This photo was taken in 2016. I'd just moved into my first apartment in which my mom no longer had to spend her nights worrying my door would be busted in and where I could not see all four walls from every angle. Don't get me wrong, I still had no money to my name, but I bought the flowers anyways. Which I know sounds very counter intuitive and like a pretty poor financial decision. It was.
But that has always been the thing with me. If nothing else, I'm going to make it look nice. The power of making a moment in time just a little more elevated has always felt like a treat I didn't want to forget the taste of. I remember having friends come over and giggle at the trays I'd present their coffee on, or my niece spending her toddler years asking if cups or plates were "rich girl" things as she sipped out of a pink glass on my couch. For me though, the joy came from the in between. The conversations we got to have over the coffee, the little memories I made with matching glasses. Curating a moment that gets to live on is such a stunning thing.
And I'm sure at this point you are thinking "I don't have room for a million trays" or "You think I'm going to give my kid a glass cup?" Which is all very fair. But hear me out. These moments don't have to be all the time or out of your budget. They just have to be intentional.
That is what I see hostessing as. An intentional moment to be shared with someone(s) you love. It's lining up dollar store mugs for your girlfriends the morning after a night out. Or displaying your snacks on a wood cutting board to enjoy outside as you talk the sun down. It's putting the queso in a glass bowl instead of the plastic container it came in. Sure it takes a moment longer, and is one more dish to clean. But think of the moment you are washing out that bowl with your loved one bustling around the kitchen, when you can stop and smile.
It is in those moments I know hosting with love is one of my most cherished gifts.