Unless this is your first ever visit to the blog, you’ve probably heard – Merry Mag Summer is out!! For one of the bigger features we hosted an intimate and colorful Boho-inspired rooftop affair (p.40). I know, sometimes I think it’s just not fair that I’m so lucky to have a huge rooftop in the middle of the city. But the universe balances things out because I’m unlucky enough to burn in about 5 minutes on that rooftop in the middle of the day if I don’t have an icing layer of sunblock on.

Our friends at Kendall-Jackson Winery were kind enough to supply us with the wine which gave us an excuse to throw a little Bohemian get together. My blogger pal Renee from Re:Creative and I took care of the styling and our friend Selina Whittaker snaped the beautiful photos. Oh right, and we also had some assistance from Harper.

Renee and I are both Boho lovin’ babes and collected most of this stuff from our own apartments with a little shopping adventure to two of our faves, Homesense and Anthropologie. At first we attempted to keep it a little more ‘natural’ but it didn’t take long to realize that we’re too much of color junkies to let that happen. It’s pretty hard not to let your bad day go and just enjoy yourself surrounded by this much color. A glass or two of this Chardonnay doesn’t hurt either.

I would love to give you a detailed ‘how to’ when creating a Boho look but it’s a tough one because there’s kinda no rules but of course there’s some rules. Makes no sense, I know. It’s all about layering – colors, textures, materials, patterns, decades, global influences, etc. The best rule when it comes to decor is to surround yourself with things you love. Many times a look kinda just happens because you gravitate towards similar styled items. Thanks to Pinterest (follow me here!) and Magazines it’s also really helpful to just look at a million examples of things you like and then duplicate elements you see with your own touch. If you see that 75% of the images you pin have layered carpets then give it a shot.

Because the look is so busy (in an awesome way) we stayed relatively simple with the flowers. No crazy colors, just some simple, more natural looking stem, buds and greenery in an eclectic selection of vases and pots.

As for bites, we just made a few light and super easy snacks. Dare I even say that they’re pretty healthy! You can make all of them before your guests arrive so you’re not fussing in the kitchen. We had Creamy Dill Cucumber and Smoked Salmon Bites, Mini Tomato Salad Parmesan Bowls and Fresh Mango Salsa and Corn Chips. You can find all the recipes on the Kendall-Jackson blog. They all paired really well with the Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay, which is great all year but particularly great for summer.

I live for summer nights like these. Our season is so short and you need to soak it up. I like to bring my plants outside for the season because those poor guys suffer enough in my poorly lit apartment for the other 9 months of the year.

Wine was flowing, food was enjoyed and there was lots of laughs to go around. It was a pretty perfect way to spend a summer eve. Don’t forget to visit the Kendall-Jackson blog to see more photos and all the recipes and check out Merry Mag for so many more inspiring summer entertaining and craft ideas!