The Summer Pantry- Fine Provisions by Gatewood Hall

It’s the official kick-off of summer and with that we are rolling out something fun at GH! Welcome to The Summer Pantry- Fine Provisions by Gatewood Hall.

We love gracious entertaining! Summertime in the north Georgia Mountains is the perfect time to enjoy the outdoors, friends and family in our beautiful part of the world. Some people find entertaining effortless it just comes naturally but, others find it daunting and often overwhelming. It concerns us because those that fall into the second group often say forget it because they feel it is just too much hassle, especially in the summer when they’d rather be out having fun instead of worrying about “party details”. That is where we at GH come in with The Summer Pantry.

The Summer Pantry at Gatewood Hall Gracious Home is a great corner of our store where we will stock some wonderful, fine provisions that are unique, special and most of all VERSATILE and EASY! These provisions include wonderful gourmet food items that can dress up anything from cream cheese to your favorite dish, great books on entertaining, beautiful napkins and accessories, to the perfect CD for the soundtrack of your get-togethers.

As I said I love to entertain, I know that I am my mother’s son because she has always loved to entertain and decorate. (My parent’s home is always in season, they especially love this time of year decorating their lake home getaway in North Carolina. I am telling you from Memorial Day to Independence Day and into the fall, everything…even down to the boat dock and boat house will be “all done up” and this is a place where wonderful memories have been made!) But sometimes mom and I tend to get carried away with details, we keep adding to the menu, or stressing over that one extra “thing”…(ask Shawn about the time I bought a baby grand, player piano the day before a holiday party for 80 guests…It did turn out to be a hit albeit, a bit expensive however, I love that piano to this day). This extra stress can be dangerous when entertaining because it can take all of the joy and spontaneity out of your event.

We are also fortunate because we have some friends who are great at entertaining. We can tell you one in particular can pull together a fabulous dinner party for 10 people in an hour! (We are talking Sunday evening, at his second home in Cherry Log Mountain…just on a whim!). Again, this is where the Summer Pantry idea came from. What we have come to learn is that if you have a well-stocked pantry with the right provisions great entertaining can be easy for anyone. So for this wonderful summer season we at GH will be sharing and posting ideas and tips as well as new products and recipes for your personal summer pantry. In the store we will be offering more weekend tastings and maybe even a mini-workshop event and some block parties to get you inspired! If you have some great ideas or tips that you’d like to share we’d love to hear from you! In the end our goal is that we want to help you be able not only to relax and enjoy your time in the mountains but, also be able to create some wonderful memories with your family and friends with some easy and gracious entertaining.

Have a wonderful Memorial holiday as we remember all of those who have fought for our freedom in this wonderful country. Come in and see us this weekend and check out “The Summer Pantry”.