Happy Wednesday, Sweet Friends!

There's something magical that happens when we gather people around our tables - even when (or maybe especially when) those tables aren't perfectly set, and the food isn't Instagram-worthy.

👉 The truth is, the most meaningful dinners are rarely the most perfect ones.

They’re the ones where:

• the bread was slightly overbaked
• the candles dripped
• the playlist repeated
• and no one cared

Casual hosting builds the deepest community because it lowers the stakes.

Casual hosting builds the deepest community because it lowers the stakes.

When your table feels approachable, people relax.
When people relax, they open up.
When they open up, connection happens.

And connection — not perfection — is what we’re actually after.

In a world that feels heavy and loud and dark some days, there is something profoundly steady about inviting people over anyway. Not to impress them. Not to perform. Just to gather.

🥣 Soup and bread.
🥗 Takeout and a salad.
🍗 A rotisserie chicken and premade mashed potatoes.

It doesn’t have to be elaborate to be meaningful.

🕯️ A Few Tools That Make Casual Hosting Easy

(So you can focus on people, not pressure.)

• A large wooden cutting board for bread and cheese → a large cutting board is essential! It's not only a workhorse on the counter, but you can serve directly off of it.
• Simple white serving bowls that mix with anything → These pasta latte bowls are shallow and perfect for serving anything and everything. Having a good "lip" on your plates and bowls is a subtle way to love your people well. Helping them pick up their food better!
• A good olive oil and flaky salt for instant “wow” → I'm obsessed with Olio Santo Olive Oil. While you can buy it in Williams Sonoma, I prefer getting this big bag from Cassandra's Kitchen and refilling my bottle.

Here’s what I believe more than ever:

👉 Messy tables make the best memories.
👉 Repeated invitations build trust.
👉 Ordinary nights create extraordinary belonging.

And in our world right now? Belonging is a gift.

This work — the quiet dinners, the steady gatherings, the choosing of presence — is exactly what I’ll be speaking about in my TEDx talk on March 20, 2026. It’s called “Dinner Parties Can Change the World,” and it’s about why gathering still matters, especially in complicated seasons. If you’d like to be in the room that day in Asheville, I would love to see you there.
🎟️ Tickets are here: https://www.worthamarts.org/events/tedx-asheville-embrace-the-mess/​

Keep setting the table.
Even when it’s simple.
​Especially when it’s simple.

— Ashley
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