The summer in Seattle is all about entertaining at home.  Long dinners with friends and family both al fresco and indoors when the evening turns cool.  This summer I picked up a Cook’s Illustrated magazine early on and have enjoyed homemade tabouli, hummus, macaroni salad and pita salad. Each have become staple side dishes in my household and on weekend retreats.

I cannot recommend the homemade hummus enough.  I threw all the ingredients in my blender and knew instantly I would never buy hummus at the store again!  You can find the recipe on the blog What Did You Eat?

Just look at my table dressed with an assortment of kkCANDLESTICKS beside my Meissen china and Tiffany Audubon flatware.  As you can see the candlesticks and kaarskoker candle sleeves pair beautifully with fine tableware.  I use my china and silver whenever we have guest and the silver on most nights we eat at home sans guests.  Use them: Your children will not want your pattern as they will want their own!  Make the table yours- appropriate for the dish you will serve and particular purpose of the night.  Just as importantly is creating the night you want to create for your guests.  Customizing the candlesticks for each special occasion is like buying a new dress or choosing the perfect wine and the night wouldn’t be the same without this detail!  I love pieces that instantly showcase my creativity and personal style and the sleeves easily achieve this for us all.  I placed a yet-to-be released kaarskoker sleeve on a silver-finish candlestick on the entry hall table and it ROCKS.

On a trip back to my home state of Virginia last month, I finally met the buyer at Shades of Light Amanda Wainscott.  She graciously introduced much of the staff and hosted a guided tour of the large showroom and warehouse filled with lighting and lighting accessories including custom products exclusively available at Shades of Light. All this while she was preparing for a much-anticipated photoshoot.  Many thanks, Amanda!  I recently stumbled on a these before & after shots Shades of Light featured on its blog “Inspired Spaces.” A picture is worth a thousand words!

The Red Fretwork kaarskoker candle covers retail for $14/pair and the Bamboo Tower Chandelier retails for $298.  The chandelier is offered in white, black, coral, green and yellow in addition to the red below.

The Vintage Vine and Flower Sconce has a charming vintage look adopted by the Shabby Chic style.  The distressed-white finished sconce retails for $59 before kaarskoker candle sleeve.  Pink Dot retails for $14/pair.

This weekend is Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale and beginning tomorrow Friday, July 17 kaarskoker candle sleeves and the new kkCANDLESTICK are exclusively available in the @Home Department of select Nordstrom stores nationwide.

At $24 each plus the cost of sleeves, you can give a beautifully packaged and completely personalized gift for less than $50.

The perfect hostess, birthday or wedding gift and for the person who has everything!

kkCANDLESTICK works exclusively with all of 80+ kaarskoker sleeve styles and is adjustable to work with both kaarskoker 4-inch or 6-inch sizes.  Nordstrom will carry seven styles in varying sizes.  Please see kaarskoker candle sleeve styles below.

AVAILABLE IN THE @HOME DEPARTMENT IN NORDSTROM STORES LISTED BELOW

ALASKA
Anchorage

ARIZONA
Fashion Square, Scottsdale

CALIFORNIA
South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa
Brea Mall, Brea
The Shops at Mission Viejo, Mission Viejo
Topanga, Canoga Park
Fashion Valley, San Diego
North County, Escondido
Arden Fair, Sacramento

CONNECTICUT
Westfarms, Farmington

FLORIDA
Village of Merrick Park, Coral Gables

GEORGIA
Perimeter Mall, Atlanta

KANSAS
Oak Park Mall, Overland Park

MICHIGAN
Somerset Collection, Troy

NEW JERSEY
Garden State Plaza, Paramus

OREGON
Washington Square, Tigard

TEXAS
North Park, Dallas
Houston Galleria, Houston

VIRGINIA
Tysons Corner, McLean
The Fashion Center at Pentagon City, Arlington

WASHINGTON
Bellevue Square, Bellevue
Downtown, Seattle
Southcenter, Tukwila
Tacoma Mall, Tacoma

As a way to thank all my friends and family for listening to my shameless promotion of kaarskoker candle sleeves and NEW kaarskoker kkCANDLESTICK, I hosted a private preview at my home last week.  The entire first floor was transformed into a kaarskoker CANDY STORE!  With glass jars overflowing with colorful sleeves, my favorite people paired their favorite sleeve combinations and wowed me with innovation and creativity. I cannot wait to see what others do with this customizable candlestick. Thanks to style.ish for documenting the event.