The Duchess of Sussex was out and about last week in Montecito! Meghan took part in a conversation at Godmothers bookstore in Montecito. Prince Harry suggested the name for Godmothers, and the Sussexes attended the opening, and they’re often involved in events at the bookstore (they’re friends with the owners). Well, last Wednesday, Meghan joined her friend Courtney Adamo for an event called “Compare Notes on Creating a Home That’s Filled With Joy.” Meghan and Adamo went to Northwestern together, and Adamo is described as a “lifestyle creator.” This whole thing was a livestream, but I can’t find the full video of the event. The Deranger commentary is that Meghan “stole” Adamo’s spotlight (Meghan was clearly there to help Adamo sell her book) and that Meghan “asserted her authority over Adamo” by… gently reaching over to show Adamo to lift up her mic so people could hear her. There were some nice stories coming out of the event though:
Meghan’s secret to making her guests feel welcome: Her secret to making guests instantly feel at ease at her Montecito home, which she shares with husband Prince Harry? Opening the door “barefoot,” with an “apron on. It demystifies. People walk in and go, ‘Oh, she’s in this with me.’ And what are they drawn to? Your kitchen. They come right in, and suddenly everyone’s a little bit softened.”
Meghan doesn’t serve tea!! Rather than offering guests a cup of tea, Meghan, 43, said she prefers to have a cider or hot toddy on the stove, inviting everyone to help themselves. “I love people being able to serve themselves, and having things on the stove that everyone can help themselves to,” she said, adding, “I always have music on in the background.”
The value of boredom: Throughout the livestream, the pair reflected on everything from motherhood to creativity — including “the value of boredom” for children’s imagination and, as Meghan put it, the importance of “deep belly laughing with your friends” instead of just sending a “laughing emoji.”
Rose & thorn with Archie & Lili: Meghan shared that while sitting around the dinner table, she asks Archie, 6, and Lili, 4, for their “rose and thorn” — symbolizing the best part of their day and the things that “maybe didn’t feel so good” because no day is perfect, as she explained. “Especially with young children, it’s a great opener for, you know, when you get to that stage where your kids just give you a yes or no answer,” she said.
Lili’s life is awesome: “Our daughter — she’s 4, and she’s a very strong personality and she’s incredible,” Meghan said. “And now she’s in this moment where I say, ‘What’s your rose and your thorn?’ And she goes, ‘My day was just a blast.’ ”
A healing blanket: Meghan also shared other glimpses of home life, including turning on music as the “first thing I do when I wake up in the morning” and using a “healing blanket” if Archie or Lili isn’t feeling well as a comfort item.
I’ll admit that I don’t really care that much about Meghan’s homemaker/lifestyle tips, but that’s just me and I’m a curmudgeon. To the people making fun of Meghan’s advice… like, that was the purpose of the event, a conversation about lifestyle and making your home welcoming and beautiful, and being a good hostess. It’s very retro, but that is Meghan’s business. Speaking of, Meghan supplied the wine for the event – they don’t say if it was the As Ever rosé or the sauvignon blanc. Meghan’s outfit was from Cuyana, a chocolate brown sleeveless top and trousers.
More pictures from Duchess Meghan Godmothers bookstore event. Also pictured Meredith Maines, Chief Communication officer for the Sussexes.#MeghanSussex
📸Meghans Brasil pic.twitter.com/rgfxgrItex
— ChrisBaronSmith (@ChrisBaronSmit1) October 24, 2025
Photos courtesy of Adamo’s IG, Meghan’s IG and Bloomberg’s YT video.
I like that little hostess tip. I saw many years ago a woman who said that she greeted some of her guests in a robe and her hair wrapped in a towel. I thought and still think that’s a bit much, but I get the gist.
Anything Meghan does is picked apart by these hateful, simple minded bums.
Those are good hostess tips. Enabling people to help themselves to drinks is KEY — as a hostess it’s tough to juggle greeting people with getting drinks, and helping people feel able to help themselves really works with the flow.
At Thanksgiving we usually have a post-thanksgiving gumbo party (using up the turkey bones), and I put hot cider into a crock pot. Makes the house smell good, makes guests feel empowered.
As someone who is uber punctual, I would die of embarrasment right at the doorstep, thinking I’m too early and the hostess wasn’t ready, not expecting any guest to arrive sharp on the given time. No tip I would follow.
For once, I disagree. I never have greeted guests barefoot and never will.
I think it depends. I don’t wear shoes in the house, so, my feet are going to be bare unless we’re having an outdoor bash.
I’m the same way.. I live barefoot unless I have to step outside. I have slippers for cold tile floors in the winter, but I never wear outdoor shoes inside.
I think it is just very California coded., where even the fancy events can be pretty casual. It is more focused on making a guest feel at home and part of the family. She probably doesn’t deploy it for all her at home entertaining, but it has a place.
I can’t get on board with that. I can’t. Just put some sandals on.
Yep, I like Meghan and she’s had a ridiculously raw deal thrown at her, but sometimes I have to eye roll at some stuff. My barefoot are frankly ugly and would not be a welcome sight. It’s okay for close friends, but not in general.
The idea of making your guests comfortable and at home is spot on, but better ways to do it.
I Think the idea is to make people feel comfortable in your home and not uptight.
Doesn’t matter what she does or talks about salt isle will hate it! I do agree with her about drinks being self serve. I put out a small table with whatever we are having whether it’s adult beverages or something for kids I make it easy to access and I just check to make sure there is enough of everything. For the kids I make sure they can reach things and put the little drink umbrellas and some kid straws that are fun on their area as well as cute paper or plastic fun cups.
I disagree. Totally inappropriate and sending ill-prepared vibes.
LOL.
What is unprepared about wearing an apron while you’re hosting? Especially when I’m dressed up, I don’t want to splash food or drink on my outfit.
And we never wear shoes in our house, so we’re either barefoot or wearing socks, no matter the fanciness of the occasion.
So if you don’t want to get food and wine on yourself, do you wear it at the dinner table. LOL.
Ummm, cosmo, I think you can set a napkin on your lap while you’re eating? The apron is for cooking. Different angles to cook and different angles to eat. Sorry, but this has me laughing. I’m not sure if I’m misunderstanding something?
I don’t allow guest to wear shoes they have worn outdoors into my home either, I find that really disgusting, but the guests all know this before hand.
I think the idea is not necessarily ‘remove your shoes and put on an apron’ when receiving. But that a hostess/host must feel comfortable in the setting they create for their guests, starting by how they present themselves from the very first minute . If Meghan likes to go barefoot around the house and would rather not stress about spilling on a nice outfit, it only makes sense that she indulges herself in order to remain a cordial, jolly hostess. She might have just projected what works out for her.
I read this (answering the door and greeting guests without shoes) and thought…how is this new advice? And then realized that my Canadian perspective makes me the outlier! In Canada wearing shoes inside the home is uncommon and unusual. On the flip side I always greet my guests barefoot so I’m a step ahead of Meghan Sussex in guest decorum 😂
I totally agree. I read this and thought, um so? I’m usually barefoot in my house, what’s the big deal?!
I don’t think it has anything to do with being ill prepared. It’s comfortable and relaxed.
Now of course if it’s a formal gathering, I’m wearing shoes. If it’s friends/family I’m either barefoot or wearing slippers.
I agree. It is unusual to be wearing shoes in your own house in most Canadian homes. Now I tend to have “indoor” shoes on because I have hardwood but sometimes it would just be socks too. And the guests take off their shoes anyway, so sometimes there would be slippers on offer for them, especially in the winter. (Meghan could totally do something with “guest slippers” )
Yeah, if it’s cold, I’m not going to be barefoot bc I’ll be freezing but indoor slippers, absolutely. Same idea @nic919 about guest slippers. I worked in Japan for a year and there were always indoor slippers at the entrance for guests to put on inside the house. I guess some people might feel weird about putting feet in slippers that othesr have put their feet into but I didn’t mind. I actually thought it was nice to have an array of cozy slippers for guests to put on so they can leave the dirty shoes outside.
OMG – do you remember their lovely nanny who was interviewed in the Netflix Harry & Meghan series saying she went to Clark’s (?) to buy a new pair of shoes and then Harry opened the door to greet her and he was barefoot? 😀
They like being barefoot – they’re just being their authentic selves. I’ve done the same, but it’s usually when I’m running late with my preparations 🙂 . I usually rush out of the kitchen, put out the drinks and snacks and then pause to greet everyone and tell them to help themselves and chat while I finish the salads and/or put things into serving bowls. They mingle between kitchen and drawing room before we all go in together to sit down to eat.
Other times I get everything done well ahead of schedule and then get dressed up just before the guests arrive. It works both ways.
It’s late October. We’ve just had our second killing frost. I’m still barefoot in the house. I’ve never worn shoes in the house. In winter, when it’s really cold, I’ll wear indoor socks.
I have a bag of guest slippers/warm booties in the closet. Guests shake the snow off their boots and if they haven’t brought their own indoor footwear, they apologize and gratefully accept the guest footwear. That’s just normal in my neck of the woods.
The dentist’s office also has disposable booties for clients who don’t bring their own indoor footwear.
Yep, I’m Canadian. LOL
I grew up a bridge away from Canada so I must have absorbed your habits lol
Is definitely not just a Canadian thing, because I live in Chicago and I can’t really think of anyone’s houses that we went into without removing our shoes from childhood. So I think it’s very much so a northerner thing, please don’t track mud, snow, slush into my house.
Also, it can be a bit of a cultural thing too because growing up in various friends homes and in my own home depending on their background, wearing shoes that you wore outside was a huge no-no inside. Everyone got the little slide ons or cheap slippers from the beauty supply to wear.
I love the idea behind greeting guests “barefoot with an apron on” especially in the current social media landscape where everything is curated to look polished and effortless. While I won’t show up barefoot, I do like the idea of basically greeting guests with that silent queue of “Oh yeah, I’m busy in the kitchen, you should join us in there, that’s where we’re hanging out”.
I like her general philosophy too of inviting guests to serve themselves (with the hot toddy on the stove). It feels like the job of the host is serving others and that’s one of the reasons I disliked hosting in the past, but being reminded that your guests are people you either have or want to have a close relationship with, and inviting them into your space and trusting them to respect and partake in it, is wonderful.
Meghan is also royalty, so I’m guessing newer friends might feel intimidated by her at first.
how very Pippa Tips — though I get the vibe she is going for in wanting guests to be relaxed — then again, I never have shoes on in the house so if I answered in a pair, folks would think we were evacuating.
I can’t wait for the royal reporters to weigh in. Everything blows their minds and makes them vomit delusional negative word salad.
In my New York mind, this is very “California,” where I’ve always thought the vibe to be very relaxed and casual.
Whether people think it’s twee or not, she’s nothing if not genuine. Remember the scene in Spare where she greeted WanK at the door like this and Kate had a conniption.
Yes, my mind went there too. Not everyone likes barefoot, lol.
If she didn’t say the purpose was to demystify, I’d agree. But because she does say that, it seems inauthentic.
@meredith because she us who she is it seems very authentic. She’s such a talked about person she probably does feel the need to relax guests. There is a lot of mystic around her so if anyone would want to demystify it would be Meghan.
It makes me think about a story I heard about someone meeting Ringo Starr. The person was a bit starstruck … it’s *Ringo*!!! And RS said, some people just call me Richie, that can make it easier … ie it’s a way to put folks at ease, we’re all just people.
Meghan’s tip is like that, sends the message of “no worries about airs here, let’s just be at ease and enjoy our time together”
My guess is event if the exact tip (barefoot and aproned) doesn’t feel right or work for someone, there’s probably a way to get the same impact in some way. Mine is … especially for the first few people arriving … greet them with “so glad you’re here! I could really use your help with xyz” and give them a quick task. It brings people into the “inner circle” immediately.
I don’t usually have guests I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing that with, though. Again it’s a YMMV thing
A hostess showing up at the door in a robe or a towel or barefoot would make me wonder “am I too early because she’s not ready.” Then again, I don’t even wear shoes in my own home, but I do wear “house shoes.” Whatever, different strokes for different folks, none of this is hurting anybody.
Most of the people in the world don’t need to be “demystified,” but it’s different when you’re the most talked about royal ever and your husband is a blood prince. So I can see why the Duchess of Sussex would want her guests to feel only comfort and simplicity in her home.
Yeah it’s very specific to her in the sense of being demystified, because you could even see it when David Chang was on WLM. He was visibly a little Shell shocked / starstruck, and this is a world famous chef.
In general though, this isn’t really new or that uncommon. People are just pretending like it’s something they’ve never heard of because Meghan is the one saying it. Answering the door casually, whatever that means to you, will put people at ease. And make them not feel like they can’t touch anything, or disturb anything. Same thing with the rose and thorn questions, I’m in my early 40s and my parents was doing that with us. They just described it as asking open-ended questions to encourage our vocabulary.
As someone who rarely entertains for has people over, I really like this tip! For me, it takes away the need to be or present as “perfect”, which is huge for me.
Apparently William and Kate were offended that she didn’t dress to the nines for their first dinner together. If nothing else Meghan is consistent and true to herself.
I’m not meeting my guests barefoot. Yuck.
It’s so interesting because I feel immediate yuck when thinking about people wearing outside shoes IN the house. It just seems dirty to me. But I grew up in Hawaii and we always leave shoes at the door. This was the case when I lived in Japan too. But I guess different cultures see this practice differently. In my current home as soon as someone puts shoes the question is where are you going?
Californian here, and Asian as well. Monsoon the house not it’s cold we have extra slippers for people. I usually greet people barefoot and then about half the time have an apron on. California entertaining, to me, is casual and built around mingling and talking and delicious fresh food. I’ll finish and bring out a fresh plate of appetizers while my hubs makes the drinks or pours wine or water, and we sit and nosh in the backyard since it’s still 70 degrees. If it’s cold or rainy we slump on the couches in the living room or else congregate in the kitchen. I imaging with Meghan’s beautiful gourmet kitchen no one would want to leave it.
Meghan’s lifestyle is too high maintenance for me. BUT, I would LOVE to step into her home and be spoiled by her. It seems very calming.
I feel when inviting people over for the first time—especially members of the royal family —Meghan, dressed in torn jeans (I believe) and bare feet was far too casual. Since she was fully capable of dressing up for other occasions, she should have known what would have been appropriate, even on a more relaxed basis, when living in England.
I still feel this way and wouldn’t greet a guest in bare feet.
I feel when inviting people over for the first—especially members of the royal family —Meghan, dressed in torn jeans (I believe) and bare feet was far too casual. Since she was fully capable of dressing up for other occasions, she should have known what would have been appropriate, even on a more relaxed basis, when living in England.
I still feel this way and would not greet guests in bare feet or looking more casual than the situation would warrant. Hosting involves being gracious and having manners to put guests at ease.
But she and Harry were in their own home and had invited his brother and wife to dinner. This was not the queen or a member of Parliament who had come to call. it was not even the Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, or Prince Edward line.
And family, at least in the U.S., step in to help clear the table and offer to do other tasks to help the host out. (Of course, few of us have a bunch of taxpayer funded servants running around.) That’s the big problem in the UK with running the royal houses as businesses instead of families. It’s also the problem with all this emphasis on “knowing your place,” which assumes that no all people are equal.
Reminds me of an Italian exchange student who stayed with my family and shared a bedroom with me for an entire year. She kept telling people that her family was one of the oldest in Italy, and I knew what she really meant by that. I felt like asking her how the rest of us got here if we did not have “old families”?? She also did want to meet any Italian Americans because she said only the worst kind of Italians immigrated to the U.S. Like what did she think of nearly all of my ancestors who came here not being able to read or write because their parents could not afford to educate them and the government did not think it was worth it to educate “the poor”??
Wouldn’t dressing up have been “inauthentic “ which people love to accuse her of? She’s a ripped jeans and barefoot gal. And considering this bunch of “royals” they hardly seem worth the bother of making an efffort. Meghan did dress up to meet QEII though.
Meghan probably thought she was having “family” over. Poor woman. Little did she know at the time. At the same time, looking back, Harry seemed very slack about preparing her for his family. On the other hand, he did say he had never been invited to dinner by the Waleses himself. Imagine never having invited your brother for dinner! Kate may like to observe all the formalities, but she seems to have terrible manners. Being gracious is obviously not in her wheel-house. I think Kate is really into the trappings of royalty and all of its formality. According to William, she was the one who made nine year-old George wear a suit and tie to a football game because he’s “the heir.”
I am sitting at home right now barefoot, and I never wear shoes unless I am going out somewhere shopping or on a similar thing. I keep shoes by the door that I use to go outdoors, as do my two grown sons and their teenaged kids. I do not force guests, however, to wear slippers when they come to visit. My aunt used to do that, and i felt funny about wearing someone else’s slippers, no matter how clean they looked. My indoor floors seldom get stuff tracked in on them, and for that reason I believe they are cleaner that sidewalks or public building floors.
Apparently, the royal family in Britain treats family dinners like staff meetings in a business, and get all dressed up–strange to me. And taking poor George out to a sports event in a business suit is ridiculous! A kid that age should wear a suit to a funeral or a wedding, or some other formal event, but a football game is an informal event, not a board room meeting!
Oh, and I do not live in California or Florida or other warm place!!! And also I am an 82-year-old lady, so you can’t really claim this is a young person thing.
Maybe it’s a CA casual kind of thing. We never wear shoes inside the house and are barefoot unless it’s cold. I have a big basket of slippers inside our front closet guests can slip on if they want. While I don’t make a big thing about it – I’d prefer people not wear their icky shoes inside. Everybody ends up piling their shoes by the front door.
Also- maybe it’s her way of making herself normal even though she has a famous family and life. It’s come on in, make yourself comfortable.
Love her, but I would never greet people with bare feet. And I never wear an apron. I also don’t cook, so there’s that.