Growing up, Lauren easily made friends in classes and clubs, but found adult friendships more challenging. Realizing this was a common struggle—whether starting a new job, welcoming a baby, or moving to a new city—she decided to take action. She created a plan to strengthen bonds through shared meals and quality time, blending convenience with monthly gatherings. Her approach focuses on elevating entertaining, allowing people to host meaningful connections without the stress of planning.
So, she decided it was time to change the game! She envisioned a plan that combined good food, great people, and a little extra time to prioritize relationships. Her idea? Create a space where you can escape the daily grind, celebrate life beyond holidays and birthdays, and build stronger bonds with those around you. Enter: Escape & Celebrate
With a dash of curated convenience and a sprinkle of monthly accountability, she’s made hosting and gathering with friends both easy and elevated. She handles the details so you can focus on enjoying memorable moments with the ones who matter most.
There’s always an extra seat at her table, and we had the privilege of sitting down with her to learn a bit more about not only her, but her hosting style.
How do you like to entertain? What is the vibe (where, feeling, how)?
Easy yet elevated! And I love a low-key theme. It helps direct the menu, the table settings, the overall vibe, in my opinion making it easier to pull it all together with a little direction in mind!
What are you serving?
It depends on the month! We love to focus on seasonal produce with dishes that all work really well together! We also try to focus on dishes that can be made ahead of time, can easily feed a group and have limited ingredients to make it easy to shop and prep! They also play into a subtle theme, like pizza and prosecco night - shaved kale and brussel sprout salad, pasta with house made vodka sauce, white pizza with an olive oil and garlic base and individually plated tiramisu cups.
As we head into September, we are likely to host a tailgate party! Lacquered bacon for a Bloody Mary bar, a grilled french french onion dip and tangy beans are on the horizon and will all be making an appearance!
What are you sipping?
My go to is an Aperol Spritz. We love to set up a spritz bar when having guests over. It’s so simple and everyone can cater to their preferences! It also takes the work away from the host since they can help themselves! We set out prosecco, club soda and usually three different liquors like aperol, limoncello and campari. Everyone can follow the 3-2-1 method and have a delicious cocktail! 3 parts or ounces prosecco, 2 parts or ounces liquor and 1 part or ounce club soda to top (we have a free download if you want to include that they can print and put out on the counter)!
What are you wearing?
I love a white button up shirt, jeans and a fun gem necklace!
What are you listening to?
A playlist that matches the dinner party theme!
How do you make your guests feel special? How do you make them feel at home?
We love to greet them when they first walk in and show them where they can get something to drink and something to nibble on. It immediately makes them feel welcome and at ease. We also love adding personalized touches to the table for our guests! Place cards and maybe even a tiny favor of sorts, like a chocolate or some tied herbs from your garden that you used in a dish, at each setting are such an easy way to make a guest feel special!
If you are hosting a dinner, what is your go-to centerpiece?
For ease, bud vases and candles lining the table have the largest impact with the least amount of effort! We also like to have fun with it and use produce when it makes sense! For example, if you are hosting a wine tasting dinner, groups of grapes woven in are a must. Or if you are hosting a pizza and prosecco night, we love fresh herbs, like basil, in tomato cans lining the table!
What is your favorite Half Past Seven product to entertain with?
We are all about building what we like to call a well collected kitchen. Pieces that you will invest in once and have for years to come. Pieces that can work with different party themes and different seasons. And Half Past Seven has so many amazing products that do exactly that! We currently have our eyes on the smokey blue cabana glasses! We could see these bring perfect for so many different occasions throughout the year! And look great in a see through cabinet!
What's your favorite go-to appetizer when you're asked to bring a dish?
Butter dipped radishes with edible flower salt. With 3 ingredients and 5 minutes, you have such a fun party plate that guests love!
Let’s play this or that…
- Charger OR Placemat: Charger!
- Stemmed OR Stem-less: Stemmed!
- Red OR White: Red
- Tablecloth OR Bare: Tablecloth
- Votives OR Taper Candle: Taper
- Formal OR Informal: Informal
How do you end a celebration?
We usually have too much fun and go late into the night! But there is always someone who has an early meeting the next morning or has to get home to their kids. Use that que to start wrapping things up. Starting a conversation around saying we have to do this again sooner than later usually sends the message and gets the ball rolling (only if mean it of course!).
Make sure to follow Lauren on social! @escapeandcelebrate
