Entertaining According to Kelley Moore
The lifestyle expert gives us a crash course in intimate entertaining at her new Montlake home
By Jennifer McCullum November 4, 2015
This article originally appeared in the November 2015 issue of Seattle magazine.
With TV appearances on shows from Ellen to The Nate Berkus Show to Rachael Ray, Tacoma native Kelley Moore has become the lifestyle industry’s go-to gal for tips on how to entertain. “I’ve loved doing this since I was 5 years old,” Moore says. “I threw my own carousel-themed birthday party. Picked out the cake, everything.” Since her inaugural (practically infantile!) experience with entertaining, Moore has created everything from haunted houses to holiday feasts, complete with her over-the-top interiors and tablescapes, on national television (in addition to sharing her tips with our readers as Seattle’s entertaining columnist for years). But this fall, she’s taking on a new environment—the Web—with the launch of her online show, “Crisis and Cocktails.”
A vintage painting Moore jokingly refers to as the “man of the house” presides over a seasonal hot toddy bar in the living room.
What started as Moore’s video diary on YouTube just seven months ago, “Crisis and Cocktails” has evolved into an interactive series in which Moore will field questions from viewers via Skype about…well…anything, all over a signature drink. “The idea for the show literally came to me during a time of personal crisis and while enjoying a really great cocktail,” Moore says, “I had been on TV, was living in this beautiful house, but had also been through a divorce, was navigating dating in my 40s and was taking care of an ailing parent. I thought there have to be women like me going through things like this. We should be sharing these experiences and leveraging that information to support each other.”
Oranges with initials created out of cloves make for place setting perfection in the dining room.
Experiences are what Moore has built her reputation on. With original ambitions of being the “hipper Martha,” Moore says her approach to entertaining has changed over the years. “I used to be all about inviting 20 people over every weekend, having these big parties, and spending lots of money on an over-the-top table,” Moore says. “But the last few years have taught me life is about more intimate celebrations, smaller groups, where you can really connect with people.” A typical night at Moore’s Montlake home now includes her essentials: good wine and great friends. “I always try to keep some kind of bubbles in the fridge, along with a hard salumi and a few cheeses,” she says. “On a Thursday night if friends are coming over, you can throw everything on a serving board in 15 minutes and have something beautiful.”
For more information about the fall debut of Crisis and Cocktails, visit kelleymoore.wix.com/kelley-moore.
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