A funny card game, the most beautiful gardens in Paris, and a dinner party must have

Plus, party pants and a field guide to American houses

I never tire of the pomp and circumstance, the energy, the sense of possibility found in a party. And this week, there were a lot of parties here at Nova HQ. Nothing gives me more pleasure than taking care of people, from a fundraiser at work, to a house full of friends on Thursday, to a simple birthday dinner for five for my father’s 80th tonight. I’m a happy kind of exhausted, but I’m making sure to soak in the joys of July: the fireflies, the blueberries, the lettuce from the garden, and hope some are finding you, too.