Warming Hearts and Homes

Whether it's newly built or has been in your family for generations, your home is your refuge and sanctuary. It's where you nurture your family and where friends come to call. On this week's show, we have lots of friends who have come a-calling with advice on how to make your home the spot where everyone wants to be. 

We begin with Beau Ciolino and Matt Armato. You may know them from their wildly popular lifestyle blog, Probably This. With a love of DIY projects, the couple has spent years transforming spaces without breaking the bank. They collected all that good advice together, along with entertainment tips, in their new book, Housewarming: A Guide to Creating a Home You Adore. 

And when it comes to ideas for that housewarming party, Brian Theis has you covered. His debut cookbook, The Infinite Feast, is both a guide to hosting loved ones and a colorful nod to cookbooks from the Atomic Era. Bursting with recipes, colorful photographs, and entertainment tips, the hardback also includes interviews with celebrity chefs and restaurateurs like Phillip Lopez and JoAnn Clevenger. 

Finally, we visit the William Residence – a midcentury house museum where lavish dinner parties were held three nights a week. The Historic New Orleans Collection's Lydia Blackmore gives us a tour of the property and shares stories of the large staff who were an integral part of the Williams Residence story. The HNCO is actively seeking to learn more about these individuals. If you know about any of the people mentioned in our story, Lydia would love to hear from you. Please email residencestaff@hnoc.org.