PRÊT-À-PARTY

A HOW-TO GUIDE FOR THE POST-MARTHA GENERATION

THROWING A FANTASTIC PARTY REQUIRES neither the bank account of an heiress nor an expansive home with gilded interiors and a view. Don't get me wrong, it helps. But thanks to Fete Accompli!: The Ultimate Guide to Creative Entertaining (Clarkson Potter), the new, comprehensive resource guide by Elizabeth Harrison and Lara Shriftman, the powerhouse event-planning/P.R./marketing duo, and Karen Robinovitz, you can learn how to put together a fabulous soiree on any budget. "People love to entertain, but the whole Martha Stewart concept is too intimidating," explains Harrison. "We offer a step-bystep process on how to do it—much in the same way we do our events," adds Shriftman. The pages are filled with tips on everything from invitations and music to proper hostess gifts, ambient lighting, and how to assume picture-perfect poses. An entire chapter is dedicated to etiquette (thank-you notes and table settings), while another shares coveted recipes from such celebrated restaurants as Nobu, in New York, Joe's Stone Crab, in Miami, and Glitretind, at Utah's Stein Eriksen Lodge. Harrison and Shriftman insist that the most important element of any successful party is the right mix of people, but this manual helps kick it up a few notches. Cheers!

PUNCH HUTTON