When your friends make you better hosts

Carmen got promoted to senior project manager last week, and somehow we ended up volunteering to host the celebration dinner. Not entirely sure how that happened, but Jake and I have learned that when Carmen gets excited about something, resistance is futile.

When your friends make you better hosts

Turns out we actually make a decent hosting team when we’re not overthinking it. I handled the main course (finally nailed Abuela Rosa’s arroz con pollo recipe), Jake took over appetizers and kept everyone’s drinks topped off, and our friends basically made themselves at home. Sarah brought her famous chocolate cake, Alex showed up with enough wine for twice as many people, and Margaret surprised everyone by staying past 9 PM.

The best part was watching Jake get genuinely excited about playing host.

The moment Jake told the story about his first day trying to keep up with my morning routine

He spent twenty minutes explaining his new theory about optimal appetizer timing to anyone who would listen, complete with hand gestures. Carmen was crying laughing by the end of it, which I’m choosing to take as validation of our hosting abilities rather than evidence that we’re ridiculous.

Six people, three bottles of wine, and way too much food later, our apartment feels bigger somehow. Like we finally figured out what this space is actually for.