Hospitality 101 Part 2

If you go over to Grace-Works you will know why I am not posting very often. My life seems to be hovering in the realm of busy these days. I love every minute of it! Though I will say many important people have been neglected and that I utterly loath. Anyway… here is another part to Hospitality 101.

Shop garage sales for second hand table linens, napkins, dishes and centerpieces. I recently found an entire shoe box filled with a variety of napkin rings for $5 at Goodwill. Not to mention that most of my tableware is bought second hand. 

Have a centerpiece for your table for each season of the year. I recently found a roll of snowman ribbon at a garage sale for $1, along with an enormous bow. I used it decorate my Christmas table and could have left it for the entire winter. The snowman theme was versatile enough. I will admit it wasn’t my most beautiful décor but it was full of color and quite festive and very pleasing to the little person’s eye. 

Do as much of the preparation ahead of time. Set your table the day before. Prepare any part of the meal you can ahead of time.

Until being hospitable becomes an art for you try to have everything done and ready to serve about fifteen minutes before your guest arrive so that you can use the last few minutes to relax and set a peaceful environment for your guest. Don’t forget to throw on some lipstick; it always makes you look together no matter what the rest of you looks like. When you get more experienced you may just want to allow your guest to be with you as you prepare the meal, as long as it doesn’t cause you anxiety for others to be in your kitchen. It could be a wonderful opportunity for you to learn something new or for someone to learn something new from you.  

Though some would say you should never have your apron on when your guest arrive, I love wearing aprons! I have a collection and highly recommend them. Apart from the apparent reason to wear an apron I also think it signifies a servant’s attitude. It says to your guest that you are there to serve them. My last two aprons were gifts that I have so enjoyed! You can find an amazing apron like the black and white versatile one I am wearing in the picture  at Apron Allure!

 This one was a Christmas gift from "The Jewel"! We now having matching aprons! 

Well, until next time keep Making Memories, Elaine

Three Big Events

Go over to Grace-Works and check out these events that you don't want to miss!

Fettuccini

Knowing that our home is one of the most practical places to share the love of God and the fact that being hospitable is a Biblical mandate, I have been compelled through the years to learn as much about being hospitable that I can. I find that when someone is invited into the home in our culture it speaks value to them. It is so seldom that we open our homes to others because, let’s be honest, many of us are not in our homes often enough to invest the time and energy required to offer hospitality. I want to encourage you that it’s never too late to begin. Too often, we use the excuse of time restraint, fatigue, or lack of resources as to why we are not hospitable. I assure you that it is worth any effort you make. When I was younger I would get myself all worked up trying to make everything just right. The house would have to be spotless, and the meal extravagant. Through the years I have learned that the most important thing to my guest is my attitude toward their visit. If I am completely frazzled by the time my guest arrive then our visit will most likely not be pleasant and they will feel like a burden. On the contrary if I am relaxed my guest will most likely enjoy their visit.

I have a few suggestions I would like to share over my next few posts to help make showing hospitality a little easier:

Have your own special menu for each meal, one that you are familiar with and can throw together fairly quickly. For example my dinner menu would be; chicken, shrimp or crawfish fettuccini, green salad, green beans, yeast rolls, some sort of cake, tea and coffee. You can make this meal as expensive or as inexpensive as you would like. And remember, everything taste better with Tony's on it!

Here is my Fettuccini Recipe:

1lb. Uncooked fettuccini

2lbs precooked, Crawfish, Shrimp or Chicken

Tony’s Chachere’s Creole seasoning to taste

2 Sticks of real butter

3 Med. Onions

1 Bunch of Green Onions

1 Med. Bell Peppert

1 Stalk of Celery

3 Cloves of Garlic

¼ Cup of Flour

1lb. Velveeta Jalapeno cheese

1 Pint Half and Half

 Directions:

Boil fettuccini, drain, and rinse with cold water, set aside. Sauté in butter the onion, green onion, bell pepper, garlic, and celery until soft; add flour and cook for 15 minutes stirring frequently. Add Velveeta and melt. Add half and half, and meat or seafood, heat for 15minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fold fettuccini into sauce, pour into 9x13 pan, sprinkle with green onion or parsley and bake for 25-30 minutes.

You may want to try one of these “Welcome Home Casserole dishes and the casserole stand from my catalog.

It goes strait from the oven to the table and looks fabulous! You can find it and many other wonderful products to add to your hospitality tools at Celebrating Home.

If you decide to give this recipe a try let me know how it turns out.

Don’t forget to sign up as a follower and enter your name in the drawing on Feb. 1, 2010

Making Memories, Elaine

 

A New Year

 I am so blessed with this amazing family! Life is precious and short, and with the passing of each year I am reminded that my purpose is not to live my dreams but to live for God’s glory. What an ambitious pursuit! Imagine the God of the universe receiving anything, much less glory, from the clay of the earth. Now that will put me in my place.
It will make one year this month since I started blogging publicly! It’s hard to believe how fast the time has gone by.
A few things I love about blogging:

• Your sweet comments and email. Please keep them coming!
• The opportunity and inspiration to put my thoughts to words.
• That I am writing and how therapeutic it is. 
• The feeling of freedom and transparency that comes with making my life an open book.
• The fact that whether or not anyone reads, it is written. 
• I have broadened my mind.
• I have met some gifted and amazing people from across the country
• I am getting to watch my nieces, nephews and their children live and grow. 
• Keeping in touch with those who have moved away (when and if they would blog already!)
•  The inspiration I have gotten from other godly women. 

I could go on and on… Most of all I love that I have seen fruit in my life because I stepped out and did something I felt I was suppose to do, even though I was resistant. I was resistant because it was safer not to do it. Because I moved out of the comfort of my seemingly safe and private world … and I mean comfort…I have gained so many wonderful rewards. Though it was difficult in the beginning I am thankful I started this blog.
Here I am launching a new year with an excitement about what this land of blog has for me! You will see some changes. In case you haven’t noticed I sometimes lose my focus. So…I am trying to get back to my original intentions for this blog and those are, to share more about hospitality, decorating, and all things pertaining to home life. Though I am sure you will be hearing a bit about my faith and family here, I will be addressing those areas of my life over at Grace-Works. I will also use this blog to keep you updated about the wonderful products and opportunities I have to offer through Celebrating Home.
I invite you to FOLLOW as I step forward into whatever it is that awaits me!

Speaking of FOLLOWING, if you sign up to be a follower of this blog this month, your name will be put in a drawing for this amazing gift!

This is a "Veranda Dip Bowl and Seasonal Spreader Set" It offers a different spreader for each season of the year. I will be announcing the winner after the drawing February 1, 2010