Spring is in full swing over here at The Jungalow and today we’re working with Target to share some fun tips and recipes to entertain with an Italian-inspired Gelato soiree (or serata as they say in Italian), influenced, in part, by my 7-year sojourn in Italia (but with a real California spin).
In Italy they like to keep things classic and simple. I learned so much about design, proportion and color while living there–but here in Cali I’ve learned to mix things up! So today’s recipes (and decor!) take the classic pieces (hello vanilla gelato, stripes and rattan bar carts!) and add a bit a jungalow flavor to come out on the other side with something kinda classic and kinda crazy (in the best way possible)! Also, this serata was designed to entertain grown ups, because yes, we like ice cream parties too ;).
(The last couple of pics were snapped on our trip back to Italy last year–you’ll notice we used a lot of the same colors and motifs in our gelato serata.)
I love bar carts because they are so versatile and transportable. They are truly the perfect piece of furniture for entertaining because it’s like having a buffet on wheels and you can easily scoot them from one room to the next. I’ve used them to make a ‘barden’ (aka bar cart garden) and today, we’re using the cart as a mobile serving station for our gelato!
We’ve repurposed a flower frog to hold our cones and have layered on the pattern in true Jungalow fashion with the patternful serving dishes. Mixing patterns is easy if you stay within the color palette, so we went with blues and yellow accents–you’ll notice these colors are woven throughout, and help to make the overall look cohesive.
So now for our first recipe. It’s gonna sound crazy and it’s not for the kiddos — but trust me, it’s crazy good and weird (I told you we were gonna mix things up today!)
Grown Up Floats
Chocolate gelato (or ice cream)
Dark beer – we like a coffee stout or chocolate porter
Pour the beer over the ice cream and enjoy!
Even if you’ve only got a very small balcony or porch to work with, it’s always nice to spruce up the outdoor spaces in the Spring. This is done easily by adding a bit of color and pattern to the mix. This folding stool is one of my favorites from this collection. Maybe it’s the pompom trim (I can’t resist!) or maybe it’s that it’s so lightweight it’s the kind of thing you could even bring to a picnic. Regardless, it adds instant charm to an outdoor area (and is the perfect piece to keep around in case you need extra outdoor seating for company).
OK time for another gelato recipe idea. This one was smokin’.
Smoky Salted Caramel Sundae
-Vanilla bean gelato (or ice cream)
-Real caramel sauce
-Pistachios
-Sprinkle of smoked Malden Sea Salt on top
You can try other grown up treats too: For other floats, how about a sparkling rosè with citrus or peach sorbet? Or cream soda and bourbon with vanilla gelato/ice cream? Wanna get fancy with your sundae bar? Try homemade boozy cocktail cherries, instead of maraschino; or good dark chocolate shaved on top! Use patternful serving bowls and don’t forget to dress up your booze in pretty pitchers.
So, to recap, here are a few tips to host some homies in a gelato serata (or any other serata for that matter…):
1.) Mixing patterns is easy if you stay within a set color palette.
2.) Use a bar cart as a mobile buffet to bring the party along with you no matter what room you’re migrating to.
3.) Even if you’ve only got a very small balcony or porch to work with, you can still host an indoor/outdoor shindig. Keep folding stools on hand for extra seating and bring out pillows and blankets for guests to keep things festive and cozy.
And then all that’s left to do is to have fun! divertitevi!
To get the look from our gelato serata, shop these pieces:
[show_ms_widget id=”33778707″ image_id=”38693464″ width=”620″ height=”980″]
(Chair is vintage, monstera leaf print is by Kiana Mosley.)
Original recipes by Danae Horst for the Jungalow.
This post is brought to you by TargetStyle. Shop the new Home collection in stores and online.
Love mix of pieces in this collection!
Wow such a great article and it comes up with new ideas and tips. Thank you for this nice share.
Hey Justina,
I’ve been following you daily for two years and have come to think of you as a kindred spirit (I think you’d flip over my plant collection), but I gotta tell you I’m coming to a point where I stop reading your blog. I am sure with the new house that you’re needing to hustle, and have probably hemorrhaged money on that gorgeous space, but for the past 6 months or so it seems like the content quality of the blog has gone way down and that the majority of posts are sponsored/advertisements. I’m missing the DIY and actual design-related posts that YOU write. The reveals on your house (your bedroom!) and fun projects YOU get up to. Your voice and style are what drew me to your blog, and it seems like that has been compromised. You go what you gotta do, I get it. And you put a lot of energy into the wallpaper and products and book and gotta sell them. And I’m sure that juggling all that with being a mama is a hell of a lot to balance. I just wanted to say that I appreciate you and your aesthetic, and I hope there will be time/resources soon to be able to share that with the world again.
Hi Charly,
Thanks for the note and for keeping it real with me. I hear what you’re saying and think that there are a lot of factors that are going into changes that you may see on the blog. For one thing, a lot of content, time and ideas now go into other channels, like Instagram, because that’s where the most engagement happens. Whereas in the past the blog was at the heart of everything, now the blog is one of many channels where you can get content from me. Maybe I should focus in more on this space. I don’t know what the answer is there.
As for the sponsored content, I am so proud that I’ve gotten to the point where I get paid to style and create content for brands. I’m also proud of the content I create for brands. I have fun with it. I’m really picky about the brands I work with and try to do stuff that I love and that I think you guys will love too. I turn down about 80% of the offers I get from brands. And I try and limit sponsored content to one sponsored post a week. (although some weeks there may be two sponsored posts, and some weeks none).
Of course I’m not going to please everyone all the time, and I get that. That having been said, I have been trying hard to include great non-sponsored content too — a couple of examples from the past weeks are the “designing as a couple” post that I did and the “best planters in L.A. post.”
Anyway I appreciate you telling me how you feel. I will take your thoughts into consideration and think about putting more focus into coming up with more DIY/design stuff from my POV. Also, I love to hear positive feedback along with that constructive criticism so if there *is* anything that I do that you are responding positively to, I’d love to hear back from you–since it looks like this may be the first time you’ve commented here (unless you registered in the past under a different email.)
Thanks and have a good weekend,
~Justina
oh justing this looks amazing, I am so sad that summer is just finished here in Australia… Now I just wanna go to Italy! Love the rattan bar cart, if only these things were available in target Australia ;-) x
So good right?? Well, if it’s any consolation, I’m always seeing amazing pieces (especially planters!) only to discover they’re in Australia…can’t have it all, I suppose!! anyway thanks for stopping by! xx J
haha *justina (autocorrect :-p )
I love your photos so much. They have that spirit of amazing life. That gelato recipe is fabulous.
Thanks for the kind words! So glad you’re enjoying!
Hey Justina,
Can I just say what a fantastic job you are doing. All this content, photos, web design and posts just for our enjoyment. For free. People seem to forget all of the sweat that can go into these things and the fact that you are successful enough to attract sponsored posts is a wonderful thing. Congrats! P.S. Target has been killing it lately haven’t they
Thank you so much for your kind words, Tricia. Seriously, made my day! And yes!! Target *is* killing it! So much good stuff!!
Justina! Can I just say how much you are killing it? I’ve been meaning to tell you how impressed and in awe I am of all that you are doing, and how it is all SO GOOD. I’m so happy for you and all of your success. Bravo lady. xx