Glass set (lunch for 14 guests)

I was just looking through my photos and came across this one. It was one I took just before we had hoards of friends coming round for a sit down lunch. I always like to do sit down meals as there is something nice about the formality of eating at a table together. Here in New Zealand very few people do that. The order of the day is BBQ, BBQ ,BBQ and even on the odd occasion that you might be offered a Roast it is very rarely to a sit down meal. The strange thing about that is that most people who come to my house are really pleased at the sight of such a well laid out offering and tend to enjoy it. I don't know why therefore, people don't do it for themselves. I mean, is this not the purpose of the blog to show how easy it is too achieve a grand fayre at a well laid out table and with out incurring crippling, mortgage requiring funds. Everything on this table (well virtually) has been purchased at an op shop. I think that you will agree...well I hope that you do anyway... that it doesn't look too shabby and in fact looks quite elegant!


It is my mission in life to help people overcome their fears of entertaining well. I mean it's not like it's cost prohibitive is it? This glass table ware is a collection of sets that I bought over a period of time. Go and look at the "glass evening table" blog to read all about my exciting finds, and let me tell you it was exciting, but, I am very sad and do tend to get excited at such finds in the op shops. All I need to get now for this set is 4 more glass desert dishes and it is complete for 14 people. Every time I go "hunting" I look for the little bowls and several other bits that I need to complete dinner services which I bought as partial sets.






There is no doubt about it that a well laid out table adds so much to the elegance of any kind of meal from casual to extremely formal. No one should be intimidated by formal entertaining as its just not that hard. Fear is so much worse than reality I always find. Forgive me while I digress for a moment, a short while ago while out dining at a restaurant one of my friends started to make comments about how one of us should be having another party. The look was aimed straight at me. I politely stated that I would be up for a good party any time that they cared to invite me! I was met with the response that, They couldn't do it as I was the goddess at entertaining and there fore I should do it. I held my ground and said "why should it always be me?" "Because you are a Goddess when it comes to entertaining" came the response and "We can't compete with you!" "Nonsense" said I, and then said "'It's not a competition, anyone can do it. it's just a case of organising yourself". It did make me realise however, that what I do works and therefore if I can do it then so can anyone. I have yet to find anyone who doesn't like to be entertained and fed well at a gorgeous table.




Anyway here it is the big Sunday lunch. For 14 people if I remember rightly. I know that the chairs at the end are odd and kind of thrown together, but, that's ok. The table at the end has been added too. In my experience the kids like to sit away from the adults, so, I let them sit at one end. The table I use to extend my dinning table is very slightly lower, so therefore suits the littlies. They get to sit at a grown up table but without Mum and Dad watching their every move. The older kids tend to keep an eye on them too. The Mums and Dads get to be grown up at a family table. So win, win all round. If odd chairs bother you, then you can always get the covers that go over each chair and add a uniformity to the table. I might do that in the future but, so far I haven't needed to.