On Saturday night we had our friends Adam, Khusbu, and Andy (Robin was on call at the hospital) over for dinner. Everything turned out great, but in planning for this get together I learned a few things about myself. I’ll get to that in a minute.
First…the food.
- Drinks – beer and wine
- Appetizers – a take on the Southwestern samosas I made the other night
- Dinner – Gina’s butternut squash and black bean enchiladas
- Dessert – Katie’s black bean brownies
Next…the conversation.
- Real estate prices in Miami and our dreams of owning multiple pieces of property across the country
- The idea of owning guns
- Road rage in Miami
- Our New Year’s Eve plans
Wow! If those topics don’t scream adult (or old), I don’t know what does? Haha.
Ok, so like I said, in planning for this particular dinner I learned a few things about my hosting style. Now, you’re probably thinking that we host people, namely Robin and Andy, all the time. I would argue that R & A don’t count because they’re more like family at this point. This was Adam and Khusbu’s first time coming over to our new place, and I was not about to greet them in my sweats!
So, here’s what I learned about my hosting style…
- As much of a planner as I am, I am a procrastinator when it comes to the actual meal preparation. I was cooking until the very last minute. Literally.
- Cleaning, on the other hand, is more my thing. We were done dusting, cleaning the bathroom and kitchen, vacuuming, etc. in about an hour. The 11:00 am hour.
- I’m not very good at sharing kitchen space. Ask Vishnu.
- I’m also very bossy. Again, ask Vishnu.
Basically, I’m no fun to be around eight hours before people are due to come over (my poor husband!). But after that, I’m the best hostess ever. Ha!
What’s your hosting style? Calm and collected or stressed and a mess?
Love the post! I am SO much like you when it comes to hosting!! Especially the cleaning and bossy part! 🙂
I was hoping I wasn’t the only one!!
I’d say that I’m pretty much exactly like you with my hosting style. A mess before, calm during, and a mess after 😉
Yep – that’s me! And I don’t mind being that way, but I’m pretty sure Vishnu wouldn’t agree!
I agree with Amanda here – mess, bosssy, and stress before followed by calm, cheerful hostess and then I turn into a cleaning ninja after the party. Well I am hosting a Holiday party in two weeks, I will try to be more calm before and after as well 🙂
Fun! We’re hosting a Friendsgiving this coming weekend, and I’m going to try to plan better for that!
I am a total stress case. Stay away from the kitchen at all costs! But then once the cooking is done and I have a glass of wine in my hand I definitely mellow out 🙂 Feel free to come do the cleaning at my next dinner party and I’ll do the cooking at yours!
The glass..err…or two of wine that I had definitely helped chill me out!
I love to host! I am pretty calm and collected when it comes to hosting friends and family. The key is to prep things before people get there so that you can sit down and relax when they arrive!
I’m definitely going to prep better the next time around. It’s funny because I go through all these time calculations in my mind beforehand trying to figure out how long everything will take to get done, and I still have zero time and loads of stress! Ha!
Er ok so I have a bone to pick with you- when am I getting invited for dinner? Whenever the day comes, please ensure brownies are on the menu for dessert ;)! I love having people over and as stressful as the before bit can be, I find the prepping & planning quite fun.
Umm…you are welcome at any time!! COME! And yes, I’ll make you brownies!
Hahaha well knowing those things about yourself can be helpful 😉 it sounds like a really fun evening ether way!!!
Knowledge is power, right?! Haha!
Well, it depends for me – if it’s family and dear friends – am calm thru and thru; but if its people I don’t know quite so well …I feel the need to clean and keep things in order and everything to be pretty close to perfect before they get there.
That was quite a menu you put together! Now I am gonna assume that my invite was lost in the mail? 🙂
That makes sense! And that’s how my mom is. I think I just need more practice making food for more than just me and V. 🙂
And of course your invite got lost in the mail! 😉
Love this- I can relate whenever I have friends over (usually for Brunch!) I always overestimate my capabilities and when literally am in the kitchen even while they start coming!
Although cleaning is the one I procrastinate on… I hate cleaning! (I have even bribed my sister several times to do it for me…oops)
I always overestimate too! You should have seen me and Vishnu scrambling when my friends called to tell us they were parking their car. Ha!
Before people arrive, I definitely like to take my time and cook and all. I do the prep work the night before usually. When people arrive, I’m calm. 🙂
I also like to stick to things that bake only because it’s nice and hot and all the work is done.
I get really frazzled…especially about the quantity / quality of food on hand. I need to stop being like this and just enjoy!