February Sovereign Table Devotion & the Heart
Dear friends,
I’ve been holding February’s table gently in my thoughts.
When I began shaping the theme — Devotion & the Heart — I knew I wanted it to feel steady. Not dramatic. Not performative. Just attentive. Like the quiet ways we care for what matters.
The evening began simply: French charcuterie layered with slightly cooked greens and rose petal jam, Esterlin Champagne from Épernay poured into waiting glasses. There is always that moment when everyone arrives and the energy shifts — when the noise of the day softens and shoulders lower. I treasure that transition.
The meal unfolded slowly — creamy white chicken chili, filet medallions finished with rose balsamic reduction. We poured Château Bel Air Gloria from Haut-Médoc and Joseph Mellot’s Sincérité Sauvignon Blanc. A special tasting of La Croix Gratiot Picpoul de Pinet felt like a small offering tucked into the night. Dessert lingered — rose pistachio ice cream and flourless chocolate cake dusted with petals.
But what stays with me most is not the menu.
It is the feeling of attention in the room.
We spoke about devotion not as striving, but as staying. As the willingness to tend to the heart gently. I shared how my faith steadies me — how remembering I am loved without condition allows me to soften and care for myself without guilt. And from that place, to love others more freely.
When we moved into watercolor, something beautiful shifted.
Rather than teaching technique first, I invite guests to establish a relationship with the flower. To look before painting. To notice shape, shadow, movement, and emotion. To ask — what is this bloom saying?
We do not paint flowers to copy them.
We paint to connect with them.
One by one, the women allowed their brush to soften. Edges unfolded. Colors bled into one another. There was laughter, quiet concentration, and that gentle surprise when something begins to feel alive on the page.
The enjoyment was not in perfection — it was in connection. In realizing that when you slow down and truly look, beauty reveals itself.
We reflected on Georgia O’Keeffe — how she returned to flowers again and again, not to decorate, but to know them. She painted the inside of a bloom as if it were a cathedral.
Devotion, I’m learning, is simply that.
Looking.
Staying.
Letting one bloom be enough.
February’s table felt like a small cathedral made of food, conversation, and petals. Nothing extravagant. Just care practiced steadily.
With gratitude for the women who gathered — and for those who feel called to the next table.
With love,
Kim