Unusually we went out twice in one week and both experiences have made me rethink what constitutes a good night out. Of course good company and booze come top of the list, but after that, what separates a good night out from a really memorable one?
The first night out was with a friend who has lost a great deal of weight and has shrunk from a 16+ and is now in a Karen Millen size 10 dress. For her, the priority was to get really dressed up in her new wardrobe of clothes that she has dreamed of for the last decade. They had a big night out in London and were due to spend a fortune, so wanted our night to be a chance to dress up but not too expensive. I thought a local brasserie would do the trick and promised that I would wear something clingy (Herve Leger dress and very light suede jacket) so that she wasn't the only WAG there.
We started with a bottle of champagne at home and then hit the road, the problem was that the restaurant was really average serving expensive pizzas and lacklustre meat and fish dishes. You just knew that there was no chef cooking and most of the food was the boil in the bag variety that could be prepared by anyone with 10 minutes training. The bill was £140 for the four of us after wine, drinks, coffee, service etc, and what was meant to be an inexpensive night out was just a fairly pricey mediocrity.
A couple of days later we went to some friends who live nearby, with 3 children under 5, and just having moved into their new house, we got a hurried phone call saying only, 'Kids sleeping, barbeque on, come now and take us as you find us'. We drank until 2am, ate mountains of burgers and kebabs and polished it all off with pavlova and hot chocolate. Our contribution was a couple of bottles of wine and the pavlova, the beef was from a local farm as were the strawberries. Both the hostess and I were dressed in the local 'evening out' look,me, skinny jeans (Next), sparkly top(Temperley) and cardigan. Her jeans Jbrand, tunic top Tory Burch (we both thank live 5 miles from Bicester Village so outfit choices are not as extravagant as they might sound).
We had such a great evening that it made me question why we ever bother with those 'middle of the range' restaurants, with food that you could do yourself for a fraction of the price.
Now that most of our friends have teenage offspring, rather than babysitter-needing little ones, all other nights with friends will be home based and here are some of the ideas/my checklist that I was hoping will make this possible....
1. Make sure everyone in the house puts away everything that they have used during the day before they go to bed.
2. No more piles of ironing, wash and put away and iron at wear.
 |
| How my sofas look most of the time |
3. Always have a bottle of fizz in the fridge and some nibble-y bits in the larder. I must stop eating and drinking everything in sight.
Love these salads in jar idea, just add dressing and shake and great for lunch the next day...
5. Allow guests to bring something, when they offer, they genuinely want to help, so rather than saying no, I will let them do cheese or pud.
6. Work out how the chocolate fountain works (has been in the attic for years)
7. Interesting lighting makes any evening special, people rarely eat by candle light or fairy lights so I will make it memorable and it costs little, the 8 year old in all of us still loves tea light candles and fairy lights.
I bought these on ebay for the garden and they are brilliant and solar powered
In my head I'd love to have an 'open house' style evening, but the reality freaks me out...and plus if I'm having an off-day / confidence crisis it would just have to be cancelled. A good evening 'out' for me is in fact 'in', alone, with music and good wine. Sad, but that's what age (and exhaustion) does to you! Agree your BBQ gathering sounds far superior. And OH - to live 5 miles from Bicester....! Jealous much?! x
ReplyDeleteSometimes a night alone is total bliss, I always add a hot bath. I love seeing those friends you can really relax with, who won't make any judgements about the state of the house,food etc. If you ever you come to Bicester email or do a comment and let's meet for coffee there!
DeleteWill do! Would be fab to meet for a coffee :-)
DeleteWhat a great post. I am feeling festive just from having read it! Good question......I love to go out to a fantastic restaurant......It is about the clothes as much as the food, I think. My rule of thumb for entertaining at my home is that I only have close friends over.
ReplyDeleteI entertain family a lot, but it doesn't really count, it will definitely be close friends until I have perfected a stress free approach!
DeleteI can't bear having folk round, I find it too stressful, so I never do it, apart for my best friend who can slouch on the sofa with me anytime.
ReplyDeleteI don't like fine dining either, so I like to go out for cocktails and dress up a a bit, but we only do that once every 5 weeks or so.
A curry at the local Indian or a burger at a diner is my idea of heaven.
I was just thinking the way forward for getting to dress up has to be cocktails, but I wouldn't know where to go. Most of the places near here are very much student and 'yoof', there must be some where that is a bit more elegant!
DeleteI much prefer a good night at friends houses than out in town (unless it's a super swish swanky affair). For me it's about good company and good food. I am also happy at a pub with a good pie and chips (if done nicely and home made of course!). It riles me so much when you pay for crap food - it's not necessary!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou look beautiful in both your outfits
Fiona
x
I'm ok for Summer as we can all sit outside, but will struggle a little in winter since I have no dining room and only a teensy, tiny kitchen table, I need a creative solution!
DeleteI agree with you Fiona, there's nothing better than having family and friends round and entertaining at home. I love it. You can still get dressed up when entertaining at home its fun.
ReplyDeleteLovely outfits and such a cute little pooch xx
I'm glad you notice the star, that pic was all about her!
Deleteoh I love when my brother and sister in law invite us round.... they are great hosts... good food ( he is a great cook ) and wine and our kids play well together. Hate paying for rubbish food when you know you can cook better at home... so when we do go out we will only go to our favourite places we trust. LOVE your Temperely top my sister-in-law wore a fabulous Temperley number too our wedding.Oh I wish to live near to Bicester.....lucky things! xx
ReplyDeleteGreat cook are definitely not words that anyone would use to describe me, I tend to ply everyone with alcohol on an empty stomach, champagne usually does the trick, then they don't notice the food! Bicester isn't what it was, I used to buy Burberry trousers for a fiver, now it is full of coach loads of tourists who come with wheelie suitcases and shop like locusts!
DeleteFunny.....
DeleteI usually get tipsy on the bubbles if I am hosting.. due to nerves! Best at being a guest me . X
I love having friends over and entertaining although I'm known for not keeping still and appearing to enjoy it! I get a little OCD about the house and insist it is near as damn perfect before they arrive and continue to clean and tidy when we've finished eating, oops! I think I need to add some more drink into the mix! I always bake, even mid way through if they want more! But Nigella Express is great for quick fixes. x
ReplyDeleteI know I am meant to be in the nutrition business, but I think you could be right, you need to drink more!
DeleteUmmmmmm......what is Bicester Village please, I will google it but as I live in the mountains in Snowdonia Im afraid it means nothing to me ha ha!. I don't entertain at home ever. Would find it much too stressful but have lots of young people hanging around often(childrens grown up friends) but they just cook for themselves. My husband and I go out together for date night at least once a week either to a favourite well tested cosy restaurant or to the cinema and maybe Pizza Hut before. Im very low key and like my home to be my retreat from the world.
ReplyDeleteO and by the way, you are so naturally pretty and no matter what you wear you always look like its just thrown on and casual. Great look.