This isn’t a hosting blog.
It’s a place for people who want their actual life to feel full.

Hi, y’all! I’m Ashley!

— and my grandfather Papa called me Sweetpea his whole life. 

Time Management

I’m The Sweetpea behind Sweetpea Lifestyle. 

I want to tell you something I don’t see many people say out loud.

I am single. And I refuse to be lonely.

That’s really where all of this started. Not with a beautiful brand vision or a content strategy. With a pot of chili on the stove and a text message: “Who can come over for dinner tonight? I made soup.”

Because here’s what I figured out a long time ago — if you’re waiting to be invited, you might wait a very long time. But if you do the inviting? The table fills up. The evening stretched long past when anyone meant to leave. And you go to bed feeling something you can’t quite name but desperately need.

Connected. Seen. Full — and not just from the cornbread.

Sweetpea Lifestyle started in 2008 — seventeen years ago — when I was in the middle of a depression and needed to get out of my own head. Hosting people around my table was what got me out of my funk. Not therapy (though, also therapy). Not a new routine. A pot of something warm, a few people I loved, and a table that had room for all of us.

I’ve been doing it ever since.

But I’ll be honest with you about something else, too. For a long time, I wanted to be the next Martha Stewart. I loved the big, elaborate parties — the tablescapes, the twelve-person dinners, the perfectly coordinated everything. I chased that for years.

“I felt more lonely around a big table of twelve people than a table of four with one single conversation happening.”

That sentence changed everything for me. Maybe it changes something for you, too.

The big production wasn’t the point. The conversation was the point. The staying too late was the point. The “I needed this more than I knew” text the next morning — that was the point.

So I stopped trying to impress people and started trying to know them instead.

I started keeping a pot of chili on the stove instead of planning a five-course menu. I started texting four people instead of orchestrating twelve. I started asking one good question at the end of dinner and watching what happened when nobody wanted to answer it quickly.

I started building a home that was ready to say yes — not a home that needed three days of preparation before it could receive anyone.

And slowly, slowly, my actual life started to feel like the one I’d been pinning.

Sweetpea Lifestyle is what I built so you could do the same.

It’s for the person who keeps saying “we should do this more often” and then watches another month go by without doing it. It’s for the person who wants to host but thinks their house isn’t ready, their recipes aren’t impressive enough, and their life isn’t curated enough.

It’s for the person who is tired of watching everyone else’s warmly lit evenings from the outside and is finally, finally ready to have their own.

Here, you’ll find easy recipes that actually work on a Wednesday night. Home rhythms that keep your space ready to welcome people without a panic-clean. Conversation starters that move a dinner past the surface and into something real. And a slow, warm philosophy about why gathering matters — especially right now, when it’s never been easier to be technically connected and genuinely lonely at the same time.

This is not about perfection. It’s not about impressing anyone. It’s about the kind of evening that makes you feel — deeply, quietly — that your life is full.

Papa named me Sweetpea because I was his. I built this place because I want you to feel that kind of warmth around your own table.

Come in. There’s always room.

Step 1: Peruse the website! Pack your toolkit full of exactly what you need:

Step 2: The Sweetpea Shop is LOADED with digital products that make your life easier! 

What REAL PEOPLE are saying:

  • “We make Sweetpea’s
    Sloppy Joe Sandwiches
    at least once a week!
    My kids love them!”
    Laura
    Wife and Busy Mom
  • “Quick & Easy Pulled Pork Chalupa is my go-to entertaining meal! It’s so easy, and I can ask guests to bring something. Making them feel included while helping me!”
    Heather
    Busy Mom
  • “I am slowly learning to
    manage my time better,
    giving my headspace a bit of breathing room.”
    Diane
    Newly Single

You can find me over at Allrecipes, where I’m an Allstar. I enjoy reviewing recipes and adding new ones for others to try!

Mashed mentioned my love of Duke’s Mayonnaise in their What You Didn’t Know About Duke’s Mayonnaise article.

Or, learn How to Set Up a Buffet with some tips on WikiHow!

Maybe you want to learn The Best Way to Bake Canned Cinnamon Rolls on The Kitchn, this post is filled with various ways.

Or, learn all about Ginger Beer Cocktails from Instacart!

You can find the team at Fox5DC trying my Pineapple Cheese Casserole on their Thanksgiving Recipes special! So fun!

Learn How to Throw the Ultimate Fondue Party from The Manual, with a few Sweetpea tips.

Allrecipes shared How to Throw Your Best Brunch Ever with my tips! Such a fun project to work on, this girl loves hosting brunch!

setting intentional goals for your business

When I’m not hosting or creating content, I’m relaxing with a glass of champagne and re-watching Friends for the 100th time.

My favorite part of any trip is coming home  –– so a night in with a glass of wine is just my cup of tea..!

Speaking of tea, I’ve never had a cup of coffee before… I’m the girl who loves her British tea and a good, flaky scone.

Favorite Snack? A cheeseboard of any kind, spicy salsa with salty tortilla chips, or just some finger-licking Cheetos!

A movie I could watch over and over? It’s a toss-up between Pretty Woman and Steel Magnolias! ((Julia Roberts is just the best, huh?!)) True Confessions: if I’ve seen a movie and I know how it ends, I will turn it off before the “scary parts.” 

I read a lot. A lot A lot. In 2025, I read 428 books. When I respond “I’m busy.” it’s because my heating pad, Kindle, and bed have me already tucked in so tightly I’m not moving until the last page.

If you’re in the Asheville area, you can find me…

  • Sipping a Vesper Martini at Jettie Rae’s
  • Dipping into a plate full of Tot-Chos from Rankin Vault
  • Whipping into a Wake Spa foot soak… yes, it’s as luxurious as it sounds!

Ready to start living the Sweetpea Lifestyle?

Get your place at Sweetpea’s Supper Club and curate your own dinner parties each month, so you can call up a friend and have them over for dinner! 

Really, it’s because that’s the Sweetpea way! You share what you have with those you know!

Find me on all the social channels: