I'm freakishly serious about my stationery. Not sure when it all began, but it is way beyond my control at this point in my life. Don't get me started on those tiny little response cards sometimes found in wedding invitations. I'll just go on and on and we will never agree.

However, I've taken one step closer to the edge of the cliff with "Paperless Post". Founder Alexa Hirschfeld and her brother have managed to produce a system that creates email invitations that look much better then email invitations should look.

In fact, I can honestly tell you that they are beautiful.

Paperless Post's system allows hosts to create and track online invitations...nothing new here...we've all seen Evite. These, however, have the look of better stationery. Think Crane's or William Arthur. The selection of motifs is growing and they are open to suggestions for new ones! The envelopes that guests receive in their in-boxes "open" to reveal the invitation inside. I thought that was a neat trick. The cost is low...pennies per invitation. Not sure how this compares to Evite. I’ve never tried it.

Click below to see an interview that founder Alexa Hirschfeld gave recently to Forbes.

http://video.forbes.com/fvn/wtw/alexa-hirschfeld-paperless-post

To sum up, I think Paperless Post is an excellent product for casual entertaining. It is easy, fast and nearly free to use. Just don't use it for your wedding invitations and blame me. The guilt would be too much to bear.

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Click the link above to see our new how to video!

Vihno Verde

Vihno Verde has been around for a while, but I'm just picking up on it now and thought I'd pass it along while summer is still here.

Vihno Verde is Portuguese wine from the Minho region of that country.  It is called a "green wine", not for its color, but for its youth.  It is a young wine that is best consumed within a year of being bottled.  According to several wine blogs, it is petillant.  That's a fancy way of saying that is is a little bubbly, but not truly sparkling.

So far, I have experimented with two Vihno Verdes and like both.  The Broadbent Vihno Verde has fresh floral notes.  The Casal Garcia, in the beautiful blue bottle, is a bit sweeter to me. 

Probably the best thing about this type of wine is that its cheap!  According to most sources, both of the bottles we tested can be purchased in the $7.00 range.  I paid $10.00, but I do tend to overpay for most things.

If you are entertaining this summer, why not try Vihno Verde, an inexpensive wine sure to please your guests!  Remember, buy it now and drink it now!!

Nigella makes it.  So does Ina.  So what exactly is Eton Mess???

It is an easy-to-make early summer dessert that is sure to please your guests.  Apparently, it got its name from schoolboys at Eton College in England.  It seems that they make and serve it at an annual picnic there on June 4.  Sounds like a worthy tradition to me.

To make it, just cut up some strawberries and put them in a bowl along with some juice (either orange or pomegranate would be nice).  I skipped the juice and doused mine with a little Grand Marnier.  Cover the bowl and put it in the fridge for a few hours.

Whip up some cream and add some sugar to taste.  Then, crumble some meringue cookies into the sweetened cream.  I just bought my meringue cookies at the grocery store, but you could make your own if you were feeling ambitious.

Then, add the strawberries to the cream-cookie mixture and chill.

You could serve this in one great big bowl, but I rather liked serving it in saucer champagne glasses.  Serve it however you like.  The whole point here is to make an unfussy, simple dessert that is, yes, a little messy

If you find yourself entertaining this June and are in need of a refreshing dessert to highlight those beautiful strawberries in season now, give Eton Mess a try!

Thanks to everyone who asked!  A Curly Wurly Bar is a chocolate and caramel candy bar made by Cadbury.  It is similar to the Marathon Bar that was made by Mars years ago here in the U.S.  The Curly Wurly is available in the U.K. and Australia.  We got ours from our new favorite supplier of English grocery items, UKGOODS.COM.  The box arrived just in time for our Royal Wedding View Party!