Glenn Gissler - Blog - 2015 - 845x1024To kick-off the Summer I invited a bunch of friends over to my apartment in Brooklyn Heights for a mid-week party on my terrace with beverages and food.  It was a perfect evening, and more than one guest showed up in seersucker!

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Always one of the sharpest dressed men in a crowd, Thomas Jayne, one of the elder statesmen of American interior decoration (check his blog), told me about purchasing his seersucker suit in Charleston while working on a project several years ago.

But the flowers seemed to be the star of the evening.

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Peonies are a signifier of late Spring announcing the summer ahead; in the NYC Flower Market earlier this week there were a lot of this showy short-lived flower with a lovely fragrance. Not known as a ‘colorist’ per se, the Coral Supreme peonies I chose seemed to strike the right contrasting tone to the rich earthtones in my apartment – I bought 5 large bunches and some greens placed around the apartment.

Glenn Gissler - Blog - 2015 - tableHolding court on the center of my terrace table was this large vase filled with peonies surrounded by a selection of food served buffet style.

The food menu? Grilled spicy shrimp, humus with roasted garlic, sliced cucumbers and carrots, filet mignon sliced thin, cheese with crackers garnished with green and red grapes, and fresh salad with corn and tomatoes with a simple Balsamic vinaigrette.

The beverage menu?  Mocktails – ginger beer, plain or with pomegranate juice; and Cocktails – gin/vodka tonic with lime, clear & crisp white wine, or a ‘cocktail du jour’ – a Moscow Mule – vodka, ginger beer with lime juice – yum!

Perhaps the most delicious part of the evening was the wonderful group of people who came to share the evening – artists, shrinks, photographers, designers, writers, a couple of digital wizards, a poet, a couple of entrepreneurs and delightful ‘plus ones’. They were an open, easy, smart, and fun group – I wish I could bottle the collective spirit!

JUST past the Summer Solstice the evening light seemed to last forever, but eventually the sky darkened, and the terrace lighting and candles created a more sultry vibe, reinforced by the evening’s soundtrack ‘SUMMER EVE’ that included Nightmares on Wax, Cold War Kids, Grace Jones, Paolo Nutini, Bryan Ferry, Dawn Penn, Emiliana Torrini and more.

I see the success and warm feelings of last night as a positive omen for many good times ahead for the summer with friends & family!

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TO A GREAT SUMMER!

CHEERS!

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