A Christmas Miracle: 17 People Ate Brunch at My House

I've been working on a new post for about two weeks now to talk about an epiphany I had about entertaining. But it has turned into a novel, and since I know no one is going to read it, I'm going to do the Cliff notes version here.

• We haven't really entertained a large group of people at our house since just after we moved in almost 8 years ago. And by large, I mean more than 3 people (plus us).
• I thought the house was too small, too cluttered, too ugly, etc.
• Last year, I learned about the wonderful Sandy Coughlin and her blog and book, The Reluctant Entertainer.
• Because of Sandy, I decided that giving back to our friends was more important than having a perfect house.
• Plus, we will never have a perfect house.

So, we decided to host a post-Christmas brunch for a bunch of our friends. And, I'm so glad we did!

It was a lot of work - totally worth it, but a lot of work just the same. I was way too ambitious with food and made the mistake of leaving it open if people wanted to bring something. Result? We had so much food, it was ridiculous. Two weeks later, we are still working on the desserts!

We cleared off every surface in the kitchen to make room for the food and beverages. We cleared out the living room, leaving only places to sit and to rest plates, plus our bookshelves and entertainment center and the Christmas tree. All the Legos were banished to R's room. (We also put a little coffee table in his room for Lego-building, which has worked out great!) I bought two storage ottomans from IKEA, which provided extra seating and were the favored spot because they were right next to the radiator (so your buns get nice and toasty). We cleared out half of A's office, made the futon a couch again, and let the tweens hang out in there, playing video games.

My living room has never looked so good! I forgot to take pictures during the brunch, but here's the before brunch picture:

I can't tell you how happy this picture makes me. I keep looking at it over and over again. Of course I see the flaws (like the picture above the sofa hanging too high), but I think it looks homey and welcoming and comfortable - just like I wanted. One of my friends walked in, her eyes bugged out, and she whispered to me, "What did you do?!?!" It's that much of a transformation. The fire in the fireplace and my rustic candelabra on the mantle all lit up helped with the coziness, too.

We had a lot of fun with everyone, and we're planning to host more friends more often - just with less food. We're thinking a soup night - cook up one or two big pots of soup, invite the gang over, and people can bring bread and wine if they want. Something a lot more simple.

The biggest transformation for me, though, was in my head. Not only did I learn that I don't need to have a perfect home to host a gathering, but I also learned (thanks to Sandy) that the important thing about entertaining is making your guests welcome and comfortable. I really tried not to think so much about the house once it was ready (which was essentially focusing on myself - and I worked hard NOT to worry about the house too much ahead of time), but to focus on our friends and spending time with them instead of frittering about every little thing and busying myself in the kitchen. And, guess what? I think my being able to enjoy the event more made it more comfortable for everyone. When people arrived, the food was ready, and we could all just eat and relax. Who could ask for more on the day after Christmas? :-)

(And, yes, this was the SHORT version of this story!)

A few holiday pics: fondue, flying, and more

I hope you all had a very merry Christmas! (And, if you don't celebrate Christmas, take that to mean that I hope you had a day filled with love and hope and goodness.)

Our holiday break so far has been a fun combination of crazy times with friends and mellow times with just the three of us. Instead of relaying all the details, I thought I'd share a few photos.

This is my favorite Christmas morning pic: R at the kitchen table, assembling some of his many Legos.

R, full of Christmas excitement, goes flying through the air

R snapped this one of A and me during the dessert course at the Melting Pot

My boys making crazy fondue faces

More holiday pics and tales to come...

A Weekend of Holiday Preparations

My boys and I were busy this weekend, running from store to store, getting our shopping done. Luckily, we managed to get an early start each day, so the crowds and traffic weren't too bad.

The early starts allowed us to squeeze in some time to unwind, too. A visit to the playground. A drive up to the beach for some sea glass hunting at dusk. (R found tons of cold-stunned crabs hiding under the rocks.) Watching "White Christmas" and "Scrooge: A Christmas Carol" while wrapping presents and addressing cards.

I think I'm more excited for a week of moments like this than I am for Christmas itself. I'm looking forward to 10 days off - 10 days of very few plans, lazy mornings with my boys, snowflakes, cocoa, and assembling lots and lots of new Lego sets. :-)

First heartbreak

This afternoon, a woman broke R's heart. Careless words were said.

R hung his head all through dinner, not saying anything. He turned away and faced the wall. No amount of coaxing or joking could get him to feel better. He pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil and wrote, "I'm just not in the mood" when asked by A if he would talk to us.

I've never, ever seen him so sad, his little spirit crushed. No tears, just utter sadness.

I was the woman.

I feel like R will never love me the same way again, that we've crossed over into a different world and won't be able to get back to where we were before.

I was 11, I think, when I realized that my mom wasn't perfect. It was hard to accept then. R only had 6.5 years to believe that I was the one person in his life who would never hurt him. That is much too short.

When I started to cry tonight, R handed me a note that read, "I am sorey."

When I told him he had nothing to be sorry about, that I was the one who was sorry, he wrote, "It's okae. I luve you!"

I think R will be okay. We were snuggling before the night was over. But I know I will never be the same.

What Do They Put in Those Meatballs?

Now that the 30 Days of Thanks are over, I'm working on a new project.

I'm a bit late, but these are the makings of a homemade advent calendar. I wanted to make my own version of this one from Pottery Barn, but after what seemed like hours at the fabric and crafts store, I ended up going in a different direction. I found these fabric scraps bundled together, and I just fell in love with them. I like that some of them are Christmasy, but in a different palette than the typical bright greens and reds. I picked out the blue paisleys and green to coordinate. My plan is to make 25 pockets with the fabric scraps, sew them onto the muslin, and use the white label tag thingies for the numbers. I haven't sewed in AGES, but my friend lent me her sewing machine, so I'm optimistic that I can complete the calendar this month - even if we don't use it until next year. Wish me luck!

Today, the boys and I went to the Swedish Yuletide festival in Boston. We arrived in time to catch the St. Lucia procession, which for some reason freaked out R. He buried his face in my jacket and wanted to be carried, all 50+ pounds of him. So, we grabbed some cups of glögg and did a little shopping for Swedish Christmas decorations. I can't tell you what I bought because some of my purchases might end up being presents for my family! Although I can show you the candleholder below - the kind that makes the little brass angels spin around and bells chime from the heat of the candles - because I'm keeping it. :-) That's also the table I picked up from Etsy a couple of weeks ago.

The festival was really crowded, but we found a spot on the floor (literally) and ate our fill of Swedish meatballs, lingonberries, hot dogs, saffron buns, princesstårta, and other lovely treats.

We had a nice time, although next year we'll go a little later when the crowd isn't so thick. Because we learned an important lesson: Never get between a middle-aged Swedish woman and the dessert table. Goodness - I've never seen so much pushing and shoving! ;-)

A Blast from Christmas Past

As part of the preparations for my company's upcoming awards ceremony and holiday party, I've been scouring our network drives for old pictures. Look what I found!

This picture was from the holiday party back in 2005, and I had never seen it before. I can't believe how little R was! I remember that party because R spent almost the entire time climbing up and sliding down the stairs inside the restaurant, which was fine with me because it kept me from having to stand around and make small talk. :-)

Day 30 - 30 Days of Thanks: Discipline

This is it - Day 30! I made it!

On my final day of 30 Days of Thanks, I'm thankful for discipline. Which is funny because it's something I don't have much of anymore. (Case in point: The Halloween candy bowl.)

I undertook this 30 Days of Thanks project not only because I wanted to take the time to be thankful, but also because I wanted to force myself to write something every day. I wanted to do this for me, to make time for something that wasn't work or cleaning or being in charge of our little household.

It was really hard sometimes. I spent a lot of nights typing away on my laptop until 1 or 2 a.m. and got far too little sleep. I slipped behind in posting when I was sick and exhausted. I started running out of ideas even though I had brainstormed many posts in advance, before I even started this project on Day 1.

But I did it, and I'm really proud of myself. I'm thankful that I managed to squeak out enough discipline to get through it. It was fun, and I enjoyed the challenge.

Thank you for coming along for the ride - for reading one, a few, or all of my 30 Days of Thanks posts.

I'm hopeful that I will keep posting often - probably not every day, but we'll see!

In the meantime, I'm practicing a new discipline: making sure I get at least 7 hours of sleep. In fact, I'm off to practice that right now.

Happy December, everyone!