Oh What a Night! {Dinner Party time!}

The table, ready for dinner…

Wow…if you were wondering, the Dinner Party I had on Saturday was a great time! I am so glad I did it. I plan to do a follow-up post on just the food as I think my menu worked out perfectly and so I will share it in case anyone wants to replicate parts or all of it.

(View my post on planning the party and download a free printable HERE and view more on my tablescape HERE)

We all had a great time, and it was a ton of fun. I think we finally got up from the table at midnight! So obviously we can claim we “sat around for hours and talked and laughed over our wineglasses” (Just like those “Thirty-Somethings”!).  The best part was that we all agreed to make it a regular thing–and have already picked our hosts for next month. We may have to come in from our new home in another city but that would be worth it.

Anyway, it’s easy to get stressed out when entertaining, even good friends, so I did a few things that made my night so much easier and more fun for me. I had all my ingredients for dinner out and ready to go.

Getting Ready for Barefoot Contessa’s Shrimp Scampi

The recipe at hand

Before cooking everything was close at hand

We set up a self-service Bar, though my husband took care of most of the custom drink mixing (its kind of his “thing”).

A bar was available (with a picture of some of the guests above) and a drink menu on the side

And, most importantly! (ha ha) …I was able to relax for a few minutes before the guests arrived and have a taste of the special raspberry martinis my husband concocted for the evening. They were delicious! (and I promise I will post the recipe with the food recipes)

Don’t I look relaxed?

It did get a tiny bit hectic cooking–which took all of about 5 minutes–and only because I had to figure out how to serve everyone enough and not run out and get the food on the table while it was still hot. Luckily for me Terry’s husband took some food shots for me just as it hit the table. (Wasn’t that nice of him?)

Shrimp Scampi

Raspberry Martini

Guests Laughing and Talking over Wine Glasses

All in all, it was a very fun night. In retrospect, I did the party (with guests contributing salad and a vegetable side and some wine) for less $ then a night at a fancy restaurant (with a babysitter) would have cost my husband and I. And, I enjoyed getting ready and definitely had a great time the night of.  The only drawback of the evening…

Waking up to the Dishes

Thanks for stopping by!