“Wow, this is delicious, Kristen! You have to send me the recipe for this vegan alfredo sauce,” our dinner guest exclaimed.
Moving into our newly renovated condo has inspired Andrew and me to host dinner gatherings for a few friends each month.
Never one to entertain, hosting a dinner at my house is really stepping outside of my comfort zone.
At the risk of being called anti-social, I frankly just want to spend quiet evenings at home with my husband (the kids are not often around anymore in the evenings) and the last thing I ever feel like doing after a busy day talking to clients is talking to even more folks in the evening.
Plus, being a perfectionist, I always had great excuses about not having the perfect venue to entertain.
Our house was too cluttered.
Or too dirty.
I didn’t have enough seating for everyone.
I’m not a very good cook.
Blah, blah, blah.
But, all of my excuses notwithstanding, I frankly did want to start showing off our condo with its minimalist décor and killer view of the Sound.
And I begrudgingly have to admit, deep down I really do enjoy talking to new people and rekindling old and forging new friendships.
Last Friday night we hosted a couple from Peru and their adult children who were visiting from NYC. Spanish was their first language and they are all avid world travelers. Plus, most of them were vegan which afforded me the perfect opportunity to showcase my new favorite vegan recipe, Fettucine Alfredo, which decadently tastes anything but vegan.
I realized that the dinner and its “flow” didn’t have to be “perfect.”
We served ourselves from the kitchen counter.
Some of the food was cold because I hate cooking after guests arrive and would rather have everything prepared and ready in advance so I can spend time visiting instead.
We all sat on the sofa around our small coffee table to eat, balancing plates on our laps.
You know what? It worked out beautifully. The conversation was animated and diverse.
We laughed, we shared ideas, we discussed our favorite places to travel.
It was a beautiful night.
Would the evening have been even more enjoyable sitting around a large dining table with piping hot food? Maybe but I wouldn’t have changed a thing about the evening.
I often hear excuses from clients that they postponed getting their estate planning affairs in order because they didn’t have all of the details worked out in advance to share with me.
Well, guess what? That’s what your estate planning attorney is for—to help you work out all of the details and to discuss contingency plans.
No, we don’t have a crystal ball so we can never formulate the PERFECT plan.
But as General George Patton is credited with saying, “A good plan implemented today is better than a perfect plan implemented tomorrow.”
I encourage you to follow my lead with dinner entertaining, and don’t hold out for the perfect plan because it will always remain elusive.
A good dinner party shared with old and new friends today is better than the perfect dinner party postponed for tomorrow.
Kristen "Call Me Martha Stewart" Marks
P.S. Call me when you're ready to get your "good" Florida estate plan in order for your loved ones. After all, they deserve a good plan implemented by you today rather than wait for the elusive "perfect" plan implemented tomorrow. 850-439-1191
