Planning a Party

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Andrea Summerhays

I love to entertain and plan a party!

Tonight I am hosting my Gourmet Dinner Group. We are a group of 9 high school friends that get together every month at a different person’s house to enjoy a gourmet meal. The host prepares the whole meal and we spend the night enjoying delicious food, great company, and lots of laughs.

This month has been a crazy month for us, so I turned to my darling sister Racheal for some party planning advice. She is a fabulous sounding board when it comes to planning parties. I am actually very lucky because I have three sisters and a mom that all enjoy entertaining. We always discuss menus and table setting ideas. Rachael has collected sets of dishes, napkins, and beautiful candlesticks and vases to decorate with.

She had some great ideas for me and sent me home with bags of treasures to use for my dinner table (pictures soon). While I was there I took pictures of her incredibly beautiful dining room too. Check out her floors, chandeliers and the beautiful windows. Her dining room is one of my favorite rooms in her house.

As you can imagine with a dining room like this she has hosted hundreds of parties. She is very talented and a wonderful sister and friend!

Now back to the party planning. Here are a few tips to help plan and carry out a successful party.

1. Choose a menu that doesn’t require you to cook it all at the last moment.
2. Start to set your table at least three days in advance.
3. Decide what servings dishes you will use for each course. Place them out on the counter the day of the party with a sticky note to help keep things organized.
4. Make sure that your sink and dishwasher are empty when your guests arrive for easy cleanup afterwards.
5. Finally the day of the party, first thing after you wake up, shower and do your hair and makeup. Then after all your preparations for the party are done, you can simply slip into your outfit, freshen up and you are ready to enjoy all your hard work.

Posted by Andrea

Sunday Suppers Blog

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Andrea Summerhays

I came across this blog called Sunday-suppers in the Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Wow! Check it out! I would love to be in attendance at one of Karen Mordechai’s beautifully set and tasty dinners. She is also the photographer, creator and stylist of Sunday Suppers.

She does have some suppers that you can buy tickets for if you are living in NYC or want to take a trip that direction.

Posted by Andrea

Five Course Dinner Party

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Andrea Summerhays

We wanted to reward the teenage girls at our church for earning their Personal Progress Award. We decided a Christmas Five Course Dinner would be just the ticket. I love to host a party so I decided that we would do it at our house. We had two tables, a red and green table and a green a white table. I used my Christmas dishes at the red and green table and my Portmeirion China at the green and white table. I received both of these sets of dishes at my wedding 11 years ago and I still love them. Registering for Christmas dishes is a perk of getting married in November.

Red and Green Table

White and Green Table

My Portmeirion dishes have bowls with botanical flowers all over them that don’t really fit with Christmas so I used some white bowls from a Crate and Barrel set of dishes. It is always good to remember you can mix different sets of dishes to pull off the look you want.

The centerpiece I had planned for table 2 did not work out. I went on the hunt around my house to find things to make a new centerpiece. I grabbed this wide white bowl, some decorative balls, candles, and some moss. I think it turned out pretty good if I do say so myself! It was actually really easy to do and most of the things you probably already have lying around the house. I will post a how to later in case you are looking for a centerpiece for your table for an upcoming party.

The Menu:

Appetizers:
Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Chipotle Cranberry Sauce Over Cream Cheese

Soup:
Tomato Basil Soup and Breadsticks

Salad:
Craisin and Pomegranate Lettuce Salad

Main Course:
Parmesan Chicken
Roasted Asparagus
Rolls with Raspberry Honey Butter

Dessert:
Creme Brulee

These are the cute deserving girls along with their leaders that helped put the evening together.

I made the creme brulee the day before the dinner and then let the girls sprinkle the sugar on and brulee their own custard. These heart ramekins were such a great find at Target a couple of years ago. They were on the dollar aisle and perfect for a Valentines dinner I was hosting that year.