Dinner Parties on Rainy Days
A playlist for your next dinner party, tips for making hosting joyful, a creative challenge, and a dinner themed word search.
Welcome to Feeling! Magazine’s Monday Letter! This is a once-weekly letter made to feel like a magazine flip-through, purposefully designed to help you feel joy.
I hope you love it, and I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments. (Don’t miss the printable puzzle at the end!)
Every year, I sell a color dot calendar. The 6th edition is now available for preorder! The process is very grassroots. I host preorders for a month and a half, and that is the exact amount of calendars I order from the printer, then I ship them all from my apartment! The quantity is minimal, and the timeframe to order is short because that’s all I can manage with a one-woman operation! But I would love to send you one and make you a part of the coveted Calendar Club. You can place your order here!
Perhaps the biggest risk/leap of growth I’ve ever taken for this publication, Feeling! Magazine, is happening right now! I have not made art prints for years, but I’m coming out of retirement just for Substack. Founding members of Feeling! Magazine will be inducted into the Color Club, a once-a-month art print delivery to your mailbox! My goal is to make this digital magazine become tangible. Pick up a 5x7” frame, and then every month for one year, you will receive an art print to fill it. A seasonal rhythm, I hope, sparks a year of joy. After you subscribe, you receive an automatic email requesting your address information to fill out, ensuring the print shows up in your mailbox! If you are already a paid subscriber but want to join the Color Club and start getting art prints, you can upgrade and Substack will prorate the price! The first print will go out in October! Ahhh!
Feeling of the Week: a mood board concept of a design direction for your week.
OCTOBER 13th: Rain is gently hitting the windows. Your main dish is sizzling on the stove, while you stir apple cider next to it.
You’ve lit candlesticks and the wax is slowly melting. Music is lightly playing in the background as you are full of anticipation for the first guest.
The doorbell rings.
I made you a curated Dinner Party Playlist that is sure to please all ages, ears, and people you may have over!
Colors of the week: Polished Plates + Striped Tablecloth
A moody, dark plum hue mixed with a fluffy, pasteled cornflower blue. Feels like a dinner party — both easy and rich, like good conversation around the table.
How to Use these Colors:
In fashion:
Dark plum ballet flats, with blue tights
Plum corduroy pants, with a light blue cardigan (fuzzy)
In the home:
Combine the two colors in stripes for excellent throw pillow covers
Utilize the hues in your tablescaping. Combine moody-colored candlesticks with bright blue dishes, or vice versa.
The holidays are approaching, so is gloomy weather, and so my dinner plans expand. This season, I’m thinking of new people to invite over, into the warmth, for a shared meal. This week, my challenge to you is to host a dinner. At least, send out an invite this week, and host it soon after.
If that’s something you do all the time, level up by inviting someone you don’t know very well but would like to.
If you’ve never hosted a dinner, my challenge to you is to go for it! It does not need to be fancy, it does not need to be elaborate — you can host a dinner in a park, a dorm, or an apartment — you don’t need a giant kitchen or home to pull it off. Just think of a few people you’d like to gather, and invite them over before you can overthink it.
Please accept the challenge, and then report back (in the comments on this post) with a review of how it went! We all anxiously await to hear!
Here are a few tips for more joyful hosting:
Start by working with what you have. Do you already have a backstock of ingredients you could use up? Do you have a set of plates and a tablecloth that look good together? Make a list of what you already have. You will find yourself a bit miserable planning something when you have only focused on what is missing.
Invite people you genuinely enjoy. Try to move past obligation or weird social dynamics — just invite people that you think would get along, even if they don’t know each other yet! That’s usually the purpose of a dinner party — deepening relationships!
Always play background music.
Everyone likes snacks! Make sure you’ve got some snacks out for munching.
Always offer someone a drink after their arrival (even just a cup of water!)
Always have a card game ready to go, if needed.
Get started preparing about an hour and a half before you think you need to.
If it’s a mix of random people, make name cards and assign seats — it’s a kindness!
Don’t put so much pressure on yourself — be kind to you. If things aren’t done when guests start arriving, ask them to help you finish!
Can’t wait to hear how your dinner party went!
This week, I leaned into thoughts on dining together. Here’s what I found:
“Dining with one’s friends and beloved family is certainly one of life’s primal and most innocent delights, one that is soul-satisfying and eternal.” — Julia Child
“I try to greet my friends with a drink in my hand, a warm smile on my face, and great music in the background, because that’s what gets a dinner party off to a fun start.” — Ina Garten
“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” — Virginia Woolf
“Context and memory play powerful roles in all the truly great meals in one’s life.” — Anthony Bourdain
“I’m going to make everything around me beautiful — that will be my life.” — Elsie De Wolfe
“Every lesson I learned as a kid was at the dinner table. It’s where we laughed, cried, and yelled, but most importantly, where we bonded and connected.” — Michael Symon
Tea Jams - I love discovering new small businesses to support, and have LOVED Tea Jams’ delicious tea-inspired jam collection. Their jams are infused with Harney & Sons’ tea! My favorites are the blueberry earl grey and the orange cinnamon spice. Perfect for your cozy fall sourdough and jam plans.
My chef era dreamy pots and pans - I do need to hype up the pots and pans I use every day. I really am impressed by Great Jones’ stainless steel collection and feel they have encouraged me to develop my skills in the kitchen…while looking so chic!
The perfect after- dinner cup of tea - I love Lazy Jamie’s stainless steel coffee set because it comes with a little saucer and a tiny spoon! It really elevates the experience of a cup of tea or coffee. I’ve found it makes my guests extra delighted when they are handed their coffee.
My new favorite serving plate - I recently picked up a Gustaf Westman Chunky Plate and have been using it to serve food during dinner parties! The design really pops on the table.
A weapon of frizzy warfare - It’s been rainy lately in New York, and my hair gets so frizzy every time I go outside. I carry this Dae hair wand in my purse at all times. It’s basically a tube of hair cream with a thick mascara wand, so you can use it as a little brush for fly aways. It works like a charm.
The best London Fog blend - As the weather has become rainy and grey, I find myself reaching for a London Fog almost every day. The Victorian London Fog blend from Harney & Sons is a favorite.
Perfect flats for dinner party hopping - I really love these Sam Edelman flats for everything — especially the silver ones!
Here are some places and spaces in New York to get you into the dinner party experience! Specifically, retail spots with tablewares, hosting supplies, and all things kitchen:
Big Night: My favorite, ever!
Coming Soon: Unique, colorful, amazing home decor with a great selection of glass and serving wares.
November 19: A unique curation of really interesting homewares, table items, and even clothes and accessories!
Rosemary Home: A gorgeously colorful take on both new and vintage tableware and decor.
I often get asked for New York recommendations, which is such an honor! So I’ve started this little column as a place to compile places as I go, leaving notes and thoughts with them. I hope I can be helpful if you are planning a trip to the city soon! I also compiled a massive list of my favorites into a Google Map. The list is heavy on matcha, coffee, cute shops, and restaurants.
Feel free to use this if you are dreaming about a trip to New York City, or if you live here and want some color-forward suggestions. I am adding to it constantly!
Do you know how to properly set a table? I made a guide with a ton of whimsical table-setting inspiration here
Here is an index of my favorite tableware brands, if you are looking to step up your table decor for the holidays
How to be good at the human part of hosting, not just the decor part
Here are some Feeling! Magazine printable conversation cards for your next dinner party!
In this column, you’ll find highly curated discounts gathered in one place, perfect for a little birthday gift planning or a home refresh!
*Coming soon! Inspired by American Girl’s Coconut and Licorice, a fictional tale of my own dog and cat, Genevieve & Rose, will be coming to you in small chapters every week. Follow a whimsical story of a dog and cat duo navigating New York City when no one is looking. The story will have you on the edge of your seat, and perhaps so invested in their joyful, silly world so much that you pause scrolling just to sit with them for a bit.
Can’t wait to share chapter one with you next week!
Feel free to save this image and print it out! It’s a perfect party trick to have at your next get-together. Puzzles and highlighters!
Moodboard Sources:
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Photo by The New York Public Library on Unsplash
Photo by The New York Public Library on Unsplash
Photo by Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa on Unsplash
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Thank you, Hailey Howe, for lovely work on Feeling! Magazine Graphics! You made this Monday Letter magical!
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That last quote ("Every lesson I learned as a kid was at the dinner table...") is a pretty accurate reflection of how I grew up and I really hope I can continue the tradition in coming years with my brand new family. :) It motivates me to be intentional with supper time, whether it's just my husband and I (and baby) or planning for guests. Posts like these get me so excited to host more in the future!
Have you seen the new Gustaf Westman x IKEA collection? It’s right up your alley!