Gather Around the Kitchen Table: A New Way to Connect
A monthly gathering for women who are ready to slow down, speak honestly, be creative and enjoy good company.
I have always loved what happens around a kitchen table. Where someone refills your cup without asking, where a question gets passed around like a dish of something warm, where you find yourself saying things out loud that you didn’t know you needed to say.
I come from a long line of hostesses and connectors. For Sunday dinners and special occasions, my grandmother set the table with white linens, silver candelabras and fancy china. She showed me what it means to gather family in a way that felt very special. Around her table, I learned that a meal is never just a meal.
My mom carried this tradition forward in her own way. Most mornings, kids in tow, she and her besties would gather for coffee hosted by someone at their kitchen table. Some came with stories to share, some with worries to set down, some with knitting needles and a ball of wool, quietly working on a sweater that would become someone’s Christmas gift. Nobody announced what they needed. They just showed up, and somehow the table held all of it.
I too have been known to create connection around the table. Special occasions, birthday cakes and tea for best friends. Tea parties, complete with fancy sandwiches, delicate sweets and lifelong friends. Gatherings with community are my favorite. Women meeting in sacred spaces where creativity was on the menu. Long, unhurried hours that left you feeling more like yourself than when you arrived.
That’s what a kitchen table does, if you let it. That’s what I wanted to create here.
The Kitchen Table is a monthly virtual gathering inside The Hummingbird Nest. Each month, I host two separate gatherings on Zoom. Same theme, same menu, two different groups of women. Two chances to find a time that works for you. We slow down. We go a little deeper. We leave feeling more like ourselves.
It sounds simple, because it is. And somehow, every single time, it becomes something more.
A gentle pause you can count on each month.
What to Expect
Picture this: you close your laptop from the day, light a candle, make yourself something warm to drink. You open Zoom and find yourself in a softly lit room with a small circle of women. At the center of the table, there’s an altar, a candle, something living and green, a word that anchors the evening. Before long, as so often happens when women gather, a hum of conversation begins. Gentle. Curious. Open.
Each gathering runs about an hour and a half. There’s no agenda to rush through and no pressure to perform. Just a thoughtfully held space and a group of women who showed up because something in them was ready.
Gatherings are kept intentionally small. Everyone is seen, heard and included. That’s not an aspiration. It’s the design.
Before we gather, you’ll receive your Kitchen Table Menu, a guide to the evening’s experience. Like any good meal, it has a natural flow.
After each gathering, members receive Taster Notes, a written keepsake of the evening. For those who were there, it’s a way to linger a little longer. For those who weren’t, it’s an open door into the warmth of what was shared.
Themes We’ve Gathered Around
Over the months, we've gathered around some beautiful themes:
Surprise & Delight. Awaken Possibilities. Your North Star. Ancestral Whispers. Love is in the Air. Reservation for One. Friday the 13th. The Life List. Connection. Leaves Falling, Autumn Calling. Simplicity.
Each theme arrives like a season. Some land softly. Some catch you off guard. All of them leave something behind.
What Women Are Saying
“There’s something really special about what Kathy creates with The Kitchen Table. It’s so much more than just a virtual gathering. It’s an experience you feel in your whole body. She has this beautiful way of bringing women together in a space that feels safe, real, and deeply connected. The question bowl always opens up conversations you didn’t even know you needed. You leave feeling more connected to yourself, more present, and honestly, a little more alive.”
“I love the way you pull people together, somewhat strangers, but still create an atmosphere of safety and comfort, as if we were actually meeting around your kitchen table. I love that you give me time and space to explore, create and settle when I do not give myself the time and space.”
“It was absolutely wonderful as always. I just love these gatherings so much. The women who join are amazing and soul connected and your leadership is absolutely spectacular.”
“I love the opportunity to be in community with your group of friends, scattered as we are around the continent. It speaks to the power of connection, even with those we haven’t met in person.”
“LOVED it. Thank you for creating such a warm and accepting space for us, Kathy.”
“It was a very enjoyable evening. So nice to hang out with all of you and have some fun creating.”
Not Sure Yet?
If you’re wondering whether this is the right fit, you’re always welcome to reach out before joining. A short conversation can go a long way. I’d love to hear what you’re looking for.
Pull Up a Chair
The Kitchen Table is part of The Hummingbird Nest membership, launching soon. Each month brings a new theme, a new menu, and the same warm, unhurried space to come home to.
Our next gathering is Friday, June 12. If you’d like to experience The Kitchen Table before the membership opens, this is your invitation.
And this summer, watch for a special Saturday afternoon gathering. A taster for anyone who wants to pull up a chair and see what we do here, before the fall season begins. No commitment required. Just come as you are.
If something in you has been craving this kind of connection, there’s a seat here with your name on it.
Whenever you’re ready.
Warmly,
Kathy
A little about me
Hi, I’m Kathy. A guide, a gatherer, a maker of sacred space, and a woman who found her way home to herself after years of putting everyone else first.
For years, I wore many hats at once. Single parent, community manager in a role I was promoted into before I believed I deserved it, event organizer. And later, a family caregiver. Learning all over again how to give without losing myself in the giving. Caring for everyone, in every direction, all at the same time. What I had to learn, slowly and imperfectly, was that I mattered too. What I found on the other side of that, through stillness, creativity, and the women who gathered around my table, became everything I now offer.
There’s a place at the table with your name on it.
If this stirred something in you, I'd love to know. A heart ❤️, a comment, a coffee, or a quiet share with someone who might need a pause. Every small gesture helps this nest grow.
The Hummingbird Nest. Retreat experiences curated by Kathy Barlow.
I love coming to the kitchen table! The community and connection that is created as we gather together is so nurturing and satisfying. The cozy vibes are so refreshing. Thank you Kathy for creating this magical space!
Well darn! Just about an hour before I opened up your invite, I accepted an invite to an outdoor musical extravaganza in Sonoma, with a group of friends. But we will gather first at a picnic table and share in a picnic potluck. We will toast the gathering together of friends and I will add, to the gatherings everywhere of friends.