A Guide to Easy Entertaining

I love entertaining and gathering friends and family in my home. Although I don't do nearly enough of it these days unfortunately. When we lived in Perth, we seemed to entertain so much more. Perhaps it was the open plan space and large balcony with river views, or the fact that we owned our apartment. Now living in our 1930's rental in Melbourne, we don't seem to do as much of it. My goal for the second part of the year is to do more entertaining. By following these tips below, you might too!

Seven Tips for Easy Entertaining:

As soon as you greet guests, offer them something to drink. I love to have my bar cart set up with a few drink options (including wine, champagne and beer on ice and a cocktail) ready to go.
Place the bar cart in a position so guests can help themselves thorough-out the day/night.
Make guests feel comfortable by not having anything too formal unless the occasion calls for it. If it's casual drinks and nibbles, I like to sit on a pillow on the floor - this makes the vibe more relaxed and guests feel at ease.
Have something ready for guests to nibble on while you put the finishing touches on the meal. I love serving olives, dukkha, extra virgin olive oil and fresh bread. It's a simple crowd-pleaser. Another is my guacamole: avocados (tip: mash it with a whisk), garlic, lashings of lime juice, coriander and a tablespoon of sour cream. Serve with corn chips.
Set the table for the season using seasonal colours and textures. I've styled my table here with linen napkins in olive and linen table cloth in ice grey, both from Cultiver. Linen is a beautiful and durable fabric for all year-round.
Seasonal flowers and foliage are also a lovely touch. This time of year the Camelias are blooming outside my window so I snip a few from the garden and place them in small vases on the table.
Do you stress about having the house completely spotless before guests come over? I do, which is a contributing reason for not entertaining as often. A quick run around the house with the Dyson to pick up the tufts of cat hair does the job. It is also easy to shut off doors to areas of the house that aren't so nice to look at (that's my true party trick!).