How to Build a Better Cheese Board
There are few better ways to get a dinner party off to a good start than with a cheese board. Since guests rarely arrive at the same time, it’s nice to have something for guests to eat right away. Fortunately, a beautiful spread of cheese doesn’t take a ton of prep like a lot of bite-sized appetizers do.
An Advent Reflection on Hope
As I reflect on advent, hope, and light, I keep coming back to the winter solstice.
Magnolia Leaf Thanksgiving Centerpiece
One of my favorite parts of teaching entertaining classes is showing people how to set and decorate the table. A lot of people are intimidated by it, but doesn’t have to be a difficult or expensive affair. With Thanksgiving later this week, I thought it’d be a good time to share a few of my favorite pointers:
I Am A Racist
This one is for my white friends. I have a confession to make:
The Things You Don’t Anticipate
Today marks four weeks since we lost my mother-in-law, Penny. She took her last breath at home–surrounded by her family–nearly two years after being diagnosed with stage IV, non-smokers lung cancer.
Quit Apologizing to Your Guests
A couple weeks ago, I went over to a friend’s house to have lunch with her and two other girlfriends. As she prepared our lunch, she jokingly told me to close my eyes as she pulled a bagged salad kit out of the fridge. She apologized for it not being made from scratch; the other girls asked in jest if I was going to take pictures of our lunch for my blog. Obviously they were making light of the fact that they didn’t (or wouldn’t) prepare lunch the same way that I would.
Celebrating in Sorrow
Thirty-six years ago, today, my parents took their wedding vows in Raleigh, North Carolina. Like me, they were just 21 years old when they got married. And like me, they had just finished their junior year at UNC.
I always loved hearing the story of how they met in freshman volleyball class, and how my mom was the first to ask my dad on a date in April of their second semester. I know that they took the traditional vows that many of us have, to love each other “in plenty and in want; in sickness and in health; in joy and in sorrow.” But it wasn’t until I was a freshman in college that I really saw what that meant.
DIY Fruit Fly Catcher
How do I get rid of fruit flies? That’s a question I’ve asked myself many times while on the verge of hysteria. Fruit flies love warm, summer weather and fermenting things, like vinegar/beer/wine and rotting fruit. They even find a way into my 12th floor condo (most likely in my produce. I know… gross).
6 Things I’ve Learned in 6 Years of Marriage
We’re clearly in the thick of wedding season because next Friday will be our third wedding in a month. Our family has followed suit with the summer weddings: Nick and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary at the end of May, my in-laws just celebrated their 34th anniversary, and my parents’ 36th is coming up next month. So I thought it’d be a good time to share a few things I’ve learned in my six years of marriage: