The Hostess Blog is one of my favorite eye candy blogs out there.  Interior Designer Jennifer Sbranti has an eye for gorgeous color pallets and beautiful/fun items to spruce up your home and cocktail party…pretty and useful! We love that!  

Her blog just launched in June, and it already has a huge following. Naturally, we were thrilled when Jennifer started to add some of her luscious picks on ThisNext - together, consider yourself a well informed hostess.

With all the blog love, I just had to find out more about the Hostess With The Mostess… 

Name: Jennifer Sbranti
URL: www.hostessblog.com
ThisNext profile url: http://www.thisnext.com/by/hiphostess/profile

Tell us a bit about your blog:

Fabulous Finds for Contemporary Entertaining is daily blog that showcases hip, modern and unique party-related products and gift ideas. I’m a graphic/web designer from San Diego , CA who is completely infatuated with both modern design and party planning (who doesn’t love a good party?!). Fabulous Finds allows me to fuse the 2 passions together – it’s a good excuse to scour the internet for hours and share cool finds with my readers. And when I say “hours”, I mean “hours”! It’s amazing how much time I spend stuck in “blog mode” – at home, at work…even in my sleep ;)

The blog is the first step (actually it felt more like a leap!) in a big-picture “party” plan called Hostess with the Mostess™ (HWTM). Hostesswiththemostess.com – (scheduled to launch late fall 2006) – will continue showcasing the Fab Finds blog, but will also offer clever & unique party themes, how-to’s, and entertaining tips & tricks. The idea behind the blog and HWTM is to inspire creativity and break the mold from the typical run-of-the-mill baby shower, bridal shower, and holiday party themes and décor. Hopefully readers will find ideas and products they love – giving them excuses (like showing off a fabulous new dinnerware set or drink recipe) to get together and celebrate more often…which is important in life. I’m trying to do the research for them so they don’t have to spend hours on the internet searching for party ideas – all the while sifting through poorly-designed websites overloaded with ads or confusing information…an issue I’ve dealt with many times myself.

What are the last 5 items you purchased?

1. Table runner by Henry Road
2. A ton of pictures from Kodak Gallery
3. Gift wrap, gift boxes, & stationery from Joy by Mel Lim
4. new iPod accessories
5. Renewed my subscription to Domino magazine

Multiple choice: What kind of shopper are you? And please explain your answer.
a. Dedicated to a few select stores/sites
b. Open to anything anywhere
c. I make everything I want
d. I shop when I need to

I’m a combination of A and B. I definitely have a few favorite websites that I visit repeatedly – but if I hear about something cool or stumble upon it – I’m happy to find it. ThisNext.com is a good place to do that!

So you‚ve made quite a few picks on ThisNext ˆ what is it about these items that prompted you to share them with the world?

I just love them – so I’m hoping others might too. I like viewing the lists of other ThisNext members and have found great gift and decorating ideas – so it’s kind of a reciprocation – hoping others might get ideas from my picks too. Plus, I love the wish list feature – that will come in handy for Christmas!

Which movie can‚t you stop yourself from watching even though you know- by all accounts- it‚s a really bad movie?

Hmmm…I’m a sucker for chick flicks, so my husband considers almost all of them “really bad”! But to answer this I guess I’ll go with Zoolander – I find it hilarious.

What is your biggest vice?

It’s a tie between Lo-Carb Monster energy drinks (addicted!) and sweets. I don’t discriminate between sweets – candy, chocolate, baked goods…love it all.

What is your biggest indulgence?

Modern home décor – designer bedding, vases, furniture…all of it. I honestly have a hard time spending a lot of money on expensive clothes or accessories – but put me in a contemporary home design store and my wallet is in serious trouble!

What is the source of inspiration that keeps you blogging every day on your Hostess Blog?

Well, I’m a graphic/web designer so I’m surrounded by design ideas every day – not to mention on the internet almost constantly. I guess it just never really leaves my mind.

What blogs do you read?

Oh Joy! ( www.ohjoy.blogs.com)

Decor8 ( www.decor8.blogspot.com)

Design*Sponge (www.designsponge.blogspot.com)

Uncrate ( www.uncrate.com)

Print & Pattern ( www.printpattern.blogspot.com)

K-Style ( www.kstyle-style.blogspot.com)

* Stream of Consciousness: Any thoughts you‚d like to share about ThisNext? Shopping? Social Networks? Blogging? Your mission for world domination?

Well – I have to say that for anyone that hasn’t tried it yet, blogging opens up a whole new world! You meet so many other bloggers, learn about tons of new things, and are constantly reminded how huge the world really is – all these people from around the world with their own take on life and ideas to share – it’s pretty amazing. I recently saw in my stats tracker that I was getting a lot of hits from a website I’d never heard of – so I went to visit the site and it was in another language so I really couldn’t understand anything – but there I was on their “favorite links” list! That was pretty crazy.

ThisNext is similar to blogging in that you’re sharing your picks and favorite finds – and it’s so easy to do here! And, as I mentioned earlier, I think that the wish lists on ThisNext are going to revolutionize online shopping & gift-giving. My mom and my husband will definitely be receiving my list come the holidays! (and vice versa of course!)