And, Treat your Guests like Family

Welcome Basket from Willow House

     It's weird, every time I look at my last post, that silly little phrase goes through my mind, so it becomes..."Treat your Family like Guests, and your Guests like Family!"
     I don't know where I picked that up - but it made me think - "what do I mean by that?" Well, we always want our guests to "make themselves at home". We want them to be comfortable with us. So, we make sure our home looks like we prepared for their visit, and that we did a few special things to show them they are an important part of our lives.  
     It's a little balancing act for me. I want it to be special, but I don't want them to feel like I just worked so hard that I dread having guests!  Whew!  I always want to be like that little duckie, who is unruffled and calm on top of the water, but those little feet are just paddling fast as they can underneath!
     But if we want to make them feel like family, that means we also have to allow the rough and tumble of daily family life to continue, to some extent. OK, here's how I see it:  Guests are just with us for short periods of time. Possibly just for dinner, or a girlfriend get-together, or a weekend.
     While they are here, we do interrupt some of our daily routine, but not all of it. We allow them into our lives - while at the same time we do something special with them. We prepare ahead of time, so that we really can spend special time with them.We add special touches  - possibly fresh flowers to welcome them at our front door, or a small vase of flowers in the guest bedroom. After our preparations (possibly a lasagna ready in the refrigerator) then, we relax and enjoy their company! I welcome your thoughts on this topic - how do you make your guests feel like family?

Treat your Family like Guests

     Have you ever considered using particularly pretty things for everyday family meals and gatherings? We may be tempted to just throw something together quickly for our family - and certainly we are always in a hurry to get somewhere...but shouldn't we make each gathering as fun and attractive as possible? What we present to our family in those casual, and rushed times...will be considered normal to them. That's why we love the idea of choosing a special display for everyday meals. Wouldn't the family be amazed and surprised if they found the above French Tiered Wire Stand displaying muffins, cereal, and donuts for their Saturday morning breakfast?
     Don't you think they might make fun of it, but also remember it as a special part of their childhood?  And, maybe even remember to make Saturday mornings special for their own families (someday!).
     And, there's the subject of vegetables. We know we all need to eat more veggies! What if every time you served carrot sticks and radishes, it looked like a party? Maybe you and the kiddos would eat more of the good stuff!  Our new Watercolor Entertaining Set is so pretty, and it looks like summer on the beach! It is two bowls, made of gorgeous hammered blue glass. One is larger (11" in diameter x 2" tall) and the smaller one is perfect for dip (even low-fat dip). It is 5" in diameter and 2.5" tall. I do believe we would all eat more veggies if they were served this way! Just give it a try! Willow House makes it so easy!

Think Refreshing Spring Thoughts!

Don't you just want to start planning for Spring right about now?  In our area of the country, we really haven't had our bad winter weather yet, even though it is January 8...but it will arrive sometime between now and the real Spring.  But that doesn't mean I can't start dreaming about how I want to freshen up my home to get ready for that wonderful season of Spring. First, I want to clear off any of my decorative items that look at all like Winter, and start looking around for things I can add some fresh new color to. As in the top picture, which is the cover of our new Spring 2012 Willow House catalog, our beautiful and neutral Riverstone Dinnerware Collection looks fabulous when placed with fresh white tulips, melon and light blue, accented by a zippy black & white fabric on chair seats and pillows. The fresh new shapes and colors of Riverstone will take you happily through every season, I promise! And, perfect for the door is our new Willow Welcome Basket, finished  in a pearly gray. It has a flat back and is the perfect depth to go between most doors and storm doors! The bonus is that wonderful chalkboard plaque, on which you can write with  chalk pen, and wash off when ready!  Write a "welcome" or the birthday honoree's name, or your family name.  Or, wouldn't it be fun to write "bunco" to welcome your bunco buddies! Get ready for Spring with Glorious Willow House. Check out Our Willow House Website for more fun ideas!