To feel sad my house doesn't do dinner parties??

[bordellosboheme]

When I was a girl I wanted to grow up and live in an elegant house and throw dinger parties.

However, I have ended up in a house without a dining room.... A small kitchen, and so I've not invited anyone round to dinner in 5 years.

My next door neighbours do this every weekend..... I feel sad.....

[Talkinpeace]

pointy My house is pretty odd. The skull collection in the dining room is not to everybody's taste Better odd than boring though.

And actually one of the most fun sociable meals is

• baguette 1 per 3 people
• cheeses 3 flavours per 4 people
• sliced veg and jars of grilled veg
• pates and meats if no veggies there
• paper plates, knives
• a large table / worktop / rug in the garden
• lashings of wine

[pointythings]

I would love to see your skull collection, can I come to dinner? I'm pretty good on zoology

[Talkinpeace]

pointythings
A relative of mine ....

[teenagetantrums]

we have a fold away table in the living room, move the sofas to put it up and used to have people round for dinner all the time, now im unemployed cant afford to do it any more, but sometimes i do a buffet type thing on a Sunday lay out the food in the tiny kitchen, everyone brings a dish and we all eat on our laps, is actually more fun than the sit down three course meals..

[bordellosboheme]

Ah the house clean up begins....

Can I ask what kind of salad you would have with chicken and pots??? I know that's minor detail....

Ds and dp gone to the beach...l I'm here cleaning for tomorrow, will I regret this?????

So tired. I feel a bit of a martyr now......

[pointythings]

Baby spinach leaves, cherry tomatoes (quartered), a few pumpkin seeds or toasted pine nuts. Dressing: olive oil, raspberry or red wine vinegar, a tiny drop of hazelnut oil if you have any. dollop of honey, salt, pepper. Just chuck in a lidded cup and shake - done. As long as you get the ratio of oil to vinegar right (should be 3 to 1) then salad dressings are easy.

[SPsTwerkingNineToFive]

I do the take away on knee with plenty of alcohol thing and I have a perfectly fine table and chairs in the back of the room.

[bordellosboheme]

Pointy things you are a genius!

[pointythings]

Enjoy, bordellos. And then experiment some more, you can really show off with salads without actually doing anything very difficult

[valiumredhead]

Salad-bowl of olives, small plates of chopped tomatoes, cucumber, grated carrot, bowl of leafy green salad. Couple of salad dressings then people can help themselves

[sashh]

White sheet on the floor and serve Indian.

A paste table and folding chairs.

Fancy picnic - I used to do these when I lived in a studio.

I have a couple of disabilities so can't get to my friend's 2nd floor flat so she has cooked dinner here, could you do that? Or maybe share the prep with a friend.

[shoppingbagsundereyes]

My salad tonight is just green things - leaves, cucumber, spring onions and avocado. Will be yum. I like coleslaw with chicken and salad. I buy deli coleslaw from wherever.
I hope you have a lovely time tomorrow, come back and tell us all about it :)

[valiumredhead]

Oh yes, coleslaw-yum!

[bordellosboheme]

Floor mopped
Leather (ette ;) sofas wiped
Kitchen cleaned
Fabrezed
Kitchen cleaned
Shopping done
Salad done
Chicken done
Jacket potatoes in oven finishing off
Olives and coleslaw in dishes
White wine cooling in fridge

Sitting down with fruit tea and awaiting guests! Phew!

Anyone want to come?

[valiumredhead]

Well done! come back later and tell us how fab it was and what you're cooking me next weekend

[bordellosboheme]

Quick update


Went well...
Kiddos played nice together
Friend liked the food and brought desert stuff.
They stayed for a good 5 hours including a walk and playing in garden.

Friends ds dropped some food on the floor and I said 'dont worry, it's seen worse.' she said, 'i love your house, you can relax and not be uptight about dropping stuff'. I took that as a compliment (I think!?!) hope that didn't mean she thought I live in a hovel!

The food....

It was yummy if I do say so myself...
The beauty of jackets and roast chicken is you can just stick them in the oven and forget about them (until cooked)! Thank you for suggesting the menu and for building my confidence up! Oh and thanks for elaborating on salad options when my mind went black. Coleslaw and olives were yum!
I'm on a roll now... I might invite a mum from the local play group next! What do you think? Some soup and bread?

[bordellosboheme]

One more observation.... I did seem to spend a lot of the weekend cleaning, shopping, cooking instead of relaxing... You do give up your leisure time a bit... But this afternoon was relaxed

[bordellosboheme]

Valiumredhead....

Caviare and canapés

[valiumredhead]

Oh it sounds fab, they must've enjoyed it if they stayed 5 hours

Soup sounds fab, you ARE on a roll now

[shoppingbagsundereyes]

Sooooo pleased for you, sounds like a lovely afternoon. Soup and bread sounds great.

[Jaynebxl]

Excellent! And the next time will be a bit easier and you won't feel you have to do so much prep I bet.

[bordellosboheme]

By the way, I may be being a tad over sensitive, but what do you think about the comment above about her not worrying about making a mess? Is it a little bit of a back handed compliment?

[valiumredhead]

No, not at all she said that because you didn't make a fuss when she dropped something and she was relieved she hadn't dropped food all over a swanky white table cloth with 6 people staring at her. Honestly!

There is no way anyone would stay 5 hours anywhere if they weren't having good good and fun.

[OvaryAction]

It's a compliment, she feels very at home and comfortable.

[NotCitrus]

Excellent news - your friend clearly felt welcome!

I've had parties over the years where I've been too ill to do anything - a couple lovely friends help tidy up before and after (one feels bad she can't afford to bring anything, but can clean a bit), I provide wine and ten quid or so for someone to go to the supermarket round the corner. Works OK even if my inner Nigella is a bit miffed!

Must organise another one...