New Years Reflections

In our home, New Years isn’t a time for resolutions, it’s a time for reflection. We look back over the year that’s passed and consider the abundant blessings that have come our way. We’re so thankful for family, friends and our business. At the turn of a New Year we also consider all the challenges and reflect on how they’ve strengthened and encouraged us as we overcame them one by one, together. And then we look to the year ahead knowing we’ve grown and learned over the past twelve months. We become very hopeful about the future and excited about all the possibilities. I hope you, too, are encouraged to enjoy the possibilities.

Looking forward,

Terri

Top Ten Tips for Hosting A Fabulous Party!

Hosting a get together in your home is about hospitality. It gives others a glimpse into your life and lifestyle. The best way for your guests to enjoy you or get to know you better is to actually spend time with you. Here are some tips to help things run smoothly giving you more time with your guests and less time fussing.

When sending out invitations it’s important to give an idea of the type of party; formal or informal, children welcome or adults only, by invitation only or bring a friend. This way no one’s surprised the night of.

Proof you don't need good taste to have a good time

Sometimes it’s helpful to pick a theme; Ours ~ ugly sweaters. It ensures no one is taking life too seriously. We think the pictures make the perfect backdrop to our blog post ~ don’t be too jealous about how great we look!

Hard to pick a favourite!

1.     Have all your prep finished before the first guests arrive. Make & assemble your food, set up your food and beverage stations, stock ice, have all necessary supplies at hand, light your candles and choose a fabulous playlist that is playing even as the first guest arrives.

2.     If necessary rent extra glassware, dishes and serving platters. It’s relatively inexpensive, provides a uniform look and means you won’t be washing up throughout the evening. If possible, it's also a nice idea to hire help with cleanup the next day.

3.     Greet your guests at the door, take their coats, offer them a beverage and help them feel comfortable and settled.

4.     When at all possible, allow guests to wear their shoes. So much time and effort (and often expense) goes into choosing special attire and footwear is part of the look. Stocking feet somehow don’t look as posh ~ unless you're wearing ugly sweaters! 

5.     Break up your food and beverage locations to prevent people bunching up in one spot. Have a bar or drink table on one side of the main living space with a buffet of appetizers and desserts in the dining room. It’s also a good idea to have one drop spot for dirties.

6.     Keep the drink selection simple: wine and beer, just martinis, or specialty coffees keep it simple and are easy to stock for.

Hands Free Dining

7.     Have a special, designated driver mocktail and a door prize (a way to say thanks for helping keep guests safe). Do take personal responsibility to ensure your guests don’t drink and drive. If sending an invitation or e-vite mention guests should plan for a safe ride home.

8.     When serving finger food, make sure items won’t crumble down a guests outfit, and don’t serve those that are difficult to eat.

9.     Sometimes the best evening is potluck style where each guest contributes a plate of appetizers or a dish, and a bottle of wine. No one minds pitching in and it truly frees up everyone, including you, to simply enjoy the evening.

10. Take great photos throughout your evening. Once the night is over, assemble your favorites into an online photo album and invite your guests to view it. Also consider making prints of the best ones and send each guest a memorable photo from the party inside a thank you card. 

Rhonda, Lou & Terri

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Instant Ambience

Bridgewater Candles at The Willows

Instant ambience happens when  candles are lit and a room is filled with a warm glow and subtle scent. They help transform a dining room from simply food on a table to an elegant and intimate dinner party. Candles turn a bathroom into a private sanctuary at the end of a long, hard day.

Scented candles are infused with fragrant oils and release their scent as the flame melts the wax. Aromatherapy has long been known to have powerful effects on the human psyche so the addition of scented candles in the home can bring peace, calm, even vibrancy literally at the strike of a match. Beautiful, superior quality Bridgewater scented candles come in beautiful shades and last through many comfortable evenings. 

All natural beeswax candles are very popular with their textured finish and soothing honey scent. Long tapers offer the finishing touch on an elegant table. Lloyd Farms Beeswax Tapers are perfect to compliment your holiday decorating or any special occasion.

A candle in a beautiful cut glass votive creates a dance of light and color. Depending on the setting, a variety of displays add just the right touch and can even help your candles last longer. Inside a tall glass lantern, the flame is protected and burns more slowly. From lanterns to hurricane vases, there are endless colors and styles to suit any décor. Candlelight never goes out of style.

Visit The Willows Casual Home for an excellent selection of candles and decorative holders.

photo by Ryan Veldkamp

Remember When...

'John' came into the shop, he was moving slowly, showing his age. He told me he and his beautiful wife have been married for 50 odd years and he wanted to buy her a present. 

'Wonderful,' I said and tried to determine what he was looking for. 'Is it for an anniversary?' I asked.

‘No, not an anniversary.’

‘Oh, a birthday then?’

‘It’s not her birthday either. I just need to give her something special to celebrate the memories,’ John explained. His voice wavered a bit.

As I looked up from the display we were in front of I could see tears in John’s eyes. He wiped them away and looked back at me.

‘My wife has alzheimers disease,’ he said. ‘She doesn’t know me anymore. I know we don’t have much time left together and I need to give her something to help preserve the memories we’ve shared. Once she’s gone I want to have something that helps me remember. I don’t ever want to forget.’

The smile on his face was both wistful and sad. With a shy smile back, I linked arms with John, led him to the counter and helped him create a special charm for his wife to celebrate all the anniversaries they’ve shared together; bronze, silver and gold.

John left that day hopeful and I felt inspired by the depth of love he showed for his wife. True treasures are found in our relationships. Most of us know this, believe this. So what happens when that is challenged and the memories begin to disappear?

John reminded me that's when we live it for each-other.  That's when we give so much it hurts because we love so much, and it hurts sometimes. That is when we give 100% because our partner has nothing. And we made a promise. John’s wife is not able to remember, so he holds on to the memories for her.

Terri

photo by i.tokaris

Christmas Morning Unwrapped

Photo by Ryan Veldkamp

Christmas is a great time of year, our families love the celebrations surrounding the season. We still laugh about a Christmas when the three of us were 6 years old and our younger brother was 3. At that age, the excitement and buzz surrounding Christmas morning is palpable in any household, let alone a household with identical triplets! 

On this particular Christmas morning, Lou was the most excited. When Rhonda and I woke up we looked around our bedroom, but could only see our brother Mike. Lou was not in sight. We slipped out of bed and tiptoed into the hallway. The house was still pretty quiet, except for the giggling we could hear coming from the living room. As we got closer we could hear the crinkling of paper and even more giggling. Stepping into the room we were greeted by a small mountain of wrapping paper being tossed about by Lou who was sitting in the middle with an enormous grin on her face. All by her six year old self, Lou had unwrapped every single present under the tree. The upside was everyone was able to pick out the presents they really wanted that year, but we learned to keep a real close eye on Lou each Christmas morning!

Welcome to W.O.W.

Welcome to Willows on Willows, the blog of The Willows Casual Home. Our hope is to W.O.W. you and inspire you with all the crazy things we think about and do. We also love to hear from you, so please feel free to comment and connect with us.


Thanks for reading!