While working on Effortless Entertaining, my graphic designer and my editor kindly observed that there were “no people of color” shown sitting around my table. I responded that I had noticed that, too. While Ed and I have experienced great diversity in our community work and in the schools our children attended, we have not…
Dear Friends, Fall has finally arrived, and with the cooler temperatures, we turn to fall recipes with their warm savory flavors and deep colors. In this Dash, I want to share one of my new favorites from the very talented Darren Atkins, executive chef and proprietor of the Burlington, North Carolina-based il Centro Kitchen. Part neighborhood specialty shop…
Our family is always ready for some football! We are Carolina Panthers fans, and for years our tailgates have been organized by a self-proclaimed Executive Committee and supported by countless others through annual financial contributions. During the holidays, when everyone’s families are in town, the size of our tailgate can swell to 100+ family and friends. Although the…
Welcome . . . As I chat with friends, I hear a familiar refrain: Where has the summer gone? I have no idea, but I hope you’ve enjoyed every minute of it! Highlights for us were the beach with family and summer nights on our porch at Grandfather — made more special by the fresh summer foods we…
Dear Friends, What an exciting year 2018 has been for Effortless Entertaining! Thank you to everyone who has invited me to speak and to all who’ve attended my presentations. I’ve loved being in your communities, reconnecting with old friends, and making so many new ones. I hope you will enjoy the gorgeous photos from the EE event hosted by…
Welcome . . . God blessed me with a big, raucous, and abundantly loving family! They have truly been God’s gift to me my entire life. Once Ed and I started our own family, they were God’s gift to them, too. My mother’s family came from Lebanon to start a new life in America. We…
As I write, I’m listening to Ella Fitzgerald’s version of “Summertime,” and the song makes me want to slow my pace and lean into the joys of family and travel that await in the season ahead. Our family will spend as much time as we can in the North Carolina mountains. For 25+ years, these…
Dear Friends, By the time you receive this, May will have raced by. Depending on your season of life, you may be busy with end-of-school-year plays, art shows, science fairs, spring sports ending and summer sports beginning. Maybe you’re enjoying those high school, college, or graduate school graduations? I know there are many of you…