Making Room by Gather

Hands up if you would call yourself a perfectionist! Sometime along the way, we were taught that hospitality needs to be perfect, have you heard this messaging? It's safe to say that across life we are taught that it's safer to hold on tightly and don't let go. Or on the flip side, if things aren't going quite the way you hoped and dreamed that we can control the outcome. One w...

Do you find yourself looking ahead at a new week dreading another week of cooking? Does mealtime come and you get the same pit in your stomach knowing that you have cook but...don't have any ideas. Maybe you love to cook, and just wish there was a way to simplify and enjoy the process a bit more. Wherever you're at with your relationship with your kitchen, What if I told you that there&a...

Have you ever felt like you and your spouse are on different pages when it comes to hosting? We were married not even a year  and I packed our social calendars FULL. Looking back we had plans in our house nearly every night and my party loving, people loving self was ecstatic. It didn't take long for a conversation to happen between Colby and I about expectations. It didn't even cross my...

This episode is quite possibly the most powerful, eyeopening and heart wrenching that I have hosted yet. As I welcome on our new friends, I found that I quickly realized how little I know about incarceration, the justice system and what families endure going through it. Through this conversation my hope is to give us all a new layer of education, information and hopefully in turn compassion and a...

There's WHAT in my muffins? Pairing vegetables and comfort food is a new concept to many of us. Conversations about vegetables in our mac and cheese and even pureed in our muffins may make many of us cringe but, what if I told you it CAN be delicious! We so often focus on kids who don't eat vegetables but what about adults and teens who could use some help with this too? Gone are the day...

There never seems to be enough time in the day to do everything we care about. Somehow the days feel shorter, our lists feel longer and we find it difficult to make room for creativity and time together. Our culture constantly praises the hurry, but rarely talks about the cost. It's time we sit back and take a look at another way of approaching our time and priorities. In this conversation we...

“And let me offer lesson number one about America: All great change in America begins at the dinner table. So, tomorrow night in the kitchen I hope the talking begins." This quote is famously said by Ronald Regan, and truthfully I believe it applies to cultures around the world. There's something deeply profound about this and in many ways deeply intriguing. We watch movies, TV shows and...

With many of you knowing pieces of our story, we wanted to start the year looking back and reflecting on the road that led us here, with the main people who have been a part of the process. To start, we are welcoming Gather's real VIP Alia Merrill who has worked with us on brand strategy, web design, graphic design (and keeping me from quitting) for nearly 4 years! Over the past couple months...

I'm sure we can all remember when we were first introduced to Youtube. Many of us waited for new releases, while others of us took the plunge to start creating. Remi Cruz found herself cooking most of her life, while also being inspired by her moms incredible cooking.  When high school came around she took her passion, started producing cooking videos for the platform and the rest is history....

Raise your hand if you look at the world today and think to yourself, "surely this is the worst time in history." You are certainly not alone and the reality is- there are in fact some very difficult things happening in our culture and around the world. This worldview has caused many of us to lose hope, and see the world through a lens far from optimistic. We invited on our friend Zach W...

During the holidays we so often are surrounded by people but....are we connecting to them? Hot chocolate, table scapes filled with food, what if we realized that with a few simple changes we can leave the holidays not just feeling full BUT also, connected? So quickly we can find ourselves tossed in the shuffle of shallow conversation, 'hows the weather' small talk, and in some cases aski...

We are full swing in the holiday season. With it, it doesn't take long for us to start to feel a bit exhausted and lost in the hustle and bustle. If you're anything like me, you are craving a way to make the season a bit more refreshing and filled with more celebration. To be honest, I'm not one to turn to quickly turn to nature. However, recently I learned about the work of Hannah...

My stomach sank... *You should talk about that on a podcast episode* my friend said as we were talking on my front porch* "So many people would relate to that", she continued.  I ran on over to my stories and quickly typed:  "Would you be interested in a conversation on navigating social anxiety, depression and panic attacks as a host/guest?" FULLY anticipating that I would del...

How’s your holiday budget looking? That question likely just made your heart sink. As we get closer to the holidays, we often are so conflicted with the excitement of decking the halls and the shock of how our bank accounts look after. Without realizing it, we find ourselves in comparison circles feeling like we can only host that open house party if it includes x, y, and z.  Before we know it, we...

Were you here when @sharonsaysso shared about us? It was the start of amazing things here at Gather! The week she shared, we released an episode called “10 Ways to Become an Everyday Host” and it quickly became our most downloaded episode to date. As years have gone by, we wanted to bring the conversation back to the surface because it is more important now than ever!  In culture, we are often tol...

I very quickly find myself fully invested in reality tv shows; anyone else? I had heard about the new show, Claim to Fame, and as soon as I started watching, I knew it wasn’t going to be any different. In fact, as I was watching, I saw one of the girls on the show and thought, “I could be friends with her!” So I sent her a message, invited her onto the podcast and what came next surprised me most!...

You may have noticed we took a little break...but we're back!  After a few years of hosting podcast conversations on the side, we are expanding the table at Making Room by Gather.  Over the course of the next few months you will notice that the audio in the episodes has improved,  our mission statement for the show is more refined and amazing guests continue to take a seat at our table!  Thro...

Many of us have found the enneagram to be an incredibly helpful tool as we learn more about ourselves and others. Through our learning, we have turned to books, podcasts and tests to gather as much as we can about our 'number' and the way we shift in health and stress. Like many of you I have found that there are a few voices in the Enneagram world that hold extensive wisdom and insight....

We don't usually give much thought to the meat we buy. It ends up on our shopping list, and before we know it we're serving it at our table. Over the past few years however, there have been various labels and words added to our packages from grass fed to no hormones, but what do they mean? We quickly start to believe the certain words mean that the meat is better for our health or is bet...

Family dinners are something we see highlighted across movies and TV shows. If we’re honest though, it’s something we are experiencing less and less in our own lives. Filled with laughs, connection and rich culture it’s something we all crave more of. Recently as I scoured the new show library for Magnolia Network I came across Andrew Zimmern’s newest show Family Dinner. “Andrew visits families ac...

Minimalism is a word that has swept the design world by storm. With a spotlight on Scandinavian style and decluttering becoming the highlight of some of culture’s favorite new tv shows, a few questions remain. What are the main differences between organization and decluttering, AND how do I make that a reality in my own home? After living in an RV as newlyweds, Courtney Florey and her husband lear...

Amanda Held Opelt found herself not experiencing grief until much later in life. Feeling unprepared she quickly found herself facing a series of significant losses from miscarriages to the loss of her sister at a young age. This process led her a place of vulnerability where she learned the important role that others play in the journey to healing along with what was needed for her to work towards...

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It was the summer after my senior year of high school. I had just graduated and I was on my way to Chiquila, Mexico. We landed, for my first time in Mexico, and drove to a remote village where everything was new to me. There was something so foreign, yet so inviting, and that combination made me dive into every experience that approached me over the next few weeks. One thing that stood out to me i...

We have heard it time and time again, Love thy neighbor. But...what does that mean in our lives, now? Recently I learned about the new book "Glad You're Here" Written by Walker Hayes and his neighbor and dear friend, Craig Allen Cooper. Their story is one that goes against how so many of us view neighbors in the most refreshing, culture-shifting way. As the world grows increasingly...