What do you remember?

I received a great comment from one of my anonymous guests, who profoundly said "When you invite someone to your home they will mostly likely remember the food and conversation you shared. We pour our hearts into making someone's experience a pleasant one through our cleaning and cooking. It in turn invites our guests to open their minds and hearts to us."


I couldn't have said it better myself. My end goal of inviting someone into my home is to see a glimpse of who they; to be peppered by their knowledge and graced by a glance of their heart. If it is true that food and conversation are most remembered, I'd imagine that conversation outlives the food.
I’d like to encourage my followers to share their most memorable conversation as a guest or a host!

10 Reasons to Host

• Practice your cooking

• To network with others

• Provide a meal to someone less fortunate

• Demonstrate your amiability

• Make someone who is new to the area feel welcome

• Let your generosity and creativity shine

• So you can lavishly love your guests

• Develop acquaintance into friendship

• To Learn about other people

• To Have Fun

Open the Door!

The true meaning of hospitality lies in the attitude of the heart….The planning and preparation should say, ‘I’m glad you’re here!’ --- Devy Titus

So we’ve now reminisced about our childhood memories around the kitchen table. Despite our fondness to those memories, our current homes are ready to supplement with new memories. And the best part is to, open the door and invite others to join you in the memory making process.

There is adrenaline and excitement when you prepare for guests. You clean corners you may have previously overlooked, you rummage through cook books for a delicious idea, and you organize the perfect playlist for hours of great music. Ah yes, when you’re guests arrive; you can make them feel comfortable and brilliant by practicing your “yes ands”.

Hosting guests in your home is a powerful way to provide a glimpse of your personal life, of who you really are. Imagine what can happen when you invite others into your personal space, your home. You can experience the pain in your cheeks from over smiling; you might indentify common interests and great business ideas, or simply confirm that your guests are people you’d like to hang out with again. When they are in your home, you’re in the driver seat, you have control (you know you like control) to set the atmosphere, the tone, and to steer your guests in almost any conversational direction.

My husband and I have always enjoyed entertaining guests. A few years ago we invited a new acquaintance over for dinner. I probably enjoyed the conversation more than he did the dinner. We learned a great deal about him, his country and his culture; the fact that spicy food wasn’t necessarily a great hit was an additional bonus. He provided an insight into his world, a part of Africa that seemed so foreign to us. A few weeks later, he was back. This time he was in the kitchen bringing a piece of Africa to us as he prepared his favorite native dish, peanut sauce! And just like that, over a small dinner, the acquaintance had developed into a friendship!

If your table’s legs could speak I’m sure there would be great stories we’d all like to hear!! So be a host, be creative, be welcoming, and invite me over!

YOU'RE INVITED

Do you ever stop and reflect on what took place around your childhood dinner table? For me it was a place where I shared my day’s activities and homework assignments, a place where I was scolded and praised, where I’d heard adult gossip, and where occasionally I’d fall asleep in efforts to avoid eating my vegetables.


Seven days a week we ate dinner at the table, and during holidays we managed to host aunts, uncles, and cousins, all at the same time. The kitchen was indeed the heart of our home. Aside from the routine conversation, there was something more profound that took place at the dinner table. For my family, vigor birthed during this time. It was a place that spoke hope in the midst of doubt, comfort outweighed confusion, and love healed pain. It was the critical component of my HOME EXPERIENCE.

The Olive Garden commercial reflects the significance of the kitchen table, because when you dine at their restaurant, their table, you’re part of their family. Through this blog I’d like to invite you into my home, share with you my understanding, ideas, and inspiration to make your Home Experience a marvelous memory.