Being raised a good Texas Woman, I believe that it is an honor to welcome guests into my home for a drink or a meal. However, many of us, who have moved from bustling big cities where entertaining was a more formal proposition, may now find ourselves on shaky ground when faced with the prospect of hosting friends in our new homes.  "My house is not.......", " I want to wait until I have............",  " I am not confident enough about my cooking".  Do any of these fears sound familiar?
 
Living in the Texas Hill Country affords us a new perspective on entertaining at home.  First of all, having friends in for a meal is a way of life here- not a rare opportunity to be scrutinized.  The purpose for getting together is friendship and conversation.  I have attended a small dinner around the kitchen table, innumerable tasty potlucks, picnics, drinks on the porch, dessert and coffee, dinner for anywhere from 3 to 25 people, seated and buffet.   I even had the pleasure of going to a party where you had to swim across the creek to the cooler for a soda or a glass of wine! 

The most important rule of hosting in one's home is to keep it simple (by your own standards).  Start with something familiar: make a beautiful cheese tray with pears, salty nuts and dried apricots for drinks on your porch; prepare an old family favorite served with a salad and a Wimberley Pie Co pie a la mode; put something beautiful on your buffet or new napkins on the table- something small that pleases you.   I find that the setting, simple or grand, is wonderfully satisfying when the host is in his/her comfort zone. This is a win-win situation for everyone involved!

Don't forget to check out all the fab items at our new webstore, RiverHouseWimberley.com!


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