Dinner Games

We are blessed to live in a wonderful neighborhood, on a great little lane, with amazing neighbors.

The people who live on the ocean front host parties on New Year's Eve (the dessert house on the Progressive Dinner), St. Patrick's Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day.

Steve and I invited the two couples over to our house to say Thank You for graciously opening their homes to everyone so many times each year.

Steve, the super chef took care of the main dish while I was in charge of appetizers, desserts and the table.

I wanted to use red dishes on a natural linen tablecloth, but Steve wanted to use the large white bowls and I didn't want to cross the cook.

I like to mix and match my favorite colors so I alternated red checks and solid yellow napkins around the table.

You will notice that our table is TINY and that is because our entire cottage is TINY.

We do have an extension for the table, but no white tablecloth large enough for the extension so we kept the meal cozy.

A spatterware pitcher form my mother filled with yellow flowers sat in the center of the table, but was removed when we ate to make room for wine glasses.

I chose little red candles to keep the height low for conversation.

Steve made one of his specialities- paella.

I on the other hand had to cheat a little after discovering that my volleyball team had a Sunday afternoon tournament.

 I made individual caprese salads on toasted French bread for appetizers.

We all stood around the kitchen munching and watching Steve work his wonders.

Due to lack of time, I ended up buying desserts for a pastry tray with chocolate eclairs, a lemon tart, an apple tart and a mini cheesecake.

I didn't take any photos because we were all engaged in conversation from the minute our friends arrived.

We all know each other well from attending concerts, vacationing on ski trips, street parties, and numerous sunsets enjoyed together.

I thought it would be fun to create conversations on topics we don't normally discuss so I made a set of 6 questions and put one at each place setting.

Each person shared their question and we rotated around the table with everyone giving their answer to each question.

The answers were interesting to hear, but the discussions stemming from the questions were even more intriguing.

This question

was by far the funniest question because not only did everyone have a quick response to their favorite childhood meal, but they also remembered their least favorite meal too.

I had extra questions on hand, but everyone else had to work Monday morning so we saved them for another party.

A tiny cottage . . . a tiny table . . . great friends . . . great food . . .

added up to a lovely evening.

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I am sharing at

The Dedicated House - Make It Pretty Monday

Boogieboard Cottage - Masterpiece Monday

Little Red House - Mosaic Monday

Not Just A Housewife - Show Me What Ya Got

Dwellings the Heart of Your Home - Amaze Me Monday