Book excerpt: From an intimate martini party to a Thanksgiving extravaganza, Kathryn Greeley shows how to create easy, fun, and breathtaking tabletop designs that will make any occasion memorable, using your existing or new collections. Chock-full of inspired ideas for hosting high-end theme parties, The Collected Tabletop includes professional photographs of place settings and tabletop decorations; elegant, hand-painted menus; favors and floral arrangements; and simple and easy-to-prepare recipes, such as Independence Day Flag Tart, Skillet Drop Biscuits, and Goat Cheese Truffles. For each of the thirteen events described in The Collected Tabletop, Greeley details the history and significance of specific items from each collection, ranging from heirloom china and crystal to intricate art glass and colorful majolica combined with hand-thrown pottery. In this peerless resource for entertaining enthusiasts, you’ll learn how to use your own collections to define your personal hosting style.