Author Description

Lavishly illustrated and full of practical home-entertaining know-how, this book will appeal to everyone from first-time hosts to seasoned party-throwers. Author, designer, and HGTV host Monica Pederson will inspire and teach readers how to entertain at home with her exclusive insider tips. Her book shows readers how to create beautiful, innovative parties for a range of occasions and budgets. Monica Pedersen Make it Beautiful is a step-by-step guide featuring simple, must-know party planning secrets, in addition to social etiquette tips and how to dress for each event. Pedersen explains how readers can work with what they have in their home when planning a party, taking direction from their very own interiors and generating creative ideas. In 10 gorgeous chapters, Pedersen presents 10 separate parties--each for its own occasion and with its own themes--using her accessible approach and distinctive style to set the tone. For each party, Pedersen assembles a presentation board the same way she would for a design client, with dazzling sample fabrics, flowers, colors, renderings, descriptions, invitations and party favors. Each chapter will also feature sample menus from some of the nation's top celebrity chefs, including the Wynn Hotel's Paul Bartolotta and Top Chef's All-Star Fabio Viviani. Mike Ditka of Chicago Bears fame and owner of Chicago's fabled Ditkas Restaurant, even provides a special Super Bowl menu. Also included are exclusive wine pairings from Napa Valley's Rutherford Hill Winery, to round out this reader-friendly guide to all-around entertaining. Pedersen, a former fashion model and popular HGTV host who appears regularly on the Today Show and Live with Kelly & Regis, will feature prominently throughout this inspirational, do-it-yourself party-planning book. Using her mother's fabulous parties as inspiration, Pedersen offers up her personal take on entertaining--the same know-how that's made her on