Welcoming people into our home & cooking for them would have to be one of my favourite things to do. I love everything from cooking, to foraging in the forest for table adornments. Sometimes with my work, it can get difficult to prepare a full meal & host a dinner party. So when I have the time to infuse as much intention & love into it as possible, it's truly such a fufilling feeling.

I visited Europe in August of this year & was so in awe of the culture & tradtition around sharing meals & conversation. This got me thinking about the fact that the 'art of conversation' used to be so highly regarded, however I feel this is something western society lacks. When I walked down the cobbled-stone streets of France & saw these enriching experiences being had by groups of people over dinner, I felt so inspired.

The photos above are from a dinner party we hosted for our close friends Ourania & Alan a few months ago. I made a delicious vegetable gnocchi dish with thyme I plucked from our garden. We also shared a French bottle of red wine that I had bought in the perfect village-like town of St. Emillion, just outside of Bordaux in France. I was never much of a red wine drinker until I went back to Europe as an adult & tried it.

I value the truly simple things in life, being able to grow my own vegetables & herbs, being able to sit by a fire & look at the star-filled sky with people I love. It is moments like this that connect me even deeper to my purpose in this life & my work. I feel that we can create this feeling every time we have dinner. Maybe it's as simple as lighting a candle, plucking a wild flower on your walk or writing a gratitude list.

• Choose your table arrangement (my fave!): What colour flowers, any crystals, table cloth or none?
• Decorate with herbs: Herbs beautiful touch either on the plate or on the napkin.
• Upcycle what you already have: Use dried flowers on the table or make candles out of old jars.
• Candles are a must: They truly make any scene even more magical, so light them up!

• Prep the menu: does anyone have dietry requirements? What ingredients do you need?
• Set the scene: Do you want to create a warm & cosy inside dinner, or one that looks at the sky? Maybe you could move your table onto the grass so your guests can feel the grass under their feet.  
• Go to the op shop: Vintage stores have the best silver platters, the photo above is one of my platters I bought for $4 & the table runner was from an op shop too.