Sunday, January 18, 2009

I Spy


Last night we had a pizza party. We invited three couples and their infants over to dinner. I was busy sliding pizzas in and out of the oven and didn’t have a chance to take pictures while people were over. But I did snap one of the table before our guests arrived. The table is busy and looks a lot like a I Spy book.

Can you spy six matching forks (and seventh in the dishwasher)? Do you see seven matching margarita glasses and one aberrant blue rimmed one? How many different kinds of water glasses do you see? (Hint: there are spaghetti jars, beer glasses and two glasses with chips in their base). Can you tell our plates do not match? Do you spy a flour encrusted apron?

Can you see the garbage which provided a late night snack for the dog? Can you spy a throw rug hiding a blemished wood floor? Do you see the open spot in the hutch that belongs to the pitcher on the table? Do you see blank spots on the wall where two of our haphazard chairs normally sit?

My point is ... we had a perfect little dinner party in an imperfect house with imperfect dishware and imperfect decor. But it was perfect in it's imperfection.

No one appeared to notice our dishware or decorating discrepancies. And if they did they didn’t say anything. Why? Because it didn’t matter. What mattered was gathering. What mattered was friends and family. Yes, the dishes were helpful. What didn’t matter is that they came from the thrift store. And if it did matter? Well lets just say those people wouldn’t be our friends.

The most popular pizza of the night was date, prosciutto and goat cheese topped with basil and parmesan. I’ve got left overs if you want to stop by ... we’ll be watching the game. The door is open -- come on in!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great post, Shalet! You are so right.

I'll be there for left overs! Wonder how long it will take me to get there from the east coast?!

Abigail said...

Love this post. It's all kinds of awesome. :)

Jamie said...

Your pizza combination's are so creative. One of our favorites is Granny Smith apples, mandarin oranges, cashews and goat cheese with a garlic/olive oil base. Mmmmm, mmmmmm, mmm!

I enjoyed your I Spy game. It really told the story.

Anonymous said...

sounds perfect!
its true that we have to accept the imperfections to have perfect moments with others. its something I deal with in this always under construction home of ours.

bridge

Amy said...

Sounds delicious.

I'm right there with you. Nothing in my house matches but it's never really mattered.

donna said...

It does sound perfect. I know I always get a little nervous when I go to a dinner party and everything is all color co-ordinated and matches perfectly. I make a mental note not to invite those people to my house because my house is mismatch heaven! So I always find it much more enjoyable and relaxing to go somewhere where people are more laid back and relaxed about details. Sounds like the food was a hit...and paired with margaritas...you can't get much better than that!

ELK said...

way to go it tuned out fabulous and such images to make us feel like we were right there~

Anonymous said...

My favorite is the garbage that was a late night snack for the dog. I can relate.

Thank you for inspiring me to do something fun with the breakfast on saturday for our friends - -

I was feeling uninspired because we have to talk about serious stuff.

Jessica

Anonymous said...

what a great idea! lucky friends of yours those are, matching dishes or no. i have great memories as a kid of having dinner with family friends (you would remember i think, this friend of my dad's) who were pretty eclectic. The food was different, the plates were either the remaining survivors of a set or a thriftstore find, and jam jars for glasses. They said thanks for the meal. They talked about real things. It felt good. That's the stuff! Even kids can feel it, what great lessons you teach them.