Author and entertaining expert Ronda Carman to be featured speaker at 2022 Montgomery County Home & Outdoor Living Show, August 20 & 21

THE WOODLANDS, TX – The Montgomery County Home & Garden Show has proved to be the largest and most comprehensive home and garden expo in our area. This show presents information about home goods, seasonal decor, artisan furniture, home products, and numerous professionals for any type of home improvement or DIY project. This year’s show will include approximately 200 booths, contractors for every home project imaginable, nationally known speakers and free hands-on workshops. If you are wanting to start a home project, need information about outdoor kitchens or gardening, or have an organizational question, the Montgomery County Home & Outdoor Living Show will cover all of those questions and more. It will be an experience that you don’t want to miss. 

One of this year’s nationally featured speakers is author and entertaining expert Ronda Carman. Inspired and influenced by her time living in Scotland and traveling abroad, Ronda brings an international flair to food and design. Ronda has been a guest on Martha Stewart Radio and many other shows and podcasts. In 2019, she was named to the Salonnière 100, a list of America's best party hosts that also include luminaries such as Jennifer Aniston and Oprah Winfrey. Ronda is a frequent speaker and industry expert on cooking, design, and entertaining.



On August 20 - 21, Ronda will provide the behind-the-scenes details that go into creating memorable occasions. She will offer an easy approach to arranging flowers, setting the table, selecting menus, and stocking the pantry. There will be a Q&A session and book signing each day. 

Woodlands Online recently sat down with Ronda for an impromptu interview:

Ronda, tell us a little bit about your background

I grew up in Sugar Land, Texas and graduated from Clemens High School. I moved to Pennsylvania in 2000, to Scotland in 2005, and then back to Houston in 2013. Honestly, I have always just been obsessed with cooking and decorating. I always joke that when growing up as a teen, while many of my peers were reading Seventeen Magazine, I was reading Better Homes and Gardens. I've always been obsessed with cooking and I've always wanted to write a book. It was a dream of mine. When I moved to Scotland, I was working for the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. I'd always worked for nonprofits and fundraising. I started my blog in 2007, when blogs were literally in their infancy and design blogs consisted of maybe two or three at the time. I stumbled upon one of those blogs and was completely smitten. I decided that I wanted to write a blog and called my blog All The Best. It was a way for me to chronicle the traveling I was doing in Scotland and Europe along with design, decor, and food. 

Magazines here in the States started picking up on it and my readership started growing. From there, I started writing for some of the magazines in the UK and started scouting for some national magazines in the US. In 2010, I met my editor at Rizzoli and acquired my first book deal in 2013. That first book was called Designers at Home. Martha Stewart actually wrote the foreword for that book, and then hosted my launch party for the book in New York. I have been writing about design and entertaining ever since.

What would you consider to have been your biggest break?

Domino Magazine, when it was still a monthly publication, picked up on my blog. Have you seen that movie Julie & Julia? I kind of felt like that. I went from two readers (my mother and my husband at the time) and woke up one morning with 2,000 readers. That was probably my big break. 

What will you be speaking about at the Montgomery County Home & Outdoor Living Show?

I will speak about creatively cooking from your pantry, entertaining from your pantry, and using everyday items to elevate your home and tabletop when you're entertaining. I’ll also discuss how to creatively use what you already have to elevate your table and the dining experience, as well as your entertaining possibilities during the holiday season. 

Click here to learn more about Ronda Carman

Click here to learn more about the Montgomery Country Home & Outdoor Living Show