KELLY'S HOSTING PLAYBOOK

Welcome to the Carpool Podcast with Kelly.

You know, the tip's like, you know, it doesn't have to be a meal.

Like, just have everyone over for coffee.

It's like, okay, give me a tangible takeaway.

Like, that's such an, I'm sorry, that's such an obvious side.

And maybe you guys are like, oh, I never thought of that.

Like, I want the playbook.

And Liz.

When you're in this rut of two under two raising kids

and it's just like, go to work, raise kids.

Like, that's all you have to talk about.

You need new things.

Your mom time off starts now.

Welcome back to the Carpool Podcast with Kelly.

And Liz.

And Liz has cuter headphones than me.

Where are my headphones?

They are here.

I have them.

I just need to hand them off to you.

I don't know if you've noticed,

but like we're girls who clip podcasts now.

Yeah, although-

Kind of rave reviews.

Although my audio last week was so bad

that I didn't want to put,

I didn't post like any of the clips

because I couldn't listen to it.

I know.

Podcasting is such an art.

And it is.

It's just like there's constantly like,

it's one thing to have something interesting

to talk about.

It's another thing to take that

into a media form that people enjoy.

And it's just not as easy as you think.

And the equipment itself, so complicated.

So anyway, I need,

I have like these little earbuds on.

Like-

I know.

Like I'm an amateur guest.

Not like I'm a professional podcaster.

I know, we're working on it.

Like it's my podcast and you're just a guest.

We're working on it.

Here's the thing.

We were like, let's not wait.

Like let's not wait until we have everything perfect.

Like let's just do it and see what happens

and we will refine as we go.

Progress over perfection.

It's kind of how we've always-

Progress over perfection.

It's kind of how we have always ran our business.

It's like we're just girls figuring it out.

Yeah, we are.

But anyway, today's a super extra special,

exciting episode of The Carpal Podcast

because I'm finally ready to share all my hosting tips.

Kelly has her notebook prepped.

This is the save for later,

save for when you're hosting.

I mean, I'll listen to it now

because we're gonna talk about other stuff.

But like book market.

And when you are ready to-

Look at the note.

Oh my gosh.

Ample.

Ample notes.

You have so many notes, I can't wait to hear it.

Before we get into that, how was your weekend?

Well, my weekend was all hosting

because we had Libby's first birthday party,

which you did not attend because you were out of town.

So that's all save it for that.

How was your weekend?

My weekend was great.

So I was at a town.

It was really nice to just like get some change

of scenery, some just one-on-one time

with just my family.

Like I think my family meaning like my kids and my husband,

I don't think I really realized how badly I needed that.

Like we're just always living in someone else's space.

I just like needed me and my family

to be on like our own train.

So we went to Terre Haute, Indiana

because I don't really talk about Maddie's

military involvement because honestly,

I don't know how interested anyone is.

I don't fully understand it.

And also he's gone like 25% of the time.

So I don't love telling the internet

when my husband is and there is not home.

So that's why.

But he is in the reserves

and he was like the commanding officer

basically in charge of this unit in Indiana.

And he's been doing that for the past two years.

But in order for him to get his next promotion,

which I think is, oh God, I'm so nervous

to talk about military stuff

because what do I sound like an idiot?

I think it's Lieutenant Colonel.

He's a major right now.

He has to get like a military master's degree.

So good news for me.

He is getting a military master's degree.

He'll be gone one week in a month,

but he has his summers off,

which previously for the past several years

he's been gone one week in a month

and like two to three weeks during like one stint of the year.

And so this is gonna be a lot less of a commitment

and it will be so nice for me.

So we're all very happy for me.

Yeah, but this weekend you gotta go

kind of like see your man in his element.

Oh, so then yes.

So that's why we went to Terre Haute.

There was the change of command ceremony,

which was so fun.

I just like in another world,

another lifetime I would love to live on a military base.

Like here's what I like about it.

There's just guys in uniform everywhere,

which is just so cute.

I'm sure that's exactly how they wanted it

to be described too.

Like first of all, they're darling.

They're darling.

They're so cute.

They have their little last name.

It's so cute when they're in their like nice uniform.

You can kind of like judge every, not judge,

but like you can see everyone's ranks.

You're like, oh, like that's what it's like.

They walk around with their resume.

There's something nice about like pulling up

to this like gated area and like having to say who you are.

And there's just like this guy with a gun

and you're like, okay, so now I feel safe.

Like that makes me feel safe going into this place.

And it's just, the vibes are just good.

I like a military base.

So he had the change of command ceremony.

It was really sweet.

He gave command over to one of his best friends

and also the best man in his wedding,

on my wedding, our wedding,

which is kind of unique that doesn't really happen.

It just happened to work out that way.

And it was just cute and sweet.

And I like wish that everyone could have the opportunity

to see some sort of military ceremony

because it's just lovely.

Totally.

They like rehearsed so many times before.

It's just...

No, like it's so cute.

I know.

It was seeing it

because all the guys were bummed that Maddie's leaving

and they gave him a gift.

And I'm like, this is like the last day of summer camp.

Yeah.

No, it's like, it's only a small,

and I don't know how small,

but like a percentage of the population

like is so involved in it.

And I feel like the rest of us who just like

aren't in the military space.

Like we don't really understand the inner workings,

the ins and outs.

No, you have no idea.

No, I agree.

This is a small, this is a very small military base.

Like it is one building,

but some bases, like the big ones on the coast,

there's entire towns within the base.

So it's all gated.

There's certain entrances that are all like armed

or you have to like use your badge

or say your name or whatever.

And then there's towns.

There's fast food restaurants.

There's stores all within these bases.

I think it's awesome.

It's so interesting.

There's housing and like Maddie, Maddie would love.

He has like these dreams that one day

we will go back on active duty

and we'll go live in Germany on a base.

Which I'm like not opposed to

because like what a cool life experience.

Totally.

I'm just, I don't think I could like be a military.

Like I love, I'm a very home body.

So I like that he's in the reserves

and like we have control over where we live.

And I don't have to pick up and move

every time he gets assigned somewhere.

But I would like to have like that small taste of it

and do it like one time.

Sure.

Just for fun.

Well, I'm so glad you guys could get away

for the weekend.

I'm so glad you and your kids could see Maddie

in his element.

You took some really great pictures.

That'll be like, you know,

those are pictures of dad doing dad things.

Yeah.

Like so proud of dad.

So proud of dad.

Yeah.

So while you were off doing that,

we were having a birthday party.

And it just so happened Elizabeth and I like

we're gonna have the girls' birthdays together

and then I had to travel and then Liz had to travel.

So like it just didn't work out.

Our stars did not align in that capacity.

But that's okay.

We'll do another can join birthday with them.

They have the rest of their lives.

Totally.

The first birthday,

I am so underwhelmed by a first birthday.

My birthday banner didn't even get in.

You'll be happy to know.

Yeah, okay.

Yeah.

Which is so sad.

That is sad.

I know, but you know what's handmade.

So it is what it is.

Yeah.

So it takes some time.

It takes some time.

But anyway, so yesterday's episode,

I wanted to talk about the hosting tips

that I've learned over the summer.

Now I feel like there's a big difference

between hosting a party

and just hosting like one or two families over.

And I by no means think I'm like a party hosting expert.

Like I'm happy to like share some of those tips,

but like the direction I want to take more

is just like how to start like hosting one family

in your home at a time.

Because that's what we did a lot this past summer.

Really like since we've moved in

we've gotten in a good habit of it.

But especially this summer,

like it was probably once of not twice a week

we were hosting somebody in our home.

Love it.

And your house really,

I go to Kelly's house randomly once a week.

So it's not like she's picking up or cleaning up for me.

Your house really consistently, even with four kids

stays in a very, stays very nice.

I don't know how you do that.

We really pride ourselves on that.

Yeah.

It always, you really always look like

with the exception of your basement obviously

cause like don't go into anyone's basement.

You guys always look like you're ready.

You could host someone at any moment.

First of all, that's like the highest compliment

you could give me because we really do work hard at that.

Tyler just really feels like he like sits to be

like an hour away from being able to host.

And that is a part of it that I'm gonna

kind of dive into today because a lot of the hosting

that I feel like we do is very last minute

because when you have four small kids

like I don't really know who I'm gonna be on Saturday.

So like I'm not like looking to like overly commit.

I mean, of course sometimes like we have something

on the calendar, but a lot of the times

and a lot of the hostings we had is it's like that morning,

you know, texting the family being like,

Hey, do you guys have dinner plans?

Do you want to come over?

And then us like being able to, you know, get it together.

But I'll start by saying like I think hosting is,

I think it's very important for a lot of reasons.

One, I think that it's kind of becoming a lost art.

Two, I think now more than ever

it is so important to prioritize

your in-person relationships.

Yeah.

We all need to get offline.

I think that's like pretty obvious right now.

Like in a major way and we really need to kind of get back

in tune with like what is your reality

and what is not your reality

and your reality is not what's things that are happening.

And this is obviously coming from someone

who lives their life on social media,

but that almost feels different because like I am very

organically and authentically like sharing my life,

sharing things about cars.

It almost feels different than just like,

I mean, it's called doom scrolling for a reason.

Yeah.

Like people are doom scrolling too much

and even if you don't realize it, like you are.

So anyway, I think that it's important

to just stay in tune with your reality.

I also think it's very important

to build a strong community.

I mean, I think family is also,

family is obviously something that's very important to me,

but I like to go a level further

and I think like community is also very important.

And that community can be, you know,

people in your neighborhood who you go to church with

who your kids go to school with.

Like I find community to be important.

I also feel like if you don't think

you have a good community or you don't think, you know,

you wish your church was more this,

you wish your kid's school was more this,

instead of like always trying to search for that,

like start building it.

Like I also think that's important.

Be the change you want to see in the world.

It's important, it's a little convicting.

And like I'm saying this, like I am very blessed

because we live in a, we have amazing friends

with an amazing area.

It, in a way it's been very easy for us to do this,

but I think that we're also like really trying to pour,

pour back into our community church and school

and just be, just be a part of it

and bring more people into it.

So I just think there's a level of it that's,

though those two things are very important.

I also think, you know, when Tyler and I,

I mean, Tyler and I's path to getting this house,

as a lot of you guys know, was not linear.

It was filled with a lot of unknown,

like I shed a lot of tears over it, like,

which sounds silly, but I just never thought

we were going to get out of our starter house.

I never thought we'd find a place like this.

And I think part of it like, it's,

it's felt like such a gift

and it feels like a gift that I want to give back to people

because there is so much,

it's such a beautiful communal house.

Like there's so much like,

there's so much communal areas in the house.

Like obviously you guys know we're short on bedrooms.

We're not short on communal living spaces.

And I want it to be like a house that everyone can enjoy,

that my kids can enjoy, that my kids' friends can enjoy.

And it's just like, we have the space.

Like we're like, we're just, we have the space.

So come over.

So I, and I just think gathering with people is,

it's so important and I just can't believe

the amount of people who just don't regularly see other.

I just, I just think,

I think it's really important

and there's, there, I could go more and more on it,

but I feel like you're all,

you're all going to have your own reasons for hosting.

And even if it's not something that you enjoy,

I would challenge and convict you to be like,

I think it's something you need to learn to enjoy

because I think it's important to be with other people.

For your family.

I think it's good for your family.

I think it's good for you.

I think it's good for your marriage.

Like, you know, when Maddie and I finally like

do something new or seeing other people,

then it's like a new memory.

It's this new things to talk about.

Like when you're in this rut of two under two raising kids

and it's just like go to work, raise kids.

Like that's all you have to talk about.

You need new things.

You need to make new memories.

Like you need to start yourself a little bit.

You need to hear new stories of other people.

Like find things.

Totally.

I couldn't agree more.

I mean, there's, there's not a downside to it

other than like, and Tyler is even way more,

Tyler is such an extrovert.

Like it definitely takes more out of me socially,

but it's just, it's just, there's just,

there's more benefits to it.

And the more I've done it,

the more I've started to enjoy it.

Now, again, I'm not like, I'm not an etiquette expert.

I'm not, I wouldn't even,

I'm not a party throwing expert.

I'm not any of those things.

I just want to, and like, you know, my takeaways,

they are going to be so tangible

because I've tried to find like other hosting podcasts

and they're such, I'm sorry, they're so like watered down.

Like, you know, the tips like, you know,

it doesn't have to be a meal.

Like just have everyone over for coffee.

It's like, okay, give me a tangible takeaway.

Like that's such an, I'm sorry, that's such an obvious side.

And maybe you guys are like, oh, I never thought of that.

Like I want the playbook.

So like that's why I'm going to give you

Kelly's playbook to hosting.

And that's what you're getting today.

And I'm saying it's going to be,

there's, I probably could have like

organized my outline more, but that's not what you get.

You get as they came to me.

Okay, let's hear it.

Okay, so first things first,

when you're thinking about like,

any, I'm not ready to do like a whole birthday party thing.

Like hosting 20 people, that takes it out of me.

I'm saying like, how to just have like one to two

families over, that's what this is about.

So firstly, if you're like,

this sounds like something I want to do,

but like so awkward, like how do you break the ice?

I think it's really good to like text,

like text them the plan that you're doing.

So don't just send the text or just do the phone call

of like, hey, do you guys want to come over

for dinner on Saturday?

But instead you could be like,

hey, do you guys want to come over

and watch the Lions game on Sunday?

Or like, I mean, because you know, first of all,

like there we go again with football, like obsessed.

Or it's like, hey, do you want to guys want to come over?

Or I also like kind of saying what you're eating.

So for example, I wrote down like, you could say,

I wrote down the example,

hey, do you guys want to come over?

Oh, wait, no.

Hey, do you guys want to come over

and grill pork chops and let the kids swim?

Or it's like, hey, we're going to grill pork chops

and let the kids swim.

Are you guys free?

So you're saying like, we're going to do this.

Like, here's what's on the menu.

Here's the activity.

Do you guys want to join?

And I think that that gives you,

it makes it feel a little less out of the blue,

a little less random.

And it gives you guys like

what you're doing, what you're eating.

Yeah.

I like to try,

because of course like they're probably going to say yes

or they're going to say no.

And you know, you can try to reschedule.

When it comes to like asking what they can bring

in my experience.

I mean, everyone's going to have, you know,

different budgets that they want to throw at this.

And of course you can do anything.

Like you guys can split the pizza bill.

You can do whatever.

I though it's like to tell my guests,

I normally tell them to just bring a dessert if they can.

And I like that because then they're just taking like ownership

over that entire portion of the evening.

Because if like, I know what the menu is going to be like,

if I'm going to grill pork chops,

or if I'm going to do a fish fry

or like do hibachi or whatever my meals are,

which I have a list of my go-to meals as well.

It's like, they're trying to figure out

like what to place in that.

It's like, bring dessert.

And like you can do the most, you can do the least,

like bring, like get pre-made cookies, bring popsicles.

Like it doesn't matter.

Like you're just doing dessert.

So that's what I was just kind of like to offload to them.

Okay.

So then I think when it comes to like getting the house ready,

I, first of all, I do make the kids get involved

because I want the kids to know

like we're hosting as a family.

Like we're having people over as a family.

Like this isn't, and we also are only normally

inviting people over who have kids

and normally kids, my kids is age.

So it's like, hey, our friends are coming over.

We're going to tidy up the house.

Here's what we're going to do.

The kids start in the basement by cleaning up their toys.

Our basement is where we keep,

we have a atrium ranch.

So our basement is very light.

It's a walkout.

There's a ton of windows.

So we do keep the majority of our toys in the basement.

That's where the kids start.

I just like to prioritize,

you can't clean the whole house.

And also like, I'm not going to do that every single time.

Like it is what it is.

But I like to prioritize where they're walking in.

So like most people enter our house through our garage.

So I do like to make sure that like my locker area

in my garage like isn't completely destroyed.

Like that the shoes are put away,

that the garage is clean,

that the trash is out of the garage.

Cause that's just like, that's like the first vibe.

And like we're not hanging out in the garage.

Like that's also like a good return on my investment

because like they're going to walk into my garage

and then no one's going to go there again.

So like the garage is going to stay clean.

Yeah.

And that's just like a good like first like, oh, okay.

So I prioritize that.

Of course, make sure the bathroom is always clean,

stocked, like toilet paper, napkins,

maybe Lattie candle, like the bathroom's clean.

Yeah.

That's an easy one.

That's an easy one, but like one that you could forget,

like don't be so obsessed with the kitchen

that like then your bathroom's disgusting

cause like they're going to go to the bathroom for sure.

And then of course, like making sure the kitchen's

in a decent spot and then tidy

and like the area we're going to be hanging out in.

Also like depending on which this kind of goes into like,

you know, the meal I'm making that night,

but depending like on the area

that I'm going to be doing the cooking

is that where I try to like set up

where we're going to be hanging out.

Like I do try to think ahead of time

like where I think we're going to be

and like kind of prioritize that area.

So like for example, this past weekend,

we got one more fish fry in for the summer,

which I was so excited about.

So we had one family over, we did a fish fry,

but like instead of like making it like,

hey, you guys are going to be inside

or you're going to be down with the pool.

I'm going to be up here frying.

It's like we brought lawn chairs outside

by where the fryer is.

And then I set up cones.

Like I got those colorful cones that I have

and George had a football

and like the kids were playing there

and we were all like in one area.

So I really tried to like kind of designate it

whereas like if let's say I was, you know,

doing something on the blackstone,

I might have people set up in the sunroom

because I wouldn't like be kind of where the action is.

And I think people, people want that, you know?

Yeah, yeah.

Okay. So let me see now what I have.

Okay. So first of all, again,

this is something that I'm trying to like,

the way that just works for us is

I kind of like to be ready to go in a moment's notice

because it's very, it always happens also.

Like Sundays we get home from church

and the tellers like, let's have someone over.

I'm like, okay, fine.

Well, so I don't want to go to the store.

Like I have all these, whatever.

So here are things that I always have on hand

that I think you can either bring

if you get invited somewhere

or like you can throw together a meal with these.

And I mean, always have these on hand.

First of all, juice boxes or drink mixes, classic.

I like to bring the kid drinks.

You never know what,

if people are gonna have thought about that.

100%.

And like I think when you get invited somewhere,

I think it's such an easy thing

to like take off the host plate

without like interrupting like the vibe of their meal.

Cause again, I don't want to like,

if they're making this, like I want to,

I just want to be helpful.

So like I think I love having juice boxes

because like then something easy for the kids.

And I mean, we have boxes of them in our storage room.

Like cause they're shelf stable.

So like buy a ton of juice boxes to keep them down there.

Like my kids don't get juice boxes on a regular basis.

They get them when we're hosting

or if we're going somewhere.

Canned or frozen green beans.

Now I think this is a really important.

Canned green beans or frozen doesn't matter.

I think green beans are like, they're a safe vegetable.

Everyone likes them.

They're so easy to make.

Like if they're frozen, you saute them.

If they're canned, you like put them in the stove.

Like couldn't be easier.

And like then you have like your easy veggie.

Like so easy.

Mac and cheese, of course.

Like how to call boxes of mac and cheese.

Because right now, if I'm having someone over,

we have canned green beans and mac and cheese.

Like I'm also not claiming to be the most amazing meal

but I'm claiming like, yeah, I mean come over

and we'll just feed our kids together.

Yeah.

I like having frozen cookies in my freezer.

I use the wild grain ones.

They're amazing.

But then like I can always make a dessert.

Or I think ice cream.

Specific tip on ice cream is, you know,

you have vanilla ice cream, have fixins.

Like who doesn't love it?

And like fixins are so shelf stable.

So like by a big old tub of vanilla ice cream,

have M&Ms, sprinkles, whipped cream chocolates

or whatever you have.

And the key is like making ice cream sundaes fun and easy

is you get the glass, the little half glass China cups.

You know, I'm a China stand.

Like one thing on me, it's like,

we're going to be using China.

But the half clear glasses make the perfect ice cream cups.

I don't like the styrofoam bowls.

Like also like bowls feel like you can't,

they're not as versatile like to keep in your paper wares.

Like, you know, like cause also harder to hold.

Like if I'm eating an ice cream,

like think about the shape of an ice cream bowl

at an ice cream shop.

Like it's not like that styrofoam bowl shape.

It's not a styrofoam bowl shape.

I also just don't like those in general.

Maybe China has like some,

but even if I was having friends over for chili,

like I'm just going to get the real bowls out

because like who wants a flimsy bowl

to put something hot in.

Yeah, no.

And it's like the cups you're just going to use more

cause like then they can also like be,

like if you're having a part

like they're also at the bar.

So love China half glasses with a plastic spoon.

Ice cream, you have the fixins.

Like you have an ice cream sundae bar.

Could not be an easier dessert.

You didn't have to bake anything.

Who doesn't love it?

Like fan favorite.

And then of course chips and salt.

So always an important thing to have on hand.

Now a lot of the hosting we've done this summer,

I haven't really prioritized an appetizer.

Just like not that.

I'm just kind of like let's just,

let's eat, like come over to eat dinner.

If it's like a party, sure.

Maybe I'll like prioritize apps more,

but I'm just kind of like getting right into the meal.

I really like to have the meal done

when people get here.

And I think.

I personally like an appetizer.

Sure.

You didn't have one at someone's party in it

and I did miss it.

Okay, that's like, no, that's like a really good no.

Yeah.

I do think an appetizer is important.

Okay, that's a good no.

You know, and it's, it's chips.

Like it's, it's.

No, there was a chips and salt on hand.

I'm saying I haven't been prioritizing it a ton,

but maybe I should circle back to that.

I think you could.

Okay.

I also think like when it comes to

thinking of the meal, you know, it's kind of our,

it's kind of our kiss-ass approach.

Keep it super simple, add sass.

Isn't that what we said?

Sassy sauce.

Add a sassy sauce or just add super sass.

Keep it super simple with super sass.

So it's just like, pick one star of the dish

and then just like let everything else fall into place.

If I'm having you over for dinner with your family,

with your kids, like this is not,

this isn't the Thanksgiving dinner.

This is, we're doing a protein, a veggie and a starch.

Like that's all I'm doing.

And we have ice cream Sundays.

Like it's not this big, and you know, maybe an appetizer.

Maybe an appetizer.

You should probably add an appetizer.

So like I'm doing, like let's say I'm gonna do pork chops,

green beans, mac and cheese.

Like, sorry, like that's the meal.

Now the pork chops are gonna be fabulous.

Let me tell you something right now.

The pork chops are gonna be amazing.

Or, you know, if I'm gonna do,

sometimes I like to do a protein, a veggie, a salad

and then I'll do rolls as my starch.

Because like starch, I mean, I think the starch part

can get a little bit hard

because it's like, are you always in the mood for,

you know, rice or pasta or whatever.

So I think like rolls are always a really good one.

So like yesterday for Libby's birthday,

we had fried chicken, green beans, salad, garlic bread.

And that was no app.

People talked about it.

And that was the meal.

So I find that like the hardest part of hosting people

is coming up with the protein.

Yeah.

And that's also like the last, like never,

I wouldn't, like I would say etiquette is like,

never invite someone to your house

and then ask them to bring the protein.

Like the main, like that would be crazy.

Yeah, no, that's crazy.

That would be a crazy thing to do.

So here, so I think that if you don't wanna make,

depending on how many people you have over,

if you don't wanna make the protein,

like catering the protein, honestly, it's not that it's,

it's not that much more expensive

than just buying the protein.

If you really like come out to it.

So like for example, for Libby's birthday,

we ordered fried chicken from Walmart.

I ordered it for 20 people and it was $60.

And I got 63 pieces.

So it was less than a dollar a piece

or it was about a dollar a piece.

But like that was for 20 people.

So like if you're having, you know,

your family and other family over,

like you could get fried chicken from Walmart

for like 12 bucks.

Yeah.

So like, you know, like just go to the,

go to the fried chicken counter or just order it.

You also talk a lot about getting bulk pork

from a barbecue spot.

Sure.

Or in lips or whatever.

I mean, pork is also like pork butts are the easiest thing

ever like you put it in the crock pot

with a can of Dr. Pepper and you have pulled pork.

But if it's last minute, call your barbecue join up

and say, can I have two pounds of pulled pork?

And they're like, yeah, it'll be ready in 15 minutes.

And we're like, okay, perfect.

And now all I have to do is like pull these sides out.

I've done, you know, I think ribs are a good thing

to get catered.

So I would, and I like having kind of my go-tos.

And of course, like if I'm doing ribs,

like that takes more of a,

I have to call a couple of days ahead.

But yeah, to your point, like if you're hosting one

family, you can call the barbecue place

and get chicken wing, you can get whatever.

And I, of course there's a cost to it,

but like it's about the same cost

as making it yourself.

I mean, it really is.

And in all the ways that I've priced it out.

But you know, you could also do,

one thing we love to do is I love grilling.

And I think grilling is great if your husband grills,

because my husband doesn't.

So that's kind of irrelevant to me.

But that's a good thing for like him to go out and do.

Or like someone can be grilling

while you can be like finishing the rest of the stuff.

I also love obviously like a freezer or a casserole

or freezer meal and something like a baked ziti.

Like you make those in your freezer,

creamy chicken enchiladas.

It doesn't have to be always super fancy.

But that is why I like to preface

what you're having before they come.

Well, it doesn't always have to be fancy,

but it also doesn't always just have to be burgers or pizza.

Like I appreciate your like grilling burgers

is takes the exact amount of work is grilling pork chops.

Like just do pork chops.

Everyone wants their kids to eat a healthy meal like anyway.

So it's like you don't,

I just feel like we're so drawn to naturally

doing something that we wouldn't just do

for dinner on a regular night when we have people over.

And I don't know why we don't do that.

Like why not just serve spaghetti?

What if you just had spaghetti?

And I think it takes the pressure off of it.

If you're like, hey, I'm making spaghetti

and I like I'm making spaghetti and garlic bread

if you guys want to bring the kids over.

Just like, okay, Kelly's making spaghetti.

I know exactly what to expect.

And then you know that you're like, okay,

they know I'm having spaghetti.

They know we're having pork chops.

Like I'm not thinking like,

gosh, is this going to be good enough?

Are they going to think this is better?

Are they going to be disappointed in the meal?

Like they said yes to what exactly

what you said you're making.

I know and I can't tell you how just like

even that simple step has really kind of changed

how I feel about throwing it out there to people, you know?

And it just makes it feel more casual.

It's like, hey, my family's already doing this

as your family want to join.

And they're like, oh sure, what can I bring?

It's like, can you bring a dessert?

And then you're just done

or can you bring juice boxes for the kids?

Yeah.

Like love that.

I also think chili and soup are like such good ones.

And like, I would encourage anyone to maybe this fall.

You know, you could say,

hey, you know, I'm making chili tonight.

You want to watch the game.

Like what a great text.

What a great welcoming text.

Like you're setting the table for them.

When it's a game too,

you're also like giving them an end time.

You know, it's like, here's what you're coming over for.

And I just think that's great.

Of course.

Okay, wait, I have a tip.

So we had, when we were in Terre Haute,

we watched, we sat in an Airbnb

and we had some of the other officers over

to watch football game.

And we did order pizza

because you know, whatever we were saying in Airbnb.

And I was like, how many pizzas do I need

for four kids, two women and then five men?

I asked chat GBT.

Oh, I love that tip.

And chat GBT told me exactly how much to order.

And then I told the guys, I was like,

this is what chat GBT is telling me in order.

And they said, add another pizza.

So I did.

And guess what?

We have one pizza leftover.

Okay, that is such a fun fact.

That's a very good idea.

I'm going to take that.

I need to take that.

And then of course, like I think it is fun to have

some bigger, like if you want to host like more,

like we all of our friends also have big families.

Like if I take some of our friends, like it's easily,

if I take two families, like now I'm up to 15 people.

Like, so it does kind of escalate pretty quickly.

But I think like the fish fry or grilling

have been so fun.

I mean, I'm not in my smoking area yet,

but you know, I will get there next summer.

Like I'm already thought about it.

I can't say enough good things about the fish fry.

Like it's just, it's so fun.

It's so active.

Like you're around the fryer.

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Okay, we've had some slight technical difficulties.

So I hate to interrupt this mid episode,

but I actually lost wifi.

So Elizabeth and I had to stop recording.

I've since now come to a friend's house who has wifi.

Elizabeth now cannot join.

So I gotta finish this up solo, but that's okay

because I was almost done with all my hosting notes.

The last thing I wanted to dive into though

was like my must haves,

like things to keep on hand that aren't food related

because I told you my must have foods.

Now I wanna tell you like my paper products

because one thing is it's like,

I'm gonna be a paper product girl when I'm hosting.

For a couple of reasons.

One, I find it so much easier.

Two, I also really value a quick cleanup when I'm hosting

because I don't like the vibes

of sitting with dirty dishes like at a table.

Like to me, if we're like having a good conversation

and like we wanna keep the party going

like I want people to relax at my house

or feel like they can go to the living room,

go to the sun room, like leave the kitchen, relax.

I'm able to throw everything away.

So that's where I just really feel like

paper products are the goat.

Of course you don't have to

and we don't use paper products outside of hosting

like we don't use them in our daily life,

but for hosting, yeah, I like to use them.

I feel so strongly that the Chinette plates are so good.

Especially for adults, I have sometimes

which maybe this is weird, maybe it's not,

but like I'll give the kids a Dixie like sure.

But an adult, especially if they're like cutting

or like filling a plate, like they need

the sturdiness of a Chinette.

And I just think they're a nice thing to have on hand.

They look really good and they just,

they honestly just hold up like, I'm sorry, like they work.

Okay.

I also like to have plastic forks, knives and spoons.

Not a total deal breaker.

Like I find that it's very easy to wash silverware.

So if I don't have those,

like we just use the regular silverware

and then for kids who need sippy cups,

we do bring out the sippy cups that we have.

But I also like to like, if we're having a lot of people

and I don't wanna like dirty every sippy cup I have,

I love to get, you can buy these on Amazon.

And I'm gonna link everything,

any hosting related thing that I'm talking about,

but you can buy clear cups with clear lids off Amazon.

And I love to serve those with like bendy straws

by whatever drinks we're doing.

Because I think a kid with a straw cup and a lid,

like that's basically the same thing as a sippy cup.

So I'm never scared to pull those out.

I also just think a clear plastic cup,

like for an adult to drink a nice tea out of

is like kind of a nice vibe, but it's still plastic.

And speaking of drinks,

I don't think I mentioned this earlier.

I always like to keep like in the fridge,

like, you know, some sodas,

Tyler will always have some beer.

I'll have a couple of seltzers on hand.

I always bring up a bottle of white wine.

Like if that's the vibe and I always offer the white wine,

Tyler will always offer a beer.

Sometimes I'll do like a signature cocktail.

Like again, if I want to be fun

or if like we're having a super simple dinner,

I think it's fun to be like,

hey, I'm making margaritas

or hey, I'm making mascaramuels.

Do you want one?

Like if that's the vibe, I do think that's a fun way

to take maybe your more simple meal

and make it something exciting,

kind of same thing earlier.

You know, you could say, hey, you know,

we're grilling burgers if you want to come over,

but I'm making margaritas.

Like no, I'm there.

Like that's the activity then.

So, but anyway, back to drinks though.

But if we're not doing a cocktail,

I like to buy a gallon of unsweetened iced tea

in a gallon of lemonade.

And this is I guess more for a party.

Like I'm just having people over.

I'd probably just offer water.

Maybe I'd make like, I probably would just offer water,

maybe iced tea and then have drink boxes for the kids.

But for Louis's birthday this past weekend,

we did have iced tea, lemonade.

And it was awesome because then it's,

what it is is three drinks in one.

Like then the kids can have lemonade

or adults can have lemonade.

You can have an unsweet tea

or you can mix them for an Arnold Palmer.

Like there's just like,

it's three drinks in one

of just having those two things there.

So I really enjoyed that vibe.

When you do the clear plastic lids, cups and straws though,

I highly suggest leaving a Sharpie out

so everyone can write their names on the cups

because they just start to look alike.

And then I also am a big fan of an ice bucket.

I just don't like the vibes of like,

and maybe unfortunately for me,

my fridge doesn't have an ice dispenser.

It's only in the freezer.

And sometimes people are like opening the drawer

and like trying to find the ice and it's just not fun.

So I do always, even if it's just like a couple of people,

I always get my ice bucket out

and put it out there with the lids and straws

for them to make their own drinks.

Okay, next couple of things,

these are specific, I always keep them on hand though.

I love the parchment papers.

Like I'm telling you, if you buy these 12 sheets,

if you buy these pre-cut parchment paper sleeves,

you will be amazed how often you use them

in everything, in baking cookies.

And you know what it makes for easy cleanup

because like you bake cookies, you pull them out,

you take off the parchment paper

and then you can put the pan back in the drawer.

Like it makes things so much easier to clean.

It's so helpful for grilling

because I'll just get one pan dirty.

I'll get the pan and then I'll do the parchment paper,

put like my meat on it and then I'll go and grill it.

And then I'll pull the parchment paper off

because I don't want like raw meat to touch what,

you know, the pan obviously.

And then I'm just getting one thing dirty.

So I cannot recommend those enough.

Those parchment paper sheets are so helpful.

I also earlier this summer bought from Costco,

a giant or several, like nine by 13 foil pans,

like things you would make like casseroles

and for your freezer.

And I love using those for prepping the food,

for grilling with the food,

because it's such a nice thing to put them

in one of those pans

and then you can put those in the oven to keep them warm.

So I'm a really big fan of having the food ready

before people come.

I just find that it allows me to be more present

with the guests.

And you know, I don't always love the vibe

unless the vibe is like we're grilling,

we're hanging outside.

I don't love looking busy.

I love just being there to visit with people.

So I love having these nine by 13s.

I will grill, put all the meat in there.

I will make a salad, put it in there.

I'll do garlic bread, put it in there.

Like I just have these nine by 13s.

They're so easy.

And then of course you can just dispose of them also,

which is nice.

I won't do that all the time,

but they're good to have on hand

and I will always do it for the meat.

And then I think the last paper product

that I highly suggest is to go containers,

like the clam shell to go containers.

Again, you can buy these on Amazon.

And these are awesome because it makes it so easy

for your guests to say yes to taking food home.

You know, you always have extra

and I want to send it home with people.

Like I don't want to keep all the leftovers,

but instead of being like,

oh, do you want to take some home?

And then like it's that so awkward of like,

what do I put it in?

I don't want to have to bring your container back.

I just get out the clam shells and I'm like,

hey, I'm going to put some of this pork in here

for you guys to take home.

And they're like, okay, great.

And it's just like very easily gets,

I am able to share the food,

get it out of my house.

They get to take home a nice to go container.

And I just think that's a nice touch.

I'll also always like to do that

if I just have like a mom and her kids over

and we're eating dinner

or maybe her husband's working later, whatever.

I would like to send food home for her husband

or for her the next day, for lunch the next day,

for her husband the next day.

I always try to send some of the leftovers home

because I think that's just a nice thing to do.

I think that's kind of what I wanted to say about hosting.

I've just really enjoyed getting into the spirit,

kind of perfecting the art.

And it's such, I mean, you can do nothing

and you can do the most, you can do the least.

I just think like the effort's there.

I just feel like it was something

that I was more intimidated to do.

And now the more I've done it,

the more I've really enjoyed opening up our home.

And now to the point like when it's like my kids

are always like, so who's coming over tonight?

And I'm like, no one's coming tonight.

It's just us tonight.

And when you have as many kids as I,

it does feel like I'm always hosting something or someone

or I'm just hosting my family and that's work enough.

So I feel like a lot of these tips are kind of,

good for hosting, good for just bigger families.

Sorry, it was kind of all over the place

and now I'm super thrown off

because Elizabeth wasn't even here to finish.

Oh, I'll say one more thing.

When I am thinking about planning the meals

and again, I told you I keep it very simple.

Like I keep it so simple.

Unless the activity is the meal,

then maybe I'll sass it up.

Like for example, like if the activity is,

I'm going to do hibachi, like that's the activity.

But if the activity is, hey,

do you guys want to come over and swim?

Like it's so simple.

But I do try to prioritize like only using one section

of my kitchen at a time.

So like for example, if I'm doing,

if I'm grilling or if I'm doing,

if I'm crock potting the meat,

then I'm doing the vegetables on the stove

and like maybe the potatoes in the oven.

So like I try to just only use one appliance for one thing

because I think that helps me get things ready

all at the same time.

I find that's like one of the hardest parts about hosting

is like having everything ready to go hot,

like while we can eat it.

So I do think that's very helpful.

And then also using the nine by 13s,

turning my oven on the warming mode

and just having the food there

that you can so easily pull out.

I think it's been super helpful.

And if you don't know what to start,

like if you were like, okay,

if you're like, okay, I like this,

but like what should be the first thing I make?

I think one of the best, like most fun,

delicious, easy things you can do is do pulled pork nachos.

You can buy the pulled pork from your barbecue restaurant

and then you can just get all the fixings.

And this is like where you can go as big

or as small as you want.

Like if you wanna make homemade guacamole, go off.

If you just wanna have barbecue sauce,

sour cream and salsa, that's fine.

If you wanna do a fire roasted corn

and chopped onion and cilantro, great.

If you wanna buy pico de gallo from Walmart, also great.

Like you can really do the most.

And I love, I think people have a lot of fun

like making their own.

Like I always love doing meals,

especially when we're hosting,

that people can just make their own.

Because like that's, I just think that's so fun.

And if they have kids,

like you can make it way more kid-friendly.

You can make it way sassier.

And it definitely gives, it's a fun meal.

It's a fun and it's a good meal.

Another example of this is I love doing just like appetizers.

So it'd be great if you're like doing a football game,

like, hey, you wanna go watch the football game?

Like I'm doing just apps.

And all you do is like buy all the stuff that's like cooked

and you just air fry it or do it in your oven.

So you could buy like mozzarella sticks, mini tacos,

maybe order some wings and maybe do a veggie tray.

And that's like such a fun, easy meal to do.

So those are my tips.

I hope you guys enjoyed this episode.

I would love to hear like any of your super tangible

hosting takeaways.

And I'd love to encourage you to invite someone

into your home as soon as you can.

Doesn't matter how big your house is.

Like in a way, the smaller the better

because it keeps people close.

And I just think in-person bonding,

communication and relationships are something

that we should all be prioritizing right now.

I think it's a good example for us to set for our kids,

especially as our kids, you know, grow up with screens

in social media even more than we did.

I don't want it to feel like, oh, I'm talking to my friend

and it's like replaced with them on the screen.

Like I wanna show to my kids that we really value

having people over at our house in person.

And yeah, so that's the episode.

I like don't know how to wrap this up,

but I hope you enjoyed this very special edition

of the Carpal Podcast Kelly's hosting edition.

Maybe I'll do an update like in a couple of months

because I do feel like we're gonna kind of slide

into fall hosting, which I think is gonna feel

a lot different than summer hosting

because we've spent a lot of time

up at the pool or outside or grilling.

And I'm excited to see, like I might try to do,

you know, because every Sunday I make a soup

when it's colder outside because I love soups,

like love soups.

So I may try to do like Sunday soup hostings.

And I gotta figure out what I'm gonna do bowl wise

because I told you earlier, I don't like those bowls.

So I might, I honestly could probably invest

in like some better bowls.

I think that could be fun.

Just like every Sunday we have different people

over to have different kind of soup.

I'm gonna think about that.

Maybe I'll give you guys an update after soup.

Soup season is over.

But anyway guys, thanks so much for listening

to the Carpal Podcast and we'll talk to you on Thursday.

Thank you for listening to the Carpal Podcast

with Kelly and Liz.

Make sure you're subscribed so you never miss an episode.

And if you enjoyed riding with us, tell everybody you know,

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