Kenzie Elizabeth is — and isn’t — exactly what you’d expect from a Gen Z creator. She hosts a hit Dear Media podcast (House Guest), maintains a robust online presence, and at 27, is already building a growing lifestyle empire. But when she’s not recording, designing, or curating digital moments, she’s creating real ones — in the garden, at the table, or somewhere in the middle of a Nancy Meyers-inspired, lemon-drenched soirée.
Welcome to It Girl domesticity. This new era of hosting and spring table decor is less “brat," more Jell-O cake, and a vintage tablecloth.
“Eventually, you get tired of the bars and start to want to host your own nights at home that feel more special,” Kenzie says. “Grandma hobbies are the best. I always say grandmas have lived the longest, so we should trust what they say and how they spend their time.” The goal isn’t just to entertain, she adds, but to regulate your nervous system.
It’s this warm-blooded, nostalgia-forward ethos that fuels her entire world: from recently-launched (and already best-selling) Friend of Mine dinner party conversation cards to the content she shares with a generation of like-minded twenty-somethings eager to trade overstimulation for ambiance.
Kenzie suggests mixing guests intentionally. Placecards, she says, are key — encouraging conversation between people who might not otherwise cross paths.
A Kenzie Elizabeth gathering isn’t about fine china or party tricks. It’s about ease. “In my opinion, a perfect gathering is one where everyone just feels comfortable and relaxed. As long as the host is at ease, the guests are able to relax,” she says.
This spring, she’s channeling the spirit of the zeitgeist with a singular fruit — the lemon — with all the Gen Z specificity of blueberry milk nails and strawberry girls, and a touch of Jacquemus (whose new LA store is, of course, dipped in banana yellow).
“I'm in a lemon phase currently,” she says. “My grandma just gave me her lemon plate set, so I’d be using all of those. Tons of lemons for the centerpiece, a yellow striped tablecloth, lemon napkin rings, etc.” For the menu? “Limoncello spritzes and lemon possets for dessert.”
"I always have the Friend of Mine conversation cards out," Kenzie tells Livingetc. "These cards make for the best conversations and bring people together so well. They're incredible if you're bringing people together for the first time or you've all known each other for 20 years."
Naturally, there’s also a Nancy Meyers dinner party series in progress — one themed evening per film. The Holiday (2006), It’s Complicated (2009), and Something’s Gotta Give (2003) are already checked off. “Next up is Father of the Bride (1991),” she says.
So right now, the mood du jour is a little kitsch served with a side of charm. And it just might be the future of spring entertaining.
Below, Kenzie shares her essentials for pulling off the perfect lemon-scented soirée — complete with tips, tricks, and a few ideas reworked from grandma.
Consider this your invitation to stay in.
“This vase is everything,” says Kenzie. “A must for fresh flowers.” Or better yet — branches of faux lemons, for a three-dimensional citrus moment. What’s a lemon-themed soirée without a little literalism?
Kenzie’s go-to spritz glass from Crate & Barrel looks like it belongs indoors — but knows no boundaries. Guests should be able to drift wherever they want. That’s the point of a good glass: it follows the party.
“How perfect are these for the centerpiece?” Kenzie says of Anthropologie’s lemon-shaped candles. Almost too pretty to light — but lighting them would be chic, too. Either way, your table just got a whole lot zestier.
It might read as a spring-summer flourish, but Kenzie insists this lemon-shaped cheese board works year-round. Her advice? Curate your charcuterie like your guest list: with range. Fresh off The Woman Who Knew Everyone — a biography of legendary D.C. hostess Perle Mesta — Kenzie’s takeaway is clear: “An intentional mix of people always makes the night more fun.”
“I love breaking up your normal routine with hosting,” she says. And what better way than with hand-crocheted lemon napkin rings? Slightly on-the-nose, wonderfully so — they bring just enough whimsy to make any sun-soaked lunch feel like an occasion.
As for the tableware? Even the Gen Z Martha Stewart knows when to go disposable. Kenzie says Capri-inspired paper plates break up all the yellow with a punch of blue. This Amazon set comes in a pack of 100, so you’re covered whether you’re hosting four friends or a small town.
To cap off the lemon-scented soirée, Kenzie serves her go-to cocktail: a riff on the margarita from Honor Bar Dallas.
Her at-home version — Clayton’s Margarita, plucked from The Defined Dish — calls for one cup of good tequila, ¼ cup Cointreau, ½ cup fresh lime juice, ½ cup simple syrup, and a teaspoon of egg whites (trust the process). Finish with a tajín or salt rim and lime wedges.
It serves four… or two very committed guests.
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