Observation #4: Hosting a dinner party as a married person in your own home feels very different from hosting a dinner party as an unmarried person in your parents' home.
Okay, so maybe this will sound like common sense to most people, but I was a little surprised myself last night at how much I felt like my mom (or at least what I imagined she felt like) when preparing for friends to come over. My friends jokingly teased me saying "you're an old married woman now!" but really, that's how it kinda felt.
The maximum seating capacity at our little kitchen table is 6, so Kevin and I are only able to invite 4 other friends at a time (unless we just make it a big messy party and people eat everywhere and anywhere around the house) so we opted to make our first dinner party a couples' things. (To my single friends that I love, Kevin and I will soon invite you over too to a decent meal! I promise!) The Hans and soon-to-be Kims came over for some shabu shabu and mochi ice cream and yellow watermelon (what a surprise!), and overall I think it was a success.
Going back to what I was talking about earlier, I guess being a host in your own home brings about a different sense of pressure to treat your guests well and for your home to feel warm and welcoming. And then there's the fact that in all the previous house parties at my old house (even if it was my friends and not my parents'), my sister did most of the cooking... It was the first time I really cooked for my friends, although even this time, more than half of the real cooking was done by my husband (thank you again, honey!). Also, shabu shabu requires more prep than actual flavour-making and cooking. So it was a great option for my first dinner party.
We shared lots of laughter, so much so that the tension in our cheekbones from laughing so long and hard reminded us of our wedding day when we had a smile plastered on our faces all day long. It was a great night. :)
...But at the end of the night after Kevin and I sent the happy couples on their way home and finished washing the dishes, we realized one dinner party a month should be just about right. Haha.
When can I come for a dinner party ;)
ReplyDeletei love how you use yoon..... yooniverse is a good one.
ReplyDeleteI feel ya on the dinner parties... all i can think of is... "eat the food while it's hot!!"
I never got that when I was younger with my mom... i get it now.
We do like at least 1 dinner a WEEK! it's fun, but a lot of work. The community group I lead always includes food, so it's like a dinner party sort of.
Nice blog Jenn. Peace out