September is here, and I am so ready for her. (But, y'all... this 90˚ weather can leave!) Not in a rush-the-season kind of way. More in a fresh notebook, tidy kitchen, dinner simmering, let's get our rhythms back kind of way. This month at Chez Sweetpea, we're leaning into enjoying our homes, gathering people around the table, getting back into routines that support us, and quietly preparing ourselves for the busier months ahead. Think: 🍎 Apple Country🏡 enjoying home🥘 cozy-but-not-too-cozy...
4 days ago • 4 min read
Tomorrow is September 1st. And I don't know about you, but I am ready. Not ready for pumpkins everywhere. Not ready to put on a sweater when it's still 80 degrees outside. And certainly not ready to skip straight past this beautiful little stretch of late summer. But I am ready for September. There's something about this month that has always felt like a second January to me. Maybe it's all that back-to-school energy we've been talking about. Maybe it's the fresh notebooks. Maybe it's...
7 days ago • 3 min read
I'm declaring it: The fall semester at Chez Sweetpea is officially in session. 🍎 There will be no exams. Attendance is extremely flexible. Snacks are encouraged. And the syllabus mostly consists of making our homes feel good, feeding ourselves well, and creating enough margin that we're not losing our ever-loving minds by the time the holidays arrive. Seems reasonable, yes? All this back-to-school energy has me craving rhythm again. I also start feeling this way when you can tell the seasons...
11 days ago • 2 min read
There is something about back-to-school season that makes me want to buy a fresh notebook and completely reorganize my life. (Heck! I bought a whole new planner system that I've started to *think* about using!) And I don't even have children going back to school. 😂 But every year, when I see the school supplies lining the aisles and hear my friends talking about first days, new teachers, lunchboxes, and earlier bedtimes, I get the itch to refresh my own routines. Not reinvent my entire life....
14 days ago • 2 min read
I have a tiny challenge for you this weekend: Make it feel like something. Not an event. Not a dinner party requiring three grocery stores, seventeen serving platters, and a nervous breakdown. Just... something. A little marker between the workweek and the weekend that says: Oh! We're enjoying our life now. ✨ Sweetpea's Little Luxury Before the weekend arrives, pull out one of the good things. The cocktail napkins you've been saving. The little appetizer plates. The wine glasses you think are...
18 days ago • 1 min read
Happy Monday, Y'all! A version of you is coming home later this week, and she'll be so grateful for whatever you do for her today. And frankly? I think we should make her life easier. 🌿 Host Yourself First This week, I want you to think about Future You. Not six-months-from-now Future You. I mean Thursday-at-5:47-PM Future You, hungry, tired, and staring into the refrigerator, hoping dinner magically appears. What can you do today that makes her evening easier? It doesn’t have to be a giant...
21 days ago • 1 min read
Cheers to Thursday, Sweet Friend! One of my favorite things about hosting is that it doesn't have to be reserved for birthdays or big celebrations. Sometimes all it takes is deciding that this Saturday deserves a really good steak. There's something wonderfully nostalgic about steak night at home. The music gets turned up a little louder, everyone gathers in the kitchen while dinner finishes, and somehow the evening always stretches a little longer than expected. That's exactly the feeling...
25 days ago • 1 min read
Hi, Sweet Friend! There's a little phrase I come back to often: Ease creates elegance. For the longest time, I thought beautiful dinners had to be complicated. More ingredients. More dishes. More time in the kitchen. But the older I get, the more I realize that some of the loveliest meals I've ever served came from one pan, a simple salad, and good conversation around the table. This week, we're leaning into recipes that look special enough for company but are easy enough for a Tuesday night....
28 days ago • 1 min read
Happy Thursday, Sweet Friend! There's something about Thursday afternoons that always makes me start looking toward the weekend. By now, the workweek has settled in. The groceries are mostly bought. The laundry is (hopefully) folded. And my mind has dreamed up the answer to one of my favorite questions: "Who could I gather around the table this weekend?" Sometimes it's Sunday supper with my parents. Sometimes it's a girlfriend coming over for happy hour. Sometimes it's a full dinner party...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read