Leave your Limitations Behind!
I love decorating and creating ambience in my home. I don’t like to cook, but I love fixing up my house and making it a pleasant place for guests to spend time! I wish I was one of those women who is always making something delicious in the kitchen, but working with food just doesn’t interest me as much as being creative with my home. I would be happy as a clam if I had a personal chef living with me who would fix our meals!
I really do enjoy the process of creating a pleasant atmosphere in my home — just like some women enjoy spending time preparing a new recipe!
Does that mean my house is perfect? NO! Come on over and you’ll see unpacked moving boxes and half-completed projects. You won’t find a perfectly decorated house, fancy dishes, or an impeccably clean house either. But I do love to tidy up my house a little bit, light the candles, clear off my coffee table and make sure that my guests enjoy the experience of being in my home while we connect in conversation.
But, what about the food? I don’t want my guests to go away hungry!Â
We all have different things we enjoy doing. And we all have our limitations. We just need to find our own style of entertaining and do what works for us!
In order to open my home to others on a regular basis, I have assembled a few basic recipes that I can make for guests. My meals may not be fancy, they may not be gourmet and they probably won’t impress those with culinary skills! And that is O.K. To make it even easier to entertain often, we sometimes set up a taco bar, have ice cream sundaes, or even (gasp!) a Costco meal. And you know what? It is all good!
I have finally made peace with my limitations and am willing to invite guests over even if my cooking skills are somewhat lacking! It isn’t about the food, or the house, and now that I have found my style of entertaining, I can have people over and really enjoy their company!
What are you own limitations in entertaining and what ways can you overcome them?
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
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We have a pretty good system for parties on short notice, but I have to say the biggest hurdle to stress free entertaining is occupying the kids. We are blessed to have a couple close friends with high school girls who for a small fee will watch the kids and help keep them entertained. Their parents love to be invited and their girls get a little spending money (and a few treats from the party table).
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I loved reading this and had to link to it today. http://www.perfectsentiment.blogspot.com/
It’s so easy to get wrapped up in it all and this was just such a nice and refreshing reminder.
THanks!
It helps me to remember to focus on others and not be self concious about myself. When i take my mind off me and what others *may* think and just think of ways to serve my guests and help them feel cared for. I have to many limitations, if i thought about them when askin folks over it would NEVER happen :-)!!tammy
Thanks everyone for opening up your hearts and sharing your stories! And thanks to Sandy for encouraging all of us to push past our insecurities to open our homes!
(and thanks for having me here Sandy!)
blessings,
Melissa
My husband once invited about a dozen Mexican nationals, who were training at his plant, over for dinner. Only one spoke a little English. We set up a couple of long tables in the driveway and cooked out! It was such a blast and they appreciated visiting a home, with food that was real. They even showed us how they roast corn on the cob and the jalapeno peppers that I had set out on the tables. Fun!
Hmmm. I don’t cook but fortunately my hubs does. I like things fun and casual. I don’t have sit down dinners because they intimidate me. Plus with such a range in ages (my girls are 4-14) it’s easier to plan little pockets of fun for different aged friends here and there.
I used to have a beautiful formal dining room that had French doors attached. I loved that room and I could set the table ahead of time and be all ready for company.
Now I have a small home with a tiny “dining room area. It stopped me from having lots of people over at first.
Then last May, we hosted an open house for my son’s high school graduation. We bought an extra table for the deck (just a $99.00 set from Menards to go with our other small set) and borrowed a long table from friends.
I don’t know why it took me so long to realize I DO have a big dining room… the deck!
I think my limitation is in the home ambience part of it all. Not my lack of knowing, but my lack of $$$ to do it. yet at the same time, I do what I can with what I have. I have to work on not allowing myself to compare myself with others.
I love having an open home and don’t want little insecurities to stop me.
Cleaning is one of my least favorite things to do. I can always find an excuse not to. so entertaining friends brings me to a place where power cleaning is good! Cooking is an okay thing with me. If it’s my lady friends my quick and tasty chicken salad is always a winner, even if they’ve had it before. For us it’s not so much about the food but the fellowship and the laughs we enjoy.
Thank you for the teacup idea. I rarely use the little coffee cups that go with my dishes (which by the way used to be my good ones only and now are everyday dishes). I will try votives in them this next time my friends come over.
Wonderful post, Melissa! Thank you!
I’m not much of a cook either, and I find inviting people to lunch or dinner very stressful. So what I do instead is to invite them to tea. :-) I recently bought the mini tea cake and petit fours moulds from Nordic Ware, which lend a definite wow-factor even to the most simple cake. And what’s even better: thanks to their itty-bitty mini size, you can easily stockpile the cakes in the freezer, and get them defrosted within 15 minutes (5 min + 10 min in the oven).
Sandy ~ I received my yummy looking appetizer prize today! How fun is that?? Thanks so much! Now I need to entertain! :)
A person after my own heart. I have never enjoyed cooking-I do it out of necessity. both of my brothers are better int he kitchen than I am and my mother can make food that is to die for. I just tell everyone that all “cooking” genes missed me.
My issue with entertaining is being too much of a perfectionist. I “obsess” about every detail before a party. My husband always tells me to relax! One thing I gave up is “super cleaning” the house before guests. Honestly, it just gets messy when you have a party, especially with kids. Now I just “super clean” after the party and put my house back in order then.
GREAT POST MELISSA!
What a great post! My problem is the space issue. We don’t have a dining room and our drop-leaf table will seat 4, uncomfortably, in the living room once the couch and coffee table are moved. Hubby and I are working on it, though, by creating an outdoor entertaining area on a budget, over the next few months.
I do love to cook and the house is almost always company-ready (it’s just the two of us, so it’s easy), so we’re ready to really start entertaining!