Kwsl, your gathering will be a time of comforting fellowship and, yes, fun, and I'm sure people will remember it fondly.

In our community, you could log on to our uber-local FB group at 2:00a.m. and by 9:00a.m. have exactly the candles and coasters you need, loaned or sold, and then some. Love Friendly, Helpful Towns!

LOL at "candle and coaster emergency". Have a good time tonight.

Have a wonderful evening kswl. You are indeed a terrific hostess!

Can I come? I know you would like to round out your guests to 12. Well darn, just checked and I'm at least 13 hours away but I'm sure you would leave a plate so I can dine by candle light at midnight . . .

Sooo - were you calling these people at 2 am? :)

Your tables are always beautifully set and with good food and great company all will be good.

Have fun.

I'm glad your mini-crisis is solved and hopefully now you can relax and enjoy the baby shower and your dinner this evening. I'm sure it will be lovely and enjoyable. However your post now makes me wonder (and perhaps you too) as to whether you should relocate when you eventually downsize. Helpful, friendly towns where you know people and can rely on them are wonderful.

Maire

PS - your centerpiece sounds perfect, hydrangeas are my favorite.

I guess those are the great perks of living in a small town...makes me want to move to one!

I'm sure you're dinner will be lovely and everyone will enjoy themselves.

Thanks for the reminder that small towns really are great. Enjoy your party!

Are your goblets stemmed? If so, no coasters.

Love the centerpiece -- and that your network came through to get it all pulled together! I know this was a crazy hectic week for you so it makes it all the more wonderful that it all came together well!

I had a similar but different experience with my party yesterday. There was much less pressure since it was primarily family but the way friends and family pulled together to make my dad's day special was incredibly warming. I ran errands in the morning and at every stop, someone knew my dad and sent along well wishes for his birthday. That alone made me feel so good! As the result of busy schedules and some unexpected circumstances, a lot of the prep wasn't completed ahead of time. I just steeled myself and said I'd do as much as I could on my own to make sure that there were cold and hot appetizers and we'd go from there. As it turned out, people started showing up to help. My brother and his girlfriend, one of my sisters, two nephews. I was able to direct everyone to do what needed to be done-- all in my other sister's house. Strange kitchen, unknown recipes, wildly varied levels of cooking experience and still we were able to complete an amazing spread of food and kick off a wonderful party.

In the end we had too much food.. but everything was wonderful. My dad and all our friends and family had a wonderful evening!

Funky, you're a good daughter ----what a wonderful evening for your dad! Making something like that happen with the assistance of family and friends......been in a similar situation and It's both a joy and relief to know that you really don't have to do it all yourself and it's really more fun in the end when everyone helps. For all my worrying about detail I am no longer striving for perfection....I am trying to live the principle of not letting perfect become the enemy of good. And having too much food = takeaways for guests or several meals in the fridge or freezer!

I love your elegant entertaining style! Sorry the prep was so stressful but the final product seems perfect! Your community sounds wonderful and it seems from all your charitable hosting through the years, that they are lucky to have you too!

Kswl....your floral arrangements are beautiful and it sounds like everyone enjoyed the party. You deserve to collapse today!

That's the thing.. KSWL just doesn't collapse. She moves on to the next thing that needs to be done, the next event, the next project. I am in awe of how she can implement her visions.. an outfit, decor in a room, the perfect event. I cohosted a much more casual event yesterday-- it wasn't my house that had to be cleaned-- it wasn't my space invaded by so many people.. and still today, I have collapsed! I am ignoring everything I have to do and watching bad tv in pajamas!

Bad tv in pajamas days are my favorite! My cats love them, too.

KSWL, I'm so glad everything went smoothly but I knew you would pull it off. I very much admire your talent as a hostess extraordinaire. Your flowers are gorgeous!

Funky that is one of the many things I admire about KSWL. I'm glad your DF's party was a success.

Well thanks for those compliments ladies, they are more appreciated than deserved :-)

It is easy to entertain with the right help---family, friends or professional. If I had done the cooking we might have had sandwiches! But we do love to entertain, it is a special joy to welcome people, ply them with good food and drink and ask them questions about themselves. People love being asked about their work, their families, and their opinions on books and film!

And funky, my todo list for today went largely unnoticed as I was binge watching missed episodes of Elementary. Shhhh, don't tell!