at Su Casa. Turkish kilim pillow ($42) at Wishbone Reserve.

The ongoing construction working to beautify Broadway Square in Fells Point might not be complete just yet, but organizers of the upcoming Fells Point Fun Festival aren’t letting the work stop them from upholding the community’s 51-year-old tradition.

In a classic case of turning lemons into lemonade, organizers with the Fells Point Main Street Association (FPMSA) saw the construction as a reason to downsize the event this year. And, along with the smaller footprint, comes a renewed focus on the local community.

“We knew that without the square we would lose some of the vendor space,” says FPMSA president Nick Johnson, who also owns Su Casa. “We thought about how to still make it this phenomenal festival that people will love even with less vendors. And the answer was to turn it back into a real Fells Point festival, and showcase what’s here every day.”

The community street fair returns October 7-8, focusing in on more local bars, restaurants, artists, musicians, and small businesses than in recent history.

Johnson says that, in recent years, the festival has adopted more of a carnival feel—with offerings like inflatable prizes and eats on a stick. Now, he hopes to get back to the roots of the event—which originally started as a fundraiser to protect the waterfront neighborhood from demolition during the proposed federal highway expansion of 1966.

“If you look at it from a historical context, the festival started out as a celebration of the neighborhood so that the city would see that there was value to keeping it,” he says. “This is a chance to change things up and really start to emphasize what’s so phenomenal about this community day in and day out.”

Unlike previous years where vendors were set up inside Broadway Square, the smaller event will be primarily held along Thames Street this year. Although the Baltimore City Department of Transportation (DOT) estimates that construction on the square will be complete by Friday, September 29, FPMSA admittedly has its doubts.

“I was in an elevator this morning with the community liaison for DOT, and she was like ‘Aren’t you excited the square is going to be done on Friday?’” he recalls, with a laugh. “And I was like, ‘Have you been there lately?'” 

Johnson says that there is still a significant amount of bricklaying and concrete-pouring to be done, but, if anything, the association hopes that the fences around the square will be removed by next weekend so that guests can hang out in the center of the neighborhood during the festival.

Instead of organizers bringing in outside food purveyors, the eateries on Thames Street will set up booths in front of their restaurants and cafe-style seating in the street—a model which Johnson says will be similar to Annapolis’ reoccurring Dinner Under the Stars program. The festival’s open-container policy will once again be in effect this year (organizers got rid of the beer gardens in 2013), allowing attendees to consume alcohol anywhere on festival grounds with the purchase of a wristband.

Aside from restaurants, there has also been a boost in other Fells Point businesses that are vowing to participate this year. Among them is Amuse Toys, which will feature a tent outside, and various family-friendly activities including Smithsonian-recommended silhouette artist Tim Arnold on Saturday, October 7.

“We’ve participated before, but now it’s kind of a reenergized participation,” says Amuse owner Claudia Towles. “It’s going to feel very different. It only makes sense to celebrate the neighborhood by featuring those who make it so charming. Bringing the festival back with a local focus is key to the continued success of the community.”

Other highlights to look forward to include handmade wares for sale by local crafters, and a jam-packed live music lineup boasting only Maryland bands. Headliners are set to include local rocker—and Dangerously Delicious Pies owner—Rodney Henry, the bluesy Kelly Bell Band, and Annapolis-based reggae and ska favorite Bumpin Uglies.

The reinvigorated festival comes at a transformative time for the neighborhood, which recently welcomed Kevin Plank’s $60 million Sagamore Pendry Hotel, and was added to Waterfront Partnership’s purview earlier this month.

Johnson says that the evolution of Fells Point is something that he and longtime friend Bryan Burkert, who owns The Sound Garden, talk about often: “Whenever there is a new project announced we always joke, ‘This is going to be the one that takes us to another level,’” he says with a laugh. “But this year really marks the turning point. Once the square is done, there is very little to hold us back.”

Towles, too, sees the reinvigorated festival and all of the recent improvements as a larger vision for what’s to come.

“It’s turning the page on the focus of the neighborhood,” she says. “What’s new is shiny and beautiful, and certainly changes the dynamics, but it’s only serving to highlight what is already here.” 

Beginning on January 1, 2018, visitors to Fells Point will notice cleaner streets, security patrol, and a few newly planted shrubs as they stroll down Broadway. As a part of Waterfront Partnership’s mission to create a “cleaner, greener future” for Baltimore, it has expanded its reach to one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods.

Waterfront Management Authority (WMA)—a business improvement district under the umbrella of Waterfront Partnership—provides maintenance, beautification, and security waterfront locations Harbor East, Harbor Point, and the Inner Harbor and will now do the same for Fells Point. 

“This big expansion really addresses some of the root problems in Fells Point, like safety and cleanliness,” said Nick Johnson, president of Fells Point Main Street Association (FPMSA) and owner of Su Casa. “It demonstrates that the neighborhood is headed in a new direction.”

About a year ago, Fells Point business leaders initially wanted to develop a plan to address the rising concerns. But they knew the issues were too big to tackle without outside assistance. 

“We needed to join and work with the local government to get where we wanted to be,” said Kelley Heuisler, owner of Poppy & Stella and president of Fells Point District. “It’s been proven that, in Baltimore, having these private-public partnerships is successful. It is a way to really expand upon the services individual communities need and Fells Point is certainly no exception to that.”

After vetting all possible options, FPMSA decided that working with Waterfront Partnership made the most sense—citing the success of WMA’s placement in Harbor East and Harbor Point. 

In order to make the expansion possible, Councilman Zeke Cohen and Councilman Eric Costello introduced a bill to the city council in May, which would allow WMA to expand its boundaries to include commercial properties in Fells Point. 

After the required hearings, the bill was passed and signed by Mayor Catherine Pugh in August and, then, 58 percent of Fells Point property owners needed to agree on the expansion. With 79 percent of the votes in support, Waterfront Partnership was able to move forward with the plan.

Although the majority of business and property owners in Fells Point support the expansion, the increase in annual tax bills was a factor for the opposition. Johnson estimates that the taxes for Su Casa may increase to roughly $2500 a year, but sees it as an investment for the long term.

“No one likes to have taxes or fees imposed,” said Waterfront Partnership executive director Laurie Schwartz. “At the end of the day, I believe the owners saw that the services they receive are well worth the amount they’ll pay. They’ll need the additional services to remain a competitive neighborhood in the city.”

Some business owners also believe that the city should be responsible for providing a safe, clean place for residents to visit and seeking outside sources to fulfill those needs should not be necessary.

“You can’t argue with that—it’s absolutely, 100-percent true,” Johnson said. “Yes, we shouldn’t have to pay above and beyond what we are already paying in taxes, but we have to think of it as an investment in our neighborhood.”

Although the expansion is focused on the commercial portion of Fells Point, some residents with homes within neighborhood boundaries will benefit from the improvements. Schwartz said that some have even gone so far as to call Waterfront Partnership to offer financial contributions for the expansion.

“This expansion is about giving the people that come a better experience,” Heuisler said. “We’re all very excited about what this means overall for Fells Point—it’s going to be huge.”

Marvey Le Pen ($2) at Trohv

South and West by Joan Didion ($21) at The Ivy Bookshop

Designworks Ink cactus journal ($14) at Poppy and Stella. 

Treason the Biddle backpack ($125) at Treason Toting Co. 

Bronze water bottle ($24) at Su Casa. 

Bettye Ace sling back pompom slides ($69) at South Moon Under. 

Heart shaped sunglasses ($20) at Brightside Boutique. 

Marvey license plate key chain ($9) at Trohv. 

Ursa Major traveler’s skin care kit ($48) at Trohv. 

Auto Bingo ($2/each) at Shananigans Toy Shop. 

The 3rd Dimension ($7) at Shananigans Toy Shop

Free Play Magnatab ($25) at aMuse Toys. 

Instax Mini 8 ($70) at Service Photo. 

Through the Past Darkly by The Rolling Stones ($20) at The Sound Garden. 

Bobino cord wrap ($6) at Su Casa. 

1. Cider Made Simple book ($19.95) at Su Casa. 2. All-natural beer soap ($7) at Nepenthe Homebrew. 3. “Union” T-shirt ($20) at Union Craft Brewing. 4. Williams Sonoma craft beer barbecue sauce set ($29.95) at Williams Sonoma. 5. Foster & Rye beer tasting field notebook ($7) at Su Casa. 6. Sideshow Press plaid wooden coasters ($14) at Trohv. Counter Couture bison coasters ($13.50) at Trohv. 7. Soberdough brew bread mix ($10) at Su Casa. 8. The Beer Deck playing cards ($17) at Becket Hitch. 9. The Original Retro Brand “Drinking About You” T-shirt ($48) at The Girl Next Door. 10. Max’s Waxhouse Trappist Belgian Ale candle ($15) at Max’s Taphouse. 11. Unpossible Cuts beer mug earrings ($12) at Trohv. 12. Novelty bulldog wall-mounted bottle opener ($16.95) at Williams Sonoma. 13. Liquid Education: Beer book ($14.95) at Trohv.

Precious metals have been in high demand since what seems like the beginning of time. Add metallic shades like gunmetal and silver into your personal color palette for a more dramatic look.

1. Three Potato Four pennant ($24) at Trohv. 2. Cocktail stirrers ($42 set) at Trohv. 3. Flamingo plate ($7) at Su Casa. 4. Crab bracelet ($22) at Route One Apparel. 5. Itineris Maryland board ($30) at Mud and Metal. 6. Black-eyed Susan sleep mask ($12.95) at Route One Apparel. 7. “Someone in Hampden Loves You” tote ($22) at Mud and Metal. 8. Lotus coordinates necklace ($48) at Poppy and Stella. 9. Rat mug ($12) at Trohv. 10. “Ravens & Bohs & Crabs & O’s” shirt ($23.99) at Route One Apparel. 11. Crab iron hook ($6) at Sweet Elizabeth Jane. 12. Write Notepads & Co. “Lenore” notebook ($12) at Trohv. 13. Patterson Park pagoda letterpress card ($5) at tinydogpress.com.

1. Saucer plate ($6) at Su Casa. 2. Cafe creamer ($5.25) at Trohv. 3. Linen napkin ($39.95/set of four) at Williams-Sonoma. Seletti porcelain tray ($24.50) at Trohv. Vintage flatware ($5.50/set) at Trohv. 4. Allen Cady walnut board ($49-89) at Trohv. 5. Sugar bowl ($5) at Trohv. 6. John Kelly dark chocolate espresso fudge bars ($3.99/each) at Ma Petite Shoe. 7. Water glasses ($8/each) at Trohv. 8. Bialetti Moka Express 6-Cup ($34.99) at Target. 9. Tea light holders ($6.50/each) at The Store Ltd. 10. Saucer plate ($6) at Su Casa. 11. Amola smoky espresso salt ($13.25) at In Watermelon Sugar. Small bowl ($27.50) at In Watermelon Sugar. 12. Slate platter ($6) at Su Casa. Ticket chocolate waffle pecan bar ($6.49) and Midnight Mocha Chocolate Fusion organic dark chocolate bar ($3.79) at Ma Petite Shoe. 13. Sterling silver sugar nips ($85) at Charlotte Elliott. Abbesses plate ($8) at Trohv. 14. Linen napkin ($9.95) at Williams-Sonoma. Wooden spoons ($19.95/set of four), horn spoon ($7.99), and shell spoon ($8.99) at Curiosity. Coffee and cookies courtesy of Ma Petite Shoe.

Showing up with a bottle of wine is never a bad idea, but if you’re looking to say “thank you” to your host or hostess for the wonderful evening with a gift that will last past the night, here are a few ideas.

Before you think about replacing a rather large (and expensive) piece
such as a couch, breathe new life into it by simply adding some accent
pillows. Mix and match seasonally with a different color palette and fun
patterns and be amazed by the fresh look.

From top to bottom:
D. L. Rhein The Amalfi orange-and-white pillow ($118) at Curiosity.
Coyuchi green-and-white chevron pillow ($78) at Trohv. Customized toss
pillow ($45) at Su Casa. D. L. Rhein Frequency pillow ($156) at
Curiosity. Customized toss pillow ($45) at Su Casa. Geometric tile
pillow ($88) at The Kellogg Collection. Wooden ladder ($200) at Su Casa.