On Rest and Leisure

Happy Easter! I'm taking the week off to enjoy my children who are home on spring break. We're all in need of this break, because...

"Leisure brings clarity to the mind. Allow yourself time to rest, relax, and be rejuvenated, and as you do, your intellectual desires will once again begin to emerge." -Matthew Kelly

Have a beautiful week!

--Keri

Thanksgiving Simplicity

I love fall. The highlight of this season’s beauty is just a few days away: Thanksgiving Day.

I like to step up Thanksgiving dinner to set it apart as a special time of gratitude. However, I am also the hostess and mother of a large, busy family. Considering this, like many of you, if the added formality isn’t simple elegance, it will either create stress or it won’t happen.

Today I’m passing on a few simple table decoration ideas that add formality and significance to your celebration dinner without exhausting your hostess.

Invite Mother Nature: After all, this is where our meal comes from, and what the first Thanksgiving celebrated. A small pinecone as your placecard holder is absolutely charming.

 

More natural inspirations can include branches, berries and fruits. The simplicity of this look becomes sheer elegance. Fall’s beautiful colors highlighted in your home…don’t forget the candlesticks!

  

Candlelight Formality: For a more formal centerpiece, try a table runner embellished with natural or glossy fruits, vegetables and pinecones. The large candles, when lit, add the ambiance of importance. This table even offers a dinner menu at each place setting.

 

Ribbons! What can’t we do with a $2 roll of ribbon!? Aren’t these place settings spicy?

 

You can step up or step down any of these ideas and still create an air of festivity for your Thanksgiving dinner. The best part of dressing up your table is that most of it can be done ahead of time.

Don’t let the pressures of hosting take over your joy of hospitality and giving thanks. Candles alone can set this meal apart. If you’ll be busy in the kitchen, these ideas are so simple, you can even pass them on to your relatives or children and let them contribute to the gathering.

After all, it is a holiday for the hostess, too. We can plan a more formal meal while maintaining the spirit of gratitude. As you sit around the table, don't forget to invite each guest to share something they’re thankful for. That will create the best ambiance of all.

I hope you have a very happy Thanksgiving.

--Keri

A Moment for Marriage

Part of living well means maintaining strong relationships. For many women, the most important relationship is with their husband. Have you heard the saying, “Make your marriage strong, and everything else falls into place” ?

It is not always easy. We can look back to when we first fell in love and had the leisure of time to discover each other. Matthew Kelly, one of my favorite authors, calls this timelessness. We weren’t on a clock, and we could just enjoy getting to know each other, to be enchanted with the unexpected details of our love. But as relationships develop, our lives also develop into intertwined levels of business and responsibilities, and we can lose that sense of timelessness we need to continue discovering the person within our mate. According to Kelly, spending carefree time together is a must.

In his book, Building Better Families, he also says:

“When two people love each other, encourage and challenge each other to become the-best-version-of-themselves, and honor and respect each other’s individual journey while at the same time dynamically collaborating on their journey together, it produces a rare energy and environment. Anyone fortunate enough to wander into this environment for an afternoon or an entire childhood will benefit enormously. A great marriage is a place where we can be ourselves, a refuge from the world, and a place where we can grow through both harmony and conflict. Marriage is a place where we can be comforted and challenged, a place where dreams are explored and pursued, and a place where ego can be tamed and true self can blossom.”

- Matthew Kelly

All of us, married or single, can encourage each other to invest in the value and meaning of our marriages. When we do, we’re strengthening society because we’re strengthening relationships. Good marriages=strong relationships=happy, productive people=thriving families and communities. If you’re married, it’s the most important relationship you can invest in. Rediscover WHY you fell in love and do it over and over again. 

--Keri