Do you have a creative outlet? I mean, really, in your schedule do you take the time to be creative outside of your job and responsibilities? Very few of us carve out time for creativity but that comes at a cost!  Today’s guest and I talk through some really delicious, and hard truths about identity, career and family. This mom and formally trained chef has walked through some difficult seasons of loss, challenges in postpartum and career. All which led her to exercise her creative muscle again but this time…on TikTok. The success and community that came from it was a welcome surprise tha ..read more

  Let me paint a picture for you… 5th Grade Kayty goes to her room to watch TV. What does she turn on? Not Nickelodeon, nope, Food Network. Surprised? That and Game Show Network. From an early age my passion for food, culinary arts (and apparently game shows?) ran through my veins and through it I became Food Network Obsessed. Over the years I watched food trends, and the network, evolve, and it’s such an incredible transformation to look back on! If you are anything like me you have your favorite chefs, shows and of course recipes. Through it all, probably all wondering a bit about what ..read more

Transition. It’s something that marks a lot of our stories, but especially that of today’s guest Anh Lin. Moving and navigating short term relationships are both things that she has come to know quite well in her life…and that in a very unique way led her to design. From being raised in Vietnam to navigating her own story of abuse, attachment, and lack she felt a unique invitation. One to make life beautiful.  Design has always been so interesting to me. It has the ability to draw you in or push you away without any words used at all. A series of choices, purchases, placement, all come to ..read more

I thought I was preparing for a conversation surrounding our favorite, nostalgic, shopping snack. We all know the one I’m talking about, the soft pretzels that you either ate coated in cinnamon sugar or dunked in that crave-worthy cheese sauce. As it ended up, I found us taking through the tear-jerking, heart wrenching, redemption story that is the life of Auntie Anne’s founder, Anne Beiler.  Only a few times have I been surprised by an interview, and well, this one blew me away. Anne Beiler’s life is marked by a childhood positively influenced by Amish culture, life changing heartbreak ..read more

#Basic, We’ve all seen this as we peruse social media. While there’s a side of it that’s endearing, there’s a side of it that is a subtle dig as well. There’s a tension in our culture right now between craving being in our home’s and criticizing those who prioritize it. Why is this? When did it happen? …and what’s the answer?  The past week as I was on social media, I saw a reel that invited people back to ‘homemaking’, and talked directly to the person who feels like they weren’t taught how to do this. This reel racked up 20 million views +, and the account behind it welcomed 300k+ follo ..read more

Wait, did you just say that?  Any time we talk about food or the table, it’s inevitable that conversations about weight or weight loss come up…and more often than not, it’s cringy.   It looks different for everyone but whether it’s for health reasons or preference, hosting guests who are on their weight loss (or health) journeys is inevitable. We’ve all heard the family member who says something a bit off the cuff or we’ve made the dish that tastes like cardboard but it doesn’t have to be this way. It’s time to talk about how to host in this situation well.  I welcomed on t ..read more

Stress always falls by the wayside. It feels so much more important to focus on other areas of our health, life and relationships, am I right?  Yet if we were to poll all of our listeners, I bet a vast majority of us would say that it’s something we experience daily. Stress seems to have changed in the past few years, along with the types of stressors and the way it shows up in our lives. It’s time we learn about what it is that makes us burnout and the important resets to reduce the stress we all feel.  Dr. Aditi after years of working with patients made it her mission to focus on m ..read more

  As we get busier as a culture, spend less time at home and with each other, there are less opportunities to learn how to cook confidently.  We can probably all think of a recipe that did not end up the way we wished it would. Times when dinner stuck to the pan, the cookies ended up salty or even when we took one bite and threw the whole thing straight in the trash. Our guest today, Bri McKoy, can relate. She didn’t grow up loving to cook, in fact she didn’t see the point in even learning. However as she entered adulthood and realized that her ‘eating out lifestyle’ wasn’t going to ..read more

“Friendships just don’t work for me.”  Maybe you have found yourself saying this. One way or another we have all found ourselves in cycles of stress, anxiety and either learned to cope well… or not so well.  If you watched my recent TED talk, you may have heard the part at the very end, the part that surprises most people, where I share what I believe is the key to meaningful hospitality: The hard work of heart work’.  I’ve realized that in my own life when relationships are strained, or when we find ourselves constantly lonely, that often it’s a sign that we need to dive in and ..read more

Doesn’t it feel like everyone is in Italy? I can’t be the only one who scrolls social and sees half my feed exploring the cobblestone streets and sinking their teeth into the flavors that distinctively come from Italian Roots. Something about the colors, flavors and charm makes me crave pieces of it in my own dining, my own living, and my own hospitably. Katie Parla was born and raised on the East Coast, in the USA, and as soon as she could, she made Italy her home. Since then, she has been set on exploring the parts of the country that are off the beaten track and educating the everyday cook ..read more