Things that went well / badly

[cjsmith]

1. The guest list had a big, consuming interest in common. MAN did people talk. I think this alone made the party a success.
2. We had enough wine. It is really handy that I had a bunch beforehand.
3. The cats didn't try to escape. They were actually quite social.
4. Tablecloths that drape close to the floor can hide a multitude of clutter-related sins.
5. The furniture layout with lots of room to move around worked very well. (We'd done a fair bit of rearranging.)
6. The trash and recyclables containers were sufficient and were well-marked enough that people found them with no trouble.

Not So Good:
1. Amount of food was way too much. This contributed to...
2. My feet. Food prep is not a sitting-down activity, and a lot of it is not stuff I could do ahead of time. By the time guests arrived I'd been on my feet for eight hours. I was in way too much pain to be a "good hostess" and mingle, bring people drinks, etc. I tried, but not very hard.
3. White wine was pulled from the fridge too early, so it warmed up too much. Keep extras in the fridge longer. On the flip side, the soft drinks can be pulled out into ice chests much earlier. (Fridge space management was a huge issue.)
4. (minor) People asked for permission to open wine. Next time we could put up a "feel free!" sign. We had signs on everything else!

Comments

[just-cyd.livejournal.com]

with the exception of your feet (which is HUGE), i'd say the "bad" things weren't so bad. no flaming tablecloths, no spilled red wine on white carpet.

lkeele always did food prep sitting at her (or my) kitchen table. i've tried, but just can't get the hang of it. not enough leverage for chopping, i suspect.

i hope you're able to take care of yourself today!! *hugs*

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Rob was able to get the red wine out of one of the tablecloths with vinegar. There's BBQ sauce on the carpet but I *think* I can get it out.

Yeah, I've tried food prep sitting down, too, and I just can't REACH stuff. I'd pick the ends off veggies that way (beans, asparagus), or I'd shuck corn sitting down, but I can't chop sitting down. There's no room.

Thanks!