You’ve decided where you want to go. You’ve purchased the tickets and booked a hotel. And now for the most important part... what are you going to eat? And where will you find the best stuff?

Q: I've been asked to make my friend's wedding cake, which I'm very excited about! I've done this once before, but that was a fall wedding in New Hampshire and now I need to be ready for an August wedding in Virginia! Any tips for icing recipes that can handle the heat?

A snippet from a 1949 Singer sewing machine manual has been making the rounds among my friends, many who sew or have recently been involved in a sewing project. We all have had a good laugh at its dated preoccupations and sexist advice. It begins simply, however, with some universal wisdom:  

Prepare yourself mentally for sewing. Think about what you are going to do.  Never approach sewing with a sigh or lackadaisically. Good results are difficult when indifference predominates.

As I was choosing beans at my local hipster coffee roaster the other day and lamenting the fact that I could only pick one, I was struck with a brilliant idea: Why not throw a coffee-tasting party? Yes! Gather some coffee-loving friends, pool our pennies to buy several bags of fancy beans, and get together for a coffee-tasting brunch. It's a two-for-one deal: we get to sample a lot of great coffee side-by-side and we get cake for breakfast. Are you in?

Kids know how to party! Check out the latest festive celebrations from the Apartment Therapy's Family channel, which posts kids' parties every day. We'll be bringing you a roundup of these inspiring parties every week.

• Peighton's Milk & Cookies Party
• Thora's Rainbow & Pinwheels Party
• Crew & McKay's Superhero Party
• Mateus' Time Flies Party
• Grant's Monster Party

After having my share of grilled meats and veggies over the weekend, I'm decidedly in the mood for something more compact. Just want a bite or two of something tasty? Here are 10 bite-sized nuggets of inspiration! 

I really don't know who designates days to be all about a certain food. The industry? Intensely enthusiastic fans of Nutella, Fig Newtons, and Peach Melba? Well, whomever decided that today is National Burger Day seems both a little late and right on time. Memorial Day is over, and with it a lot of burger grilling action. But the holiday kicks off a whole summer of burgers — are they in your menu plans? 

From a tutorial on grilling the juiciest burger ever, to homemade hamburger buns, to lots of vegetarian burgers (including my own favorite, black bean and edamame burgers — yum!), we have 10 recipes to get National Burger Day off to a good start! 

Q: My husband and I would like to thank our neighbours for watering our plants while we were on vacation in Italy by cooking an Italian meal. Our guests will be a mom and dad, one 5-year old, one 2-year old and a baby, and the meal must be halal. Any recipe ideas for a family-friendly, pork-free, loosely Italian meal?

I love to entertain, but I'll be frank: I'm on a pretty strict budget. And because I try to buy sustainably-raised meat, even supposedly "cheap" cuts like pork shoulder or short ribs are too expensive to be more than an occasional treat, so more often than not, my dinner party menus are mostly vegetarian, fairly healthy and quite budget-friendly. This menu features freshened-up versions of classic comfort food and is perfect for a casual gathering to catch up with a few friends before the bustle of summer begins.

Kids know how to party! Check out the latest festive celebrations from the Apartment Therapy's Family channel, which posts kids' parties every day. We'll be bringing you a roundup of these inspiring parties every week.

• Chloe's Princess Party
  
• Ellington's Korean Dol
  
• Aiden's Neon Castle Party
  
• Cameron's Mermaid Party
  
• Noah's Wild Wonders Party