Hosting A Couple's Dinner Party

I was given the opportunity to host a dinner party for a church activity this weekend. Needless to say, I was planning for days. On Friday I promised that you would see my new table in "all her glory" I ordered japanese lanterns to hang at varying heights above the table, Mr. Right and I bought all new plants and 2 ficus trees to create a romantic secret garden, we would set up the fire pit for after dinner conversation... I could see my back patio transformed!

UGH!!! Mother nature strikes again! The clouds were building and the wind had been blowing all day, but it wasn't until 3:00 that I gave up on the idea of having an outdoor dinner party. Mr. Right was on his way to another activity so I quickly had him move our regular dining table into the living room (It seats 10, but only with the 2 leaves, which then makes it too big for our dining room) I wanted to use my new table, but it was too heavy to move on short notice. Mr. Right left and I began moving decorations in and out of the room- nothing looked good! At 4:00 I hadn't done my hair, make-up, or decided on how to decorate. Then... I thought of this picture Laura recently gave me- another huge frame, that she knows I love.

I quickly ran to the garage, grabbed a hammer and began knocking the picture out of the frame. There was no time to see if this would work. I used my Rustoleum Heirloom white and sprayed the front- okay now hair and make-up- After a quick (and I mean quick) make-over on myself, I returned to the garage to spray the back side of the frame. About this time Mr. Right returned from his activity to find me in a complete frenzy. "Is there anyway you can hang this over the table really fast?" I pleaded. You know I call him Mr. Right for a reason. Here's the frame hung over the table.Here she is all decorated up...

(I didn't get these pics until after the party, so the dishes were already cleared, sorry it looks a little bland)

We had a great dinner with Coconut shrimp appetizers (found the recipe at BlogChef- so easy my 11 year old made it- really) an amazing salad brought Couple #1, with crusty on the outside, soft on the inside rolls brought by Couple #2, Rib Eye Steaks (grilled by my 17 year old in the dark, in the rain), Baked Potatoes brought by couple #3 and an amazing icecream cupcake dessert brought by couple #4. We played a quick get to know you game that really turned out fun. It's called, Never Have I Ever. Each person is given a paper and pen. Here's what the paper looks like

Each person then takes turns saying out loud..."I have never..." Anyone who has done, what you haven't done, must check off one of their boxes. When all your boxes are checked, you're out. Some of the nevers were

1. I've Never gone skydiving

2. I've never broken a bone

3. I've never been to Mexico, etc.

Turns out the youngest couple at the party won! (They were only 20 and 21 so they've never done a lot of things) We ended with everyone sharing their how they met, how they got engaged stories. Each couple was then given a CD with a copy of the love songs we had played through-out the night. It was a fantastic evening! Wish you could've been there. Love, Kelly

Linking up to:

Make your Monday at Twice Remembered

Make it for Monday at Cottage instincts

Metamorphasis Monday at Between Naps on the porch