Dishing it up/ with Sharon Insul

Come sit with me for awhile . . .
and see what I’m bringing to the table ®

Do you see it now? No? . . . Try closing your eyes . . . Nothing? . . . Are you sure you closed your eyes? . . . Still nothing . . . zip . . . nada . . . zilch? Hmmm . . . Easy nobody panic!!! O k . . . try this . . . click on the photo above . . . good . . . there you go. No hurry, no worries . . . take your time walking through, around, in and out, and stay awhile . . . no charge. Please, shhh . . . a moment of silence . . . how else will you be able to hear the new song of Spring. Go ahead close your eyes again as the music begins to slowly . . . very, very slowly blossom into a profusion of brilliant hues that only Mother Nature can dish up on her special serving platter . . . called earth. It’s all good . . . see I knew you just needed a few minutes to get into the feeling of the music. Now that you are in sync with the music of Spring, let’s get you feeling the vibrant blend of colors that I ‘not so casually’ threw together. What? . . . you think I just threw open my cupboards, closets, drawers, and start grabbing with reckless abandon at the first thing that I saw? . . . Hello . . . No, no, no!!! Wait, I need a minute to calm down and take a few breaths. Pheww . . . O k I’m back . . . Think of selecting, and/or combining colors for your linens, just as you would for your walls, fabrics, and pops of color added here and there around your rooms.

When it comes to flowers and mood lighting, I am all over it!!! Lighting put on dimmers as opposed to over head bulbs that seem to exist for the sole purpose of searching out and zeroing in on every teeny tiny facial line. Mmmm hmmm . . . you think I jest? Go ahead take a mirror into your dining area (at night, of course), now turn on the lights . . . did I hear eek, yikes, and . . . omg !!! Need I say more? Soooo . . . I think it’s safe to say that now would be a very good time to transport your dinner table into a magical wonderland.

Tall candles need to be in between sight lines, so that people don’t have to crane their necks, throughout dinner. You will need to keep sitting in all of your guests seats in order to check sight lines before guests arrive. I do hear you!!! Don’t want to futz around with the sight lines . . . no problem . . . understandable . . . this is where tons of votives, and t-lights in holders placed here, there, and everywhere, blends with a glass bowl of water holding floating candles in the shape of flowers, as well as fresh flowers and lit t-lites. Add additional candles strategically placed around the table and on any existing sideboards.

Rule of thumb . . . if you want people to come back . . . then you need to make everyone feel beautiful, and transported to a magical wonderland! Whether you have the most expensive table place settings in the world, or . . . old, slightly chipped not so matchy-matchy place settings . . . presentation is the name of the hostess game !!! I am all for serving the most delicious dinner possible . . . but . . . what if you screw dinner up? Oh please . . . it’s not the end of the world! People listen . . . remain calm!! Here ‘s the scoop . . . All you have to do is . . . WOW them with your magical one-of-a-kind, out-of-the-box presentation, I guarantee they will always be wanting to come back for your next (presentation) show!

Don’t forget clusters of votives in cups, to be used as up lights that are always flattering, but not intrusive. (trim wick to 1/4”- 3/8” before burning) Please burn candles responsibly.

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Sharon Insul is the former owner of the popular Beverly Hills boutique Candle light and…

I WELCOME YOUR COMMENTS and QUESTIONS . . . sharons3@me.com

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