On Hosting
Hint, it's more than just setting a pretty table.
I adored the holidays as a kid. What kid doesn’t!? I still vividly recall seeing the bike I dreamed of under the tree & tearing through stuffed stockings. I can only now fully appreciate how hard my parents worked to make those moments so special. But of all my Holiday memories, my most sweetest and treasured ones live in the moments spent sitting at my Grandparents’ dining room table.
It was overcrowded and loud. And truthfully, much of what I remember is a bit foggy. But what isn’t foggy, is just how much love was felt. I can still feel it today.
If the table was an orchestra, my Grandmother was its conductor. And sitting on her left, was me. In awe. Despite the crowd, despite the meal she was cooking, despite the chaos of the day - all I can see is her smile. It lit-up the room. And to me, she was pure magic.
Over the years, I have grown to love hosting. I love setting a good table, thinking-up floral arrangements, the prep, the execution - all of it. I love it. And so, when Tierney approached me this Fall about the Holidays and said “Can we always be the ones to host the holidays, Mom? I love when we host.” I asked her, “What do you love so much about it?” to which she replied “You just know how to make it feel so special.”
Yes, she loves the pretty tablecloths and getting to drink out of a special glass. She loves the candles, the fancy napkins and the pretty flowers. But the 8 year old me knows exactly what my 8 year old finds most special - the magic that lies in the connection you feel when you sit around a table with the ones you love most.
So, if you’re hosting (or being hosted!) remember - the magic of someone’s holiday may live in your smile, your warm hug, a silly dance with you in the kitchen, sharing bites of your dessert or in hearing your laughter.
I’ll be thinking of my Gram’s smile. And, just how lucky I am that I get to sprinkle some of her magic on the holidays spent around my own dining room table.
What we Love for Hosting…
Holiday tablecloths from Sweetgrass Home. We purchased one last year and I adore it. It makes setting the table all that more festive (and easy!). These French Wine glasses also double as the perfect water glass. Last year, in place of napkin rings, I used a ribbon and tied these nutcrackers around each napkin. The kids absolutely loved it, so we’re repeating it again this year. As a kid, I loved these and now our kids do, too. They are a fun way to kick-off the meal, but they also serve as a great way to get everyone to sit down & be entertained while waiting for the meal to be served! Home Goods always has a great selection.
What We’re Making…
This Zuppa Toscana recipe from the Defined Dish is SO GOOD. It’s a staple in our rotation and never fails. Step one has you sautee bacon, which I’ve never done once (because, who has time for that?) and the soup is still perfect every time.
What We’re Lusting After…
This Freya sweater from Kule is what cozy winter sweater dreams are made of. If only we hadn’t sold out my size the first weekend we put it out! I’ve now got my eye on the Lucca - a tried and true Kule style we’ve loved for years. It would make a perfect gift.
What’s in our Make-up Bag…
I switched 90% of my make-up bag over to clean beauty products a few years ago - but there’s a fully toxic straggler in my bag that I’ll never quit. The Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick, in bronze, forever and always. It has a way of making your skin feel alive. To be clear, this is shimmer. Not glitter. Its subtle and buildable. Cheekbones of course, but dot it along your brow bone and the inner corners of your eyes for some extra oomph. I have been buying this for yeeeears (decades?) and would be LOST if Bobbi Brown ever stopped making it.
What We’re Reading…
I was in a reading rut and needed a great book to pull me out of it. When Katie, our Director of E-comm, emphatically stated that Kristen Hanna’s The Women was the best book she’d read all year, I was sold. She was not wrong. I devoured the book, especially the first half. Hannah’s depiction of the Vietnam War, both through the scenes she sets and the relationships she builds, is absolutely exquisite. It had me from page one and I spent many a nights staying-up way too late reading just one more chapter. If you’re more a beach read kind of gal (ahem, me!) don’t shy away from this book.