Latest / Letters from Jeannie: Hosting and Intentional Living / Scent Is the First Course

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Scent Is the First Course · Letters from Jeannie: Hosting and Intentional Living

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  [music]
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: Flame,
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  SPEAKER_00: not to the table,
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  SPEAKER_00: but to the moment before anyone arrived when I lit that one candle.
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  SPEAKER_00: The candle picked my drinks, set the mood, and welcomed every guest before I said a word.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's called Scent is the First Course.
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  SPEAKER_00: Grab something warm to sip and let's go.
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  SPEAKER_00: Forage and Flames vibe was truly a magical moment.
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  SPEAKER_00: The setting was a table draped with a mossy green velvet tablecloth placed in
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  SPEAKER_00: the middle of fallen branches,
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  SPEAKER_00: pine straw, pine cones, and magnolia leaves and oak leaves.
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  SPEAKER_00: Orange, white, and pale green pumpkins in various sizes were carefully placed in the forest.
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  SPEAKER_00: Large hurricane candle holders gently lit the forest floor.
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  SPEAKER_00: While tall tapered candles enclosed in glass glowed elegantly on the tabletop,
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  SPEAKER_00: additional soft warm lights were artistically strung in the tops of old oaks above.
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  SPEAKER_00: Music gently caressed the ears as jubilant guests with drinks in hand were in awe
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  SPEAKER_00: at dusk while the sun's diminishing light softly beamed in over the lake.
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  SPEAKER_00: Before the first guest arrived,
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  SPEAKER_00: before the chef plated a single dish,
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  SPEAKER_00: and before the first drink was poured, I lit a candle.
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  SPEAKER_00: It was strategically lit outside the entrance of the forest between the bar and the table.
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  SPEAKER_00: So guests' eyes could not see the evening unfold.
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  SPEAKER_00: The candle created anticipation and wonder that they were not aware of.
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  SPEAKER_00: That is always my first step, not the table, Not the food, the scent.
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  [music]
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  SPEAKER_00: Why the scent comes first.
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  SPEAKER_00: What a guest smells is not only the first thing they remembered,
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  SPEAKER_00: but also the last thing they forget.
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  SPEAKER_00: Here's the reason why.
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  SPEAKER_00: Think of your senses as air travel.
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  SPEAKER_00: What you see, hear, taste, and touch all have a layover first.
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  SPEAKER_00: They land at the thalamus,
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  SPEAKER_00: the brain's busy hub airport,
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  SPEAKER_00: where everything is sorted,
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  SPEAKER_00: shuffled, and redirected before it reaches its final destination.
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  SPEAKER_00: Scent is the only nonstop flight.
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  SPEAKER_00: It skips the layover and flies directly to the brain's emotional center, the limbic system.
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  SPEAKER_00: Once it lands, two parts take over.
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  SPEAKER_00: The amygdala handles the emotions the scent triggers.
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  SPEAKER_00: The hippocampus stores the memory that goes with it.
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  SPEAKER_00: So a scent doesn't just hit your nose.
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  SPEAKER_00: It makes you feel some kind of way,
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  SPEAKER_00: then files that feeling away with the moment you experience it.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's the same reason one whiff of your grandmother's kitchen can bring you to tears
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  SPEAKER_00: of joy before you even realize why.
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  SPEAKER_00: Years from now, a hint of vanilla and smoke can take someone back to the table.
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  SPEAKER_00: My table becomes a forever experience that my guests return again and again.
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  [music]
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  SPEAKER_00: The scent I chose for Forage and Flame.
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  SPEAKER_00: I chose Smoke and Vanilla from my Pivotal Moments collection.
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  SPEAKER_00: It opens with autumn clove and chestnuts,
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  SPEAKER_00: settles into smoke and vanilla amber, and patchouli and birch finish it.
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  SPEAKER_00: It is warm, a little romantic, and a little mysterious.
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  SPEAKER_00: It captures exactly how the woods feel at dusk.
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  SPEAKER_00: I set it between the bar and the table, not on the table.
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  SPEAKER_00: That way the scent moved with the guests from the cocktails to the dinner.
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  SPEAKER_00: And again, I wanted the guests to smell before they saw any hint of what was to come.
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  [music]
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  SPEAKER_00: The candle was a natural bridge to smoke cocktails.
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  SPEAKER_00: I chose the scent.
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  SPEAKER_00: The scent chose the cocktails.
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  SPEAKER_00: From a candle smoke to a glass smoke, I made smoked apple cider old fashions.
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  SPEAKER_00: Smoked with applewood under a glass crochet.
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  SPEAKER_00: Last week's letter will explain the significance for Joseph.
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  SPEAKER_00: I was searching for bourbons that would complement the candle.
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  SPEAKER_00: I wanted one with notes of vanilla, caramel, cinnamon, oak, and nutmeg.
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  SPEAKER_00: Frank August had all that,
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  SPEAKER_00: plus a touch of apples and pears, much like one would find on a fall table.
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  SPEAKER_00: A smoked vanilla candle with vanilla in the glass.
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  SPEAKER_00: Cinnamon and nutmeg became clove.
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  SPEAKER_00: Oak fused to birch.
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  SPEAKER_00: Caramel merged with amber.
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  SPEAKER_00: Same smoke in the cocktail with sparkling apple cider.
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  SPEAKER_00: So one drink, same base.
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  SPEAKER_00: No one missed out.
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  SPEAKER_00: I pulled away the cloche and saw the smoke in the glass merge with the smoke in the air.
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  SPEAKER_00: But it smells so good, applewood.
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  SPEAKER_00: So it's now the muse for a new pivotal moment's scent.
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  [music]
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  SPEAKER_00: How I set the moment before guests arrive.
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  SPEAKER_00: This is how I make my house smell like fall before anyone walks in.
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  SPEAKER_00: My order every time.
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  SPEAKER_00: Number one, scent comes before sight.
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  SPEAKER_00: Light your candle about an hour before your guests arrive, at minimum 30 minutes.
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  SPEAKER_00: This will fill the space,
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  SPEAKER_00: trigger the brain,
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  SPEAKER_00: and provide the long first burn a new candle needs to prevent tunneling.
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  SPEAKER_00: Number two, Give the space a warm glow.
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  SPEAKER_00: I added string lights in the oaks.
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  SPEAKER_00: A beautiful LED chandelier placed over the bar.
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  SPEAKER_00: Tapers were lit on the table prior to the first guests.
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  SPEAKER_00: I love how the wax melts down the tapers.
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  SPEAKER_00: It adds such a touch of elegance.
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  SPEAKER_00: Number three, long, quiet music.
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  SPEAKER_00: I find Spotify an effortless platform to create playlists and enjoy them for years
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  SPEAKER_00: after the moment has passed.
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  SPEAKER_00: I chose music from artists like Smokey Robinson, Anita Baker, and Tim's.
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  SPEAKER_00: Number four, then the food.
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  SPEAKER_00: Set the mood first and the menu later.
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  SPEAKER_00: A signature drink is mandatory.
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  SPEAKER_00: I chose flavors of the season like roasted pears, smoke, and brown butter, which were warm.
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  SPEAKER_00: The candle was too.
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  SPEAKER_00: Before arrival of the first guests, The night was already there for them.
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  [music]
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  SPEAKER_00: One tip before you light yours.
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  SPEAKER_00: If your candle has a hole burned down the middle, that is called tunneling.
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  SPEAKER_00: It wastes wax and the scent never fills the room the way it should.
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  SPEAKER_00: I fix mine in about three minutes with a heat gun and I show you exactly how
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  SPEAKER_00: So tell me, what scent says welcome in your home?
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  SPEAKER_00: Leave me a comment in the letter.
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  SPEAKER_00: I promise I read every one.
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  SPEAKER_00: Live with intention.
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  SPEAKER_00: If you want the candle that set the whole night is smoking vanilla
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  SPEAKER_00: from my Pivotal Moments home fragrance collection.
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  SPEAKER_00: Light it an hour before your guests arrive and let it do the welcoming for you.
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  SPEAKER_00: And if this made you want to set a table of your own,
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  SPEAKER_00: my cookbook, Welcome to My Table, pairs a scent with every recipe.
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  SPEAKER_00: Order it directly from me and you'll get my effortless hosting guide too.
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  SPEAKER_00: And your book will be signed personally by me.
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  SPEAKER_00: Both are linked in the letter on the sub stack.
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  SPEAKER_00: And if you're listening on Spotify or Apple, follow along so next Sunday's letter find you.
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  SPEAKER_00: Until then, take care of yourself.
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  [music]