Tag Archives: dinner

the mismatched dinner

So we had a little dinner party last week.  Simple.  Fun.  Note to self; “You’re a detail freak.”  Oh… really?  Yes, I might look past the dust on the shelves. I only dust for my height.  If you are taller than 5’5″… Well – Sorry!  Honestly,  who really cares anyway; Right?  It’s not that I don’t care about my guests; I do.  It’s just that I would rather be tying fresh rosemary on the napkins.  Confession: I’m not a “matchy-matchy” person either.  It was intentional that none of the placemats matched. I also mixed up the plates.  And the glasses.  I want to re-do my “formal dining room” and make it my “informal dining room”.  And then USE it!  A lot.  I want to (gasp!) paint my dark mahogany furniture “shabby chic” distressed white.  I would even love to throw in a few mismatched chairs.  I know.  Weird, huh?  My daughter thinks I’m nuts.  I don’t think it took her 22 years to figure that out, however.  So I will keep you updated once I actually put my plan into action.  You know – “before” and “after” pics.  All that stuff.  In the meantime, I have my eyes open for unique vintage mismatched plates.  Or glasses. Or chairs…

cinderella soup

Some days are just “dress up days“.  The entire process of getting ready is well thought out and deliberate.  You select just the right outfit days (weeks?) in advance.  Your clothes are clean, pressed and hanging in delightful anticipation.  You light a scented candle.  There is soothing music and a long hot shower or bath…  perhaps a little “spa-like sugar scrub” first to smooth out those rough elbows and heels?  There are shimmery lotions to indulge in; your hair and make-up… flawless.  You feel like Cinderella going to the ball…

And then there are the days like today.  You have a laundry list of things to do, including laundry, and there aren’t nearly the hours in a day to complete your task list.  You feel good about the fact that at least you brushed your teeth and showered.  The best that you can do are torn up jeans and a clean t-shirt.  You will be going nowhere today.  There will be no make-up… flawless, or otherwise.  (You are feeling a bit like the BEFORE version of Cinderella…) After some time and (hopefully) several “check marks” later, your thoughts turn to a rather challenging matter.  Dinner.

It’s a beautiful fall-like day.  Soup would be delish.  Let’s see… Where to start?  What’s in the fridge – Any leftovers?  Nope.  I find a bag of “soup mix” for a corn chowder in the cabinet.  It looks boring.  No worries – Let the challenge begin!  I oven roast some potatoes and veggies, defrost some frozen leftover chicken, add in some diced tomatoes, a few slices of crumbled smoky bacon and a jar of Trader Joes Spicy Corn Salsa.  A sprinkling of fresh ground pepper and chopped herbs from my herb garden and… VOILA!!  We have ourselves a little dinner well on the way without ever leaving the house…“cinderella soup”.