Simple Hospitality

by Jane Cabaniss Jarrell

Book Overview

Feeling the pressures of being all things to all people? Need a break from being the meticulous housekeeper and volunteer extraordinaire? Inside, Jane Jarrell reveals the differences between entertaining and hospitality and gives you a toolbox of resources-practical ideas, real-life stories, humorous tips, and creative solutions that can make all your efforts more effective ... and simple. If you think you might have missed out on the hospitality...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0849904846
• ISBN13: 9780849904844
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: W Publishing Group
• Length: 152 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 7.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Simple Hospitality by Jane Jarrell

This is a great book with amazing time-saving tips and projects. If you want to entertain, but don't feel you have the time or the gift - this is the book for you!

Good Tips for Christians and Non-Christians Alike

Hospitality, according to Webster: "To be hospitable is to be disposed to behave in a warm way and manner, and to entertain with generous sensitivity, availability and kindness." Jane Jarrell's Simple Hospitality is a compilation of her ideas about what it means to live in a warm, generous, sensitive, available and kind way - that is, to be hospitable. She is encouraging in her writing and views hospitality as her personal ministry. The first three chapters of the book are written from a strong Christian perspective, and while at first I was turned off by this, delving further into the book I was able to find plenty that I could relate to and put into play in my own life. The book is divided into three sections: Keep It Simple, Home Sweet Home, and The Art of Sharing. Aside from the fourth chapter (Beyond Harried Holidays), Keep It Simple is the only section of the book that is written from a heavily Christian perspective. If you are Christian, there is probably great material there for you. It wasn't up my alley, so I skipped ahead to chapter four, where Jarrell begins to get into hospitality from a less religious point of view. In part two, Home Sweet Home, I recognized something right away that anyone who has ever been a part of the FlyLady.net phenomenon will take note of immediately as well: the shiny sink recommendation. To be fair, Jarrell does give credit to Marla Cilley (a.k.a. FlyLady). Home Sweet Home is full of ideas to help with homemaking, working in the kitchen, growing a garden and other things central to being hospitable in our homes. Part three, The Art of Sharing, is about being hospitable in ways such as working with children, giving gifts, being available to those going through difficult times and so forth. Every chapter ends with a list of "simple solutions". For example, the end of chapter 5 (Faking Homemaking) Jarrell offers 9 of her simple solutions, including keeping all of your cleaning supplies in a bucket, and keeping your own slice-and-bake cookies handy in the refrigerator so that you'll always be ready to make a fresh dessert. Chapter 11, Entertaining in Style, offers up such suggestions as keeping serving plates warm by putting them in the dishwasher on the dry cycle and freezing mint leaves to serve with your favorite teas. If you find yourself like Jarrell, called to being hospitable in every sense of the word, then you will find both great ideas and warm support in Simple Hospitality. If you are Christian, you will probably appreciate what she has to say about hospitality in terms of religion, but even if you are not, there is plenty available to follow the maxim of take what you like and leave the rest. Anyone looking to bring more love and comfort into their lves and the lives of those they care about can find help in this book.

A book crammed full of simple ideas to improve home life and inspire hospitality

If an old friend from high school phones and says she's in town and wants to drop in, do you fly into a panic? When it's your turn to host a Bible Study group at your house, do you pretend you have the flu? If you're intimidated by the idea of hospitality, look no further than SIMPLE HOSPITALITY for inspiration. Jane Jarrell rightfully realizes that our problem with offering hospitality usually begins with our overwhelming stresses. Before offering any tips, recipes, or outlines for entertaining, she encourages women to do a "heart attack" --- a self-evaluation. Jarrell then suggests asking, "What do I want to do... be...have...and who do I want to help? Prayer, focusing on obedience, and making priority adjustments are all part of the hospitality package, she believes. "We can't give love, share empathy, or offer intimacy to another if we are carrying the weight of the world on our plates," she writes. She rightly observes that until we practice some self-care, we won't have energy or confidence to care for others. Her book spans the gamut from getting your home ready for company to taking hospitality on the road. Jarrell, a former professional food stylist, really shines in her culinary tips for entertaining. The key here is "simple." She hates housecleaning and makes baking easy even for the culinary-challenged. Can you slice refrigerated cookie dough? Unwrap a pack of tortillas? Then you can take some basic steps toward opening your heart and home to others. Most of her recipes use pre-made foods as a base. In "The Twelve Doughs of Christmas" she uses refrigerated dough or box cookie mix as a starting point, then suggests 12 mix-ins (cranberries, white chocolate chips, red and green cherries, candied orange rind, etc.). Making a culinary gift can be as simple as blending together hot chocolate ingredients in a canning jar and tying a pretty ribbon on the top. My favorite chapter was "The Kitchen Magician," in which she shows how the humble tortilla can be adapted 10 ways to create everything from an appetizer to a dessert. Her recipes were mostly simple, cheap, and brand new to this reviewer. Jarrell sees hospitality as encompassing a broader scope than you might think. In addition to her self-care tips and culinary know-how, she also includes chapters on gardening and decorating. The gardening tips are basic, aimed to help a beginner get started on the yard (avid gardeners won't find a lot of "ground-breaking" new information here). On the decorating side, there's a good section on creating an inviting entrance, from the front door to the foyer. However, as someone who eschews the country/antique look for a more streamlined ambiance, I found some of her decorating ideas verged on clutter (stacking old trunks to make an end table, for example, or using a grouping of antique teacups as a centerpiece). Probably a matter of personal taste. What I appreciated more was her correlation between our willingness to be hospitable and our despair ov

A Keeper!

Here is a book from a woman whose been there, done that,and decided to finally be free. Our author, Jane Jarrell put her standards high when it came to being the 'perfect hostess,' but she realized she was missing out on enjoying the moment and the company of those she was trying so hard to please. In this work, she shares her feelings with you and much more. The book is packed full of useful information on how to entertain and enjoy it, to cute ideas of ways to wrap presents, to wonderful gift ideas. She even gives you ways to take one food, such as Angel Food Cake and prepare it five different ways. Quick and easy, yet perfect to serve and tasty too. The author even gives you tips on how to be spiritual ready for your encounters, that was nice to see and a definite help. There is so much information in this book that it would be impossible for me to list it all. However, I will say her writing is fresh and full of life, creative ideas in more subjects than I can mention and a really fun and useful read. After reading this book you won't be so uptight if you follow her tips at your next gathering, or in some of your daily activities and responsibilities. This is a great book, one that will help you learn to live life at its fullest, and one I know you will refer to over and over again.