Meetings at Willow House aren’t exactly the buttoned-up affair you might expect from a million-dollar company. For one thing, we consume far more muffins than your average corporate execs. But as much as we love breakfast pastries, our true obsession is our work. The goal of Monday’s meeting was to brainstorm content that we’ll distribute through our online communities … in January. Of 2011. Getting into the winter spirit on a hot and humid Alabama day is a tough job, but sometimes you have to plan ahead to be prepared.
It was amazing how quickly the January memories came back — that time of year when it’s chilly outside and all you want to do is curl up with a cup of cocoa or share a bowl of hot soup with family. As we focused on the themes of nesting and family togetherness, the ideas just kept coming, and we’re pretty excited about what we’ll have to share when the time comes. Our lips are sealed for now and we can’t tell you exactly what we came up with, but we can give you a general idea of each topic — and maybe an outtake or two from our meeting.
On cooking yummy comfort foods that help support your January resolutions:
Carrie: “Maybe we should focus on in-season food, or something that’s in season all year, like ginger root. It's year-round, right? Where does it grow?
Josh: "Mars. I think it grows on Mars. That's what it looks like, anyway."
On serving easy, delicious food to a group:
Alison: "Let's do something with stew."
Leslie: "Stew? I'm confused. Who is Stew?"
On winter gardening:
Alison: "What about a how-to on forcing bulbs like amaryllis and hyacinth?"
Carrie: "I still have no clue how to force bulbs. What do you do, yell at them? [Mimes looking sternly at a bulb.] 'Hey, bulb! Start growing! You have no choice!'"
On fashion trends that connect with design trends:
Alison: "Oh, did y'all know it's Fashion Week?"
Leslie: "Fashion Week? [With passion] Ohhh, YES."
On hosting a game night with friends:
Leslie: “Those Murder Mystery games sound fun. You know, when everyone at the party plays a part in the mystery?”
Josh: “Could we incorporate products into that?”
Carrie: “Yeah, it’ll be like Clue: ‘It was Josh in the break room with the Charleston Candlestand!’”
It was amazing how quickly the January memories came back — that time of year when it’s chilly outside and all you want to do is curl up with a cup of cocoa or share a bowl of hot soup with family. As we focused on the themes of nesting and family togetherness, the ideas just kept coming, and we’re pretty excited about what we’ll have to share when the time comes. Our lips are sealed for now and we can’t tell you exactly what we came up with, but we can give you a general idea of each topic — and maybe an outtake or two from our meeting.
On cooking yummy comfort foods that help support your January resolutions:
Carrie: “Maybe we should focus on in-season food, or something that’s in season all year, like ginger root. It's year-round, right? Where does it grow?
Josh: "Mars. I think it grows on Mars. That's what it looks like, anyway."
On serving easy, delicious food to a group:
Alison: "Let's do something with stew."
Leslie: "Stew? I'm confused. Who is Stew?"
On winter gardening:
Alison: "What about a how-to on forcing bulbs like amaryllis and hyacinth?"
Carrie: "I still have no clue how to force bulbs. What do you do, yell at them? [Mimes looking sternly at a bulb.] 'Hey, bulb! Start growing! You have no choice!'"
On fashion trends that connect with design trends:
Alison: "Oh, did y'all know it's Fashion Week?"
Leslie: "Fashion Week? [With passion] Ohhh, YES."
On hosting a game night with friends:
Leslie: “Those Murder Mystery games sound fun. You know, when everyone at the party plays a part in the mystery?”
Josh: “Could we incorporate products into that?”
Carrie: “Yeah, it’ll be like Clue: ‘It was Josh in the break room with the Charleston Candlestand!’”