Our First Dinner Party
I used to entertain a lot when I was single.
Barbeques, dinner parties, casual dinners, wine and cheese nights, afternoon teas, breakfasts, house parties for over 100 guests.
You name it, I threw it. Very successfully, for the most part.
I loved the planning and the organising. The execution was kind of incidental!
Working in kitchens had taught me to be super organised, and the importance of (reliance on!) preparation, preparation, preparation.
Boy, does a man throw a spanner into all that.
***
Mr K is – how shall I put this? – very, very relaxed when it comes to entertaining.
At 4pm, it is suddenly imperative that all the windows in the house are washed. Using my pristine white and clear acrylic shower squeeqee?
Hell. No.
So, he has to go and buy one.
And make an illicit detour to the local aquarium.
Our guests are due at 6pm.
Naturally, there are some tense words, stomped feet, indignant banging in the kitchen that I hope he hears from outside.
***
5.45pm. Guests due in 15 minutes.
"I think I might use a different recipe for the gnocchi. Have we got a mortar and pestle to make a pesto?"
Lord, grant me the restraint I need in this room full of very sharp implements.
***
When I entertain, I can only enjoy it if everything is prepared beforehand and I can greet my guests, unruffled and totally relaxed, with a glass of wine and a bowl of nibbles.
And nothing else to do except cook a little pasta and stir together a little sauce.
No ingredients to be chopped. No salads to toss. No desserts to assemble.
Mr K doesn't see a problem with disappearing into the kitchen for 20 minutes at a time to madly wash, chop, grate, assemble, etc.
For every course.
Which turns me into a smiling Martha Stewart on the outside and wound-tight-as-a-coiled-spring on the inside.
***
Don't get me wrong. We had a lovely night. Our guests thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
I just like to do things a certain way which ensures I thoroughly enjoy myself too.
I know Mr K and I will learn to dovetail our entertaining styles as we continue to entertain. This was, after all, our first time doing it together.
We will start with an Excel spreadsheet 
***
So, I have some pictures but I've rambled on enough, and might post the transformation of our dining room from mess to magical tomorrow.
xx Kiki
I love your blog lol it’s very similar to me and my partner lol
Lol!
No matter how prepared I am, I’m hardly ever relaxed – mainly because I’m a combinationof both of you. I’ll be all super prepared beforehand (in my head at least) and then at the last minute I’ll decide to clean windows or sone other stupid random thing I think the guests need done on their behalf!!
At least I don’t have to do the cooking anymore, that’s the only thing that’s helped me ?
Tiff – haha… I’m glad it’s not just my OH!
Valankuay – That’s the thing – guests aren’t looking at your windows and judging the sparkle! Good food, good wine, good conversation and a clean bathroom. That’s all guests are going to notice
I cant wait to move out of home so I can have dinner parties! Although I have to say that I probably couldn’t care less how clean the windows are (unless theyre absolutely disgusting). I think you were a model of restraint with your hubby! I like the fuss free entertaining as well and don’t mind putting in the hard years in the days leading up to the event as long as it means everything is done and I can enjoy myself. I’m looking forward to seeing pics!
Katie – Your dinner parties are going to be ah-may-zing! What a cook!
And you’re so right about doing all the prep in the days leading up. We have a rule now – NO cleaning and NO shopping on the day. The only thing that should be done on the day is cooking. And yes, I was VERY restrained even though I wanted to let loose. No better way to spoil a dinner party than for the couple to be warring! haha
Whilst I agree with no shopping on the day, unfortunately with kids a lot of cleaning has to be left until the day of – as kids are messy and dirty (either that or be a harridan for a couple of days before anytime they drop the slightest crumb).
I just remind myself that one day they will leave home and I will miss them sorely – and having a spotless house won’t compensate for their absence
Oh, and my tip for getting them out of the house and under my feet whilst I’m cleaning on the day is to send them out to pick flowers from neighbors gardens (only those hanging over the fence of course). That keeps them from making mess at home, gives me space to charge through the bathroom and I get flowers for the table to boot!
Valankuay – Oh dear, flower theft gets passed down through the generations. There’s no hope for them!