After the Alterhostess | After the Alter http://afterthealter.com My Life as a Mrs. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:15:20 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Back To Being The Hostess http://afterthealter.com/back-to-being-the-hostess/ http://afterthealter.com/back-to-being-the-hostess/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 03:08:13 +0000 Jen http://afterthealter.com/?p=6043 dinner party

I have always loved to be the hostess. Whether its for a quiet night in, game night or a nice dinner party I prefer to have people over to my house. It’s not that my house is set up great to entertain (it’s not), but I just truly enjoy having people over. Am I good at it? Not necessarily, but it’s fun. That all changed when I was pregnant and especially when I had my son. For some reason I lost the desire to host things at my house. It was the dinner party that really got pushed aside. When my son was born I couldn’t even make dinner for myself let alone others. The good news is that after over a year I finally have that desire to host again. How great is that!? I’m back to being the hostess!

It kind of came out of no where. The Captain and I decided to have people over for New Years Eve. Even though we ordered in food, I brought out my china and crystal and we had a nice dinner. I lit candles and cleaned the house and it was fun! Then the next week I suggested we invite 2 couples from my Captain Awesome’s work over for dinner. This time I cooked! We did appetizers, entre (Rachel Ray’s Lazy Baked Greek Chicken)  and dessert and I loved it! The little guy was put to bed and I was able to start my night. I loved the feeling that I COULD do this.

Later that weekend I cooked dinner for the inlaws (meatballs and sauce), and again, I proved to myself that I can take care of my son, but still make things for others. I am sure for some it’s easy, but for me it all sounded so overwhelming for a while.

In the past I hosted wine tasting parties in the back yard, 80’s themed parties and murder mystery parties. It was so fun! I want to get back to doing that. Who doesn’t love a good theme party!?

My house will never be the cleanest,I will never be the best cook, and maybe someday I will have the perfect home to entertain, but I think what makes a great hostess is someone who looks forward to having the job. Most of all I like people to be comfortable. Sit back, relax and enjoy. This hostess is back….now what should I do for my next dinner party?

]]> http://afterthealter.com/back-to-being-the-hostess/feed/ 1 Last Minute Hostess http://afterthealter.com/last-minute-hostess/ http://afterthealter.com/last-minute-hostess/#comments Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:37:13 +0000 Jen http://afterthealter.com/?p=2497 My husband has 2 work Christmas parties every year. One is the management party in which I am invited to, and the second is for the entire office which I am not invited to. Last year the party occurred on a very snowy December day. My husband called me to tell me that people cancelled and if I wanted to come for dinner I was more than welcome. At the time, I decided I didn’t want to go out in the nasty weather. So I declined. Instead I relaxed at home…enjoying some alone time.. when I get a call from the dear Captain Awesome. This call was to inform me that a bunch of people from the office were coming over after the party. Now I love being the hostess, but this group of people included his bosses, as well as many people who have never been to our home! Not to mention that I had no snack food to provide! How was I supposed to show off our home when it was such a disaster! So I went on full attack and became the last minute hostess!

If I were the type of person who’s house was always clean, and at any given time if someone visited I would be proud, then there would be no problem. But this is not the case with my home. I usually use guests as an excuse to do a good clean. So I found myself running around the house cleaning in order to make it presentable. In the end the gathering was a success, and I was happy with the way things turned out.

Last Minute Hostess Tips

  •  Clean the bathrooms: Do a quick once over in each bathroom. Empty the garbage can, and clean the toilets. No one likes a dirty bathroom
  • Vacuum the floors. This is a quick way to get things to look neat and clean
  • Get rid of the clutter: it doesn’t matter how…either really put it where it is supposed to go, or shove it in a drawer or closet and deal with it later.
  • Dim the lights and light some candles: no one is going to notice dusty furniture in candle light. It will look like you thought out the ambiance, and it will make your house smell good
  • Put on some music: This will give the idea that you always sit around and listen to relaxing tunes, your guests will be impressed

This year I wasn’t going to be blind sided again. No sir not me! This year, I prepared for the last minutes guests. This year when Captain Awesome called to tell me people were coming over, I was able to calmly say…Alright Dear! So I cleaned the house..lit the candles and got the place ready. Wait for it…wait for it….then I got a call saying that they were going to the boss’s house instead! I cleaned in vain! I guess if you wanted to look on the bright side you could say that it can’t hurt to have a clean house. I’m not sure what was worse…being unprepared for last minute guests or being prepared for no guests at all? What do you think?

]]> http://afterthealter.com/last-minute-hostess/feed/ 4 The Art Of The Dinner Party http://afterthealter.com/wifey-wednesday-the-art-of-the-dinner-party/ http://afterthealter.com/wifey-wednesday-the-art-of-the-dinner-party/#comments Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:34:44 +0000 Jen http://afterthealter.com/?p=1356 2811157950_a08da7e19e_mI love being the hostess. That is no shocker to anyone that knows me. It doesn’t matter what is going on, I just know that I like when people come over to my house. One thing I really love doing, that I certainly don’t do enough is host a dinner party. I get very excited to use my china, and have people over and have great dinner conversation. But it seems, at least of the people that I know, that the art of the dinner party seems to have been forgotten. I know I certainly have a lot to learn, but I am very willing to try…and I think that’s a good start.

In books I’ve read, and TV shows I’ve watched the main character is invited to a party in which the evening starts out with some cocktails and moves on to a dinner in which they are seated next to a random person, and over the course of dinner they find that the person they are sitting next to is actually interesting…and a contact or a relationship is made. I think that sounds so fun! Having a dinner party that puts different groups of people together that you think would mesh? I guess I don’t know enough people to actually do that, but the idea sounds fun to me. But as a consolation, I have decided to start hosting dinner parties for my friends.

I eventually would love to play the corporate wife role and have my husband’s business contacts and friends over for dinner…but I need a lot more practice before that happens! Plus, our current home can only sit 6 people around our dinner table. So that pretty much limits who I can invite. For now I will stick to cooking with my friends.

How about the dress code for a dinner party? On TV and in Movies the people always dress nice to attend a dinner party. Women in dresses and men in at least nice slacks. Now, when I have people over everyone is in jeans. Is that just how it is? Am I just a victim of the TV shows and Movies I watch? Sometimes I have to remind myself that it’s not real life…but a girl can dream right?

 I guess I can forgive the dress code for now…at this point I will focus on getting great friends together for great dinner conversation,  good food (at least I hope so) and good wine. I’m bringing back the art of the dinner party!  So who’s coming over first? Any takers?

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