I wanted to title this ‘spring having friends over’ because ‘entertaining’ sounds like it should be on the cover of Martha Stewart or some other magazine that would certainly not feature my hosting skills. I love having people though and we hope to host more friends through the summer. It’s selfish, really. Being at home means I can put Kaitlyn to bed then keep on rocking! And rocking we did. Saturday evening we had our friends, Katie and Adam, and their two cute kids over.
I was inspired/suckered in at the farmers market that morning and arranged an appetizer platter (ok, a pizza peel because I’m fancy like that), to which I had to fend Hailey off from until our guests arrived so they at least had a fighting chance of snagging a grape.
We had some time to play around that afternoon, so David got to try the sous vide chocolate he’d been reading about.
It was pretty easy to do and we used this fancy schmancy method to impress our 4 year old guest in the form of pre-made s’more crackers. We aim to please.
I thought they were pretty cool and they did the trick, turning ooey and gooey when topped with a roasted marshmallow.
It was a gorgeous evening, so we spent it all outside, kids chasing lightning bugs (ok, bug, singular, it was pretty slim pickens) and the adults chatting it up and grilling.
I’m pretty sure corn will make an appearance on every weekend menu from here until it runs out. Sweet summer corn just can’t be beat!
Hailey went to bed at 10:30 that night after her more-than-one-smore wore off, a new record I believe.
Sunday I was so pumped to have more friends stop by-
Kath, Matt and Mazen came by for a couple of hours before heading back to Virginia and I’m so glad they did! Kath is really just so easy and fun to talk to and David and I had a great time hanging out on the porch and chatting with them while Kaitlyn took a three hour (!!!) nap and Mazen and Hailey played. Mazen kept calling Hailey “sisssterrrr” and it was pretty much the cutest thing ever.
When they hit the road back home, I had to accept that our weekend playtime was over so David tackled our long-overdue yard chores hard while I tackled laundry and other indoor to-dos, like dinner and, oh yeah, watching the girls. (wink)
Surprise, surprise- more corn! It was my first grilled summer corn and arugula salad of the season and I’m looking forward to making it many more times.
All in all, in was a fun spingy weekend!
Do you enjoy entertaining or find it stressful?
Do you have a signature appetizer/drink/dish that you like to serve guests?
I’d love to come up with a signature drink- like a raspberry mojito- and learn to make it really well. Then I could trick people into thinking I had mad bartender skills… you know until they asked for anything besides a raspberry mojito…
emma @ be mom strong says
Kath! I’ve never met her but she only lives an hour away and I’ve been to her Great Harvest Bread Co.
I love entertaining but have yet to establish a go-to dish!
Carla says
I am so trying to get better at this and especially with spontaneity. This is the summer!!!!
John J. says
Social butterflies! Great pics. Weather made for partying. Ya did it well! And so did we by going out: Corrado’s, Gaby’s by boat, and the Boathouse.
Kathryn Doherty says
I love getting together with friends! I try to take the stress factor out by having some things always on hand and ready to go, so I have less prep to do. (Ie, candles, pretty napkins, drink mixers, whole wheat crackers…) I love making hummus or some sort of bruschetta or baguette with spread for snacking on. And grain or bean or veggie salads to go with whatever we want to grill. And yes – yay for corn season!!
We love old fashioneds but I definitely want a lighter, more summery drink to whip up as a signature. Maybe fresh strawberry margaritas? Or some sort of spritzer?!
Brynn says
Your food always looks stunning! I don’t serve a signature drink, but always have two bottles of wine on hand, which does the trick. And my menu is always based around the season and the fruits and vegetables that are at their prime.
Kath says
Thanks again for your hospitality!!
Elaine says
My husband and I close on our first house a week from today (eek!) and hosting friends like this is one of the many things I’m looking forward to! I can’t wait!
tiff @ love, sweat, & beers says
I love entertaining, and goodness knows we’ve been doing a ton of it! I like your intro comment about “entertaining.” I guess I mostly refer to it as hosting since we’re hosting company, but I’m not sure how entertaining I am. haha
Heather says
Entertaining always stressed me out a bit, but I like to do it anyway. It’s easier for us because I can get the kids to bed more easily, but I do enjoy it as well. I don’t really have any signature drinks or food, but everyone seems to enjoy when we have homemade mac and cheese (we set up different add-ins that people can choose to throw in).
Elizabeth Evans says
I usually really stress out when entertaining. Just recently I’ve started to enjoy myself, and it’s because I’ve come to accept that it will not be perfect and time is short lived so you better live it up now!
Erin @ Her Heartland Soul says
Ohh now I’m craving smores!! And yay for blogger friend get togethers! So fun!
Heather@hungryforbalance says
I LOVE the thought of entertaining, but the reality usually stresses me out so much that I am probably no fun to be around.
A signature cocktail would be so cool to have- and you could just make a rule that you only make that one. If people wanted something else, they could play bartender, too 😉
Sarah says
I bought my husband a Vitamix last Christmas and we are just getting around to discovering the cocktail recipes that are in the Vitamix cookbook (since baby is here and I am no longer pregnant!). I love their cocktail recipes because the ingredients are fresh and minimal. For example – the margarita recipe is just tequila with lemons, limes, and oranges. And salt for the glasses of course! It makes me feel a little less guilty about downing delicious summery cocktails when I know they’re not made with those sugary, syrupy drink mixes sold in the store.
Liz @ I Heart Vegetables says
That’s so fun that you got to catch up with Kath! We have tons of bloggers in Virginia which is one of my favorite things about living here, haha 🙂
Sounds like such a fun weekend!
Jen says
Oh my gosh, you sound so happy, I love it! So, I would love to entertain more, but it seems like all of our friends live far away these days. We just got back from a great time up north seeing friends and family, and now that we’re back home, I wish we had more people to come hang out with us! Since we have a 13 month old, we definitely need people who can come over so we can actually do something past 6:30 pm….
Ashley @ My Food 'N' Fitness Diaries says
I’m with you on the sweet corn Girlfriend! It always makes lots of appearances around here during the summer months. Glad you had a fun weekend!
Brittany says
That hummus spread looks great!