Beachy Tablescape & Easy Entertaining

We had friends over on Saturday night and we wanted to sit out and enjoy watching the evening draw in before it gets too cold to sit outside at night.  I set about the table with not much forethought and had forgotten to buy any flowers from the market so I ended up scooting round the Beach Cottage with a basket filling it up with things I could use and grabbing some hydrangae's from the garden whose colour was not quite right, but this is not about being perfect right?

roughly plan the meal once the invitation has been accepted and once you've set it DO NOT SWAY FROM IT, you want pizza have pizza, do not start elaborate planning of courses that will send you into a spin, I've done this before and it's led to me having to lie down in a darkened room

know your limitations, I am no baker or desert maker, I normally ask the guests to bring a desert or buy something like a French Apple Tart from the patisserie or just have cheese and biscuits…at the moment I am the not-so-reluctant baker and am gradually building up a repetoire of eye-shut-recipes

use other people's knowledge – search the net for easy menus, easy 'entertaining' ideas and what I did for this one is phone a friend –  a very good friend of mine pulls off hospitality with what seems like little effort, she likes to cook similar things to me, likes to dress the table, but with not too much palaver, so I swiftly got on the phone to her last week and asked her what she's been cooking lately and what's good – we poured over the same cookery books each end of the phone, rating what she'd tried… which led me to the pudding and it was a true delicious no-brainer of a success!

do-ahead – I hate to sound all apron-wearing-boringly-organised but  I try to prepare ahead and find recipes that can be put in the oven a coupla hours before they arrive, can be slow cooked all day (love love love my crockpot) or if my brain cannot go to thinking about a menu I stick chickens into roast surrounded in little fat-laden roast potatoes, you won't find too many complaints there and you'll have a cottage oozing fragrant domestic-bliss.  I steer well clear of pasta, stir-fry or anything that requires me to stand in the kitchen and stir, watch or foof.  To lose the stress I need the security of something sitting in the oven, me happy in the knowledge that it's just there and ready 

lose the starter/entree – buy bits and bobs from the deli for a loaded platter, a wedge of cheese/sausage or of course posh chips or a tub of dip and some pitta

I don't like the idea of some regimented itinerary of tight planning but if I can I do set up earlier in the day and there's no fretting involved just a bit of ya know clarity – I go through what I might need during the course of the evening and shove it all on a side table or on the counter – the dishes for the food, extra glasses, coffee cups, cafetiere so it's all out and I won't be delving around on my knees in cupboards looking for the milk jug

delegate, delegate, delegate – those kiddos can get the basics on the table, Miss Beach Cottage made the desert for this one, Mr Teenage Beach Cottage set the lighting and the candles, Mr BC did the shopping (oh yeah people I am so there!)

get the beverages sorted, stacked and cooled and keep em flowing & if all of the above and all else has failed have a glass of wine, or as in my case, beer