If you haven't caught on by now, my absolute favorite way to entertain is with small plates. It gives everyone a little bit of everything and makes it really easy to make sure you're providing for allergies/dietary restrictions, which is something that means a lot to me. Plus, it's delicious, and that's really reason enough.

Here's how I do it:

1. Start with olives, bread, cheese, and some other charcuterie stuff. I love salami and prosciutto but this time I went with chorizo and some Iberico ham.
2. Get fancy with it. Regular almonds would be just fine, but I seasoned some and roasted them instead, which made for a more thoughtful touch. Plus, who doesn't want a spicy roasted almond?
3. Pick a few "main" dishes--these are bigger than the snacks. I went with mussels and goat cheese dip with artichokes, which I served with crusty bread and tortilla chips.
4. Pour the wine! It's not a tapas dinner party without some delicious wine. I served La Crema's Willamette and Sonoma Coast Pinot Noirs as well as a few chilly glasses of their Monterey Pinot Gris. Mmm.

Head to the La Crema blog now and get all of my tapas dinner party recipes! And if you make the goat cheese artichoke dip, invite me over so I can eat it.

Photos by Rémy Thurston for Freckled Italian.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of La Crema. The opinions and text are all mine.

Vaseline recently asked me to talk about my beauty routine, and I am happy to do it! I'm always looking for more ways to share beauty content with you guys--so if you have any requests, please let me know! I did some hair tutorials in the past but would love to update them and include some makeup and product posts, which I'm starting here today!

As far as makeup goes, I like to stick to one thing at a time until I've mastered it. I love liquid eyeliner and mascara, and about two years ago I started learning how to do a little contouring on my face. I've always been more of a heavy-on-the-eyes girl and usually leave my lips pretty plain--I think it's because for the most part, you have to reapply it. 

That doesn't mean I'm not a lip balm fan though! Quite the contrary--you can always find me with some kind of moisturizing balm in my bag. Vaseline has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid--it reminds me so much of my mom, because she always used it as lip balm and I started doing the same as a kid, and I still use it all the time. It's not sticky at all and lasts a really long time. Plus it just does its job really well and moisturizes your lips.

In the U.K. they have Vaseline Lip Therapy in cute little tins, which Vaseline just released in the United States! They're pictured above and below and come in a variety of flavors/scents; the Rosy Lips one even has a pinkish tint that's perfect if you're like me and rarely wear lip color. (Although the Aloe one is my favorite right now--it's super fresh and is getting me so excited for spring!)

What does your beauty routine look like? When it comes to makeup, are you more of an eyes or a lip color fan? What's your favorite lip balm? 

This post is brought to you in partnership with Vaseline. As always I thank you for your support as I continue to work with sponsors. You can get your own Vaseline Lip Therapy Tin at Target!

I'm on the Cambria Wines blog today, sharing four easy recipes for a cozy indoor picnic! Rob and I did this over the weekend and at one point I said "Do you think this seems silly since we're already at home and could just eat at the table?" to which our friend (and photographer) Rémy replied "Yeah, but just because people have beds doesn't mean pillow forts aren't awesome."

Good point, Rémy. Good point.

So head over here and grab the recipes. Happy picnicking! 

This post is brought to you in partnership with Cambria Wines.

Photos by Rémy Thurston for Freckled Italian.