Blog: Summer

Summer is the season for easy entertaining where low-fuss is Julia’s design mantra. In each of Julia’s summertime parties below, you’ll find plenty of tips for stress-free hosting and low-cost styling that capitalize on beautiful yet easily accessible décor.

Julia M. Usher

A Cookie Coming-Out

Ka-ching! Ka-ching! Not familiar with that sound? Well then, you’re as lucky as a kid in a candy shop, because most of us can recognize the sound of the cash register tallying up party damages from miles away. There’s no

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Julia M. Usher

Teatime with Where Women Cook

Even though I’ve been food-styling for publications for a few years, it’s not everyday that a national magazine emails to say they want to photograph me doing my cookie thing. Usually I’m hired to make someone else’s food or space look camera-ready.

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Julia M. Usher

Celebrating the Everyday

OK, so this feature isn’t my usual special party, but it is a celebration in its own right – of the smaller things in life that we (or at least, I) too often take for granted. After a whirlwind winter

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Julia M. Usher

Field of Dreams

Alfresco is one of my favorite ways to entertain. Late September into early October, after the summer swelter has passed, is usually the best time to do it here in Missouri. Fortunately, June was unseasonably cool when this farm-to-table dinner

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Julia M. Usher

Good as Gold

Once upon a time, long before I ever wrote about cookies, I owned and operated a bakery. There in my humble South St. Louis shop, I happily crafted all manner of fancy wedding cakes, from modern mosaics and sculptural suspensions to more romantic chocolate-wrapped and

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Julia M. Usher

Hello, Summer

Normally I’m not one to relish the unexpected house guest, but when summer descended on my little island home-away-from-home of Stonington, Maine fully three weeks ahead of schedule, I embraced the convergence of seasons with a giant bear hug –

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Julia M. Usher

Potluck Picnic

Whether you’re still lounging around the pool sipping piña coladas or beginning to corral the kids for the start of the school year, one thing is certain: no one wants to spend the last days of summer toiling over an

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Julia M. Usher

Bridal Shower Breakthrough

Turning a bridal shower into a cookie swap is a sure winner. Trust me; in my seven years as a bakery owner, I saw thousands of weddings! Everyone’s a sucker for cookies – including the bride. After months of restraint to fit

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