About

Hello, my name is Sandy Coughlin and welcome to my blog, Reluctant Entertainer!

Pull up a chair and sit back and enjoy some daily inspiration, casual, simple entertaining ideas, and ways to reach out and grow your hospitality.

Back in 2006 I realized that the art of hospitality has been neglected if not lost in much of our culture. As I recognized this great need for people to connect and escape great isolation and loneliness, I asked myself “How can I help?”

Then it hit me. Along with encouragement from a friend, I decided to start a blog. But not just any kind of blog. Unlike many blogs that are mostly about food or home decor, I saw that there was a unique need that wasn’t being met: the soul of authentic entertaining, which finds it roots in the virtue of hospitality. Hence, Reluctant Entertainer.com was born.

A growing number of people across the world are realizing that something deep is missing in their lives. And that something is connection to others, often through the blessing of hospitality.

I have had many people tell me that it’s one thing to talk about hospitable entertainment, but how do I do it?
To help many readers get to the how of simple yet savvy entertaining, I created a list of ten hospitality helpers that peps you up and encourages you to think, “I can do this.” My list of Ten Commandments are now printable for you to hang anywhere they can help–like your refrigerator door! It’s a great reminder of just how close hospitality and all its blessings are within your reach!

My first commandment is this: Hospitality is not about you. It’s about making others feel warm and welcome.
Once we get the concept of hospitality down, we realize that our guests are NOT coming to see our home, or expecting a perfect gourmet meal. They are coming to see us, to know us and to enjoy our company.

Check out the entire list of my Ten Commandments and feel free to print, share, use, and love this list! They are gentle reminders to what hospitality is all about.

Here at RE, I often share my entertaining stories, little tidbits about my family, what’s growing in the garden or cooking on the stove, bargains and thrifting ideas, along with recipes and posts that encourage readers to put image and perfectionism aside in order to live a more authentic and connected life with others.

About my family …
We’re a normal family and we live in a normal home (noisy, cluttery, dusty, dishes in the sink, and incredibly active), which most people can relate to. I am married to the best husband in the world, Paul, who’s also a stellar, witty, fun and brilliant father to our 3 teenagers. Yes, 3 teenagers and 3 animals – 2 kitties (Filly & Hobbes) and 1 Cairn Terrier (Haggis McStitch), with personality with a Capital P!

In our home hospitality is a group effort. It’s not just about me and it often takes all-hands-on-deck to pull us all together. And it’s around our dinner table is where we often have some of our best conversations about life and what it means for be truly hospitable to others.

My kids … Then.

… and Now.

About my photography …
All of my pictures and stories on RE are from real life, taken by us or people we know. My philosophy is that when I write about true-life happenings, it’s important that I capture the moment with true-life photography. In other words, if I write about a dinner party, the pictures will reflect that party. What you see is what you get. I never use stock photography and all photos on RE are taken with a Nikon D7000.

About my Dollar Store goblets …
Years ago I stocked up on beautiful glasses from the Dollar Store. As I started writing about dinner parties, I realized that this “icon” portrays a great message. It says that dinner parties are attainable, they are affordable, and that they can be beautiful even when on a budget.

Thank you, friends …
Thank you for joining me, for your comments, emails, and support! If I get an email from you, I will try very hard to get back with you right away, but it may take up to a week or so.

Contact me …
At … [reluctantentertainer (at) yahoo (dot) com], or check out my contact page. Reluctant Entertainer also has a Facebook page and you can follow me on Twitter (@SandyCoughlinRE).