Baltimore Nesties
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
s/o entertaining, a little poll
The post below got me thinking. So a wee poll for a late friday afternoon.
Do you like to entertain in your home?
How frequently?
Who do you entertain?
If you entertain, is it more formal, casual or both?
Are certain areas of your home off limits to guests?
Do you expect guests to just make themselves at home? Or do you prefer that they be a bit more reserved? (does that make sense)
Re: s/o entertaining, a little poll
How frequently? We've only done it 1-2/year because most of our friends and family live further away.
Who do you entertain? Er. Friends and family? DD's birthday party every year is mostly family with some close friends thrown in. I've hosted the occasional friend-event as well.
If you entertain, is it more formal, casual or both? Casual. I'm not a formal person at all.
Are certain areas of your home off limits to guests? I wouldn't say off-limits, but if I went upstairs to get a roll of toilet paper and found someone in my bedroom, I'd wonder what on earth they're doing up there. The entertaining, social areas of the house are the living room and kitchen, which are on the main level of the home. Unless they're ill or need privacy for some reason, I don't see what purpose they'd have to be in my bedroom.
Do you expect guests to just make themselves at home? Or do you prefer that they be a bit more reserved? (does that make sense) I would hope that people are comfortable in my home. Take off your shoes, tuck your feet under you on the couch, grab a throw if you're cold or tell me if you're hot and would like the fan on, help yourself to a beverage and seconds or thirds of the food I've put out for the event.
Do you like to entertain in your home? Yes
How frequently? At least once a month if not more
Who do you entertain? In-laws, friends, other family members, book club members, nestie gtg's. I've never had a work gathering at my home but wouldn't be opposed to it.
If you entertain, is it more formal, casual or both? both, holidays tend to be a little more formal.
Are certain areas of your home off limits to guests? Our house is setup so that our bedroom would be too out of the way for people and we just close the door letting them know they shouldn't be in there.
Do you expect guests to just make themselves at home? Or do you prefer that they be a bit more reserved? (does that make sense) Make yourself at home is my motto.
Do you like to entertain in your home? Yes.
How frequently? What's less than "rarely"? I'd like to entertain more but we just don't.
Who do you entertain? Friends and/or family.
If you entertain, is it more formal, casual or both? It's supposed to be casual, but I've found the few times we've had people over for dinner or something, they make fun of me for being "fancy". If a tablecloth and matching dishes makes me fancy, then fine. I also think because we have people over so infrequently, they see it as a bigger deal - like we invited them over for some special reason.
Are certain areas of your home off limits to guests? We generally keep people on the main level. The only time they'd go upstairs is to go to the bathroom (our main level powder room has been commandeered by our cats).
Do you expect guests to just make themselves at home? Or do you prefer that they be a bit more reserved? (does that make sense) it depends. If it's just BIL & SIL or our bff's (a couple), then its way more casual and they're welcome to get themselves a drink, and basically make themselves at home. With our parents, it's slightly more formal and I do prefer it that way. For some reason its a pet peeve of mine when parents see their adult children's homes as an extension of their own so I guess I'm a little more conscious of the fact that this is MY home when parents are there. I realize that may sound bratty. But anyway, this is never an issue because our parents are fine with boundaries.
However, when I first moved in with DH before we were engaged, I'd notice that his mom would come over while we were at work to drop something off or pick something up, etc. But she wouldn't tell us beforehand. That I wasn't comfortable with. Yes, we gave her a key but that's for when we're out of town or for emergencies. But, anyway, that stopped shortly after I moved in so it's no longer an issue.
BFP#1: 01/10, M/C 6w -- BFP#2: 06/10, M/C 5w -- BFP#3: 09/10, DS born June 1, 2011
BFP#4: 07/12, M/C 5w3d -- BFP#5: 12/12, EDD 08/18/13
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Do you like to entertain in your home? Yep, love it.
How frequently? Lately, not at all, but that's because our house is in total disarray. Once we're done with this reno, I'm hoping for once a month between friends and family.
Who do you entertain? close friends, my family. Rarely H's family. Again, once the reno is done I'd like to have H's family over more often, but their house is so much nicer and bigger than ours that it seems silly.
If you entertain, is it more formal, casual or both? - usually casual, but we do like to have a semi-fancy dinner party once a year.
Are certain areas of your home off limits to guests? well...it'd be weird if somebody decided to go use my master bath for example, but it's not off-limits. My guests do need to understand that I don't bother cleaning the "nonpublic" areas very often if they are going to venture into them. (i.e. my bedroom is a mess, and my makeup is all over my bathroom)
Do you expect guests to just make themselves at home? Or do you prefer that they be a bit more reserved? (does that make sense) My house motto is Pretend You Live Here. Get yourself a drink if you're thirsty, get comfy, and feel free to tell my dog or cats to buzz off. I try to be a good hostess and be aware of these things, but the last thing I want is somebody sitting there just putting up with some sort of discomfort because I didn't notice their glass was empty or my dog was bugging them or they looked cold.
This especially applies to overnight houseguests - I have paranoia about a houseguest sitting there hungry or bored or uncomfortable if they want a midnight snack or a book to read or my cat is trying to sleep on their head. Rummage! Eat! Drink! Ransack my bookshelf! Steal the remote! Kick the cat out of your room! go wild!
My Goodness...another food blog. Featuring: Macarons from a old post with a photo taken by my mom for a break from my crappy food photos!
How frequently? I would like to entertain more frequently, but it's usually only a few times a year.
Who do you entertain? Both friends and family...we had our first big family event here (Thanksgiving) last year and it was great. Tiring, but great!
If you entertain, is it more formal, casual or both? Definitely casual though I love the idea of a fancy Christmas party where everyone is dressed up.
Are certain areas of your home off limits to guests? Nope. I'd prefer people to not hang out in our bedrooms or DH's office but they're not "off limits".
Do you expect guests to just make themselves at home? Or do you prefer that they be a bit more reserved? (does that make sense) Make yourself at home. The less I have to do as hostess, the better
Someone's getting a little brother!
All right, I had a whole good response typed out then lost it so here goes.
We entertain frequently, at least (on average) once a week. This week I think it will be three times. I love it. It makes it easier to be able to just put the kids to bed and go on with our evening. We entertain family, friends, cooking club, and play groups mainly. It is almost always casual. There are certain areas off limits but those are because of the state of disarray that they are in not because they are personal. I want my guests to feel right at home. I don't mind if they help themselves to a drink or a snack, in fact I wish they would more frequently and save me from feeling like a bad hostess when I realise that someone doesn't have a drink.
Anybody that comes over frequently knows this and does help themselves.
Holiday Card 2011
The Baloney Bug, A Blog
Do you like to entertain in your home? yes
How frequently? a few times a year
Who do you entertain? mostly family and close friends
If you entertain, is it more formal, casual or both? casual- we usually only entertain for bday parties, football games, poker games, or summer bbq
Are certain areas of your home off limits to guests? yes, we usually don't clean upstairs, and shut all the bedroom doors to keep guests out- we also usually lock the dog in one of the bedrooms while people are arriving so she doesn't bolt out the door.
Do you expect guests to just make themselves at home? Or do you prefer that they be a bit more reserved? (does that make sense) I'd rather them make themselves at home- get your own drink dammit!
How frequently? I would have to say almost monthly. More often in the summer and less often in the winter
Who do you entertain? Usually friends but family comes to town a few times each year.
If you entertain, is it more formal, casual or both? Usually casual
Are certain areas of your home off limits to guests? No, I'm very close to the people I have over so I really don't care where in my house they go
Do you expect guests to just make themselves at home? Or do you prefer that they be a bit more reserved? I like for my guest to feel at home and help themselves to whatever I have.
Do you like to entertain in your home? I used to hate it during the college years, but I love it now. Back then I was way too concerned about my "stuff" getting ruined by careless college kids. :-)
How frequently? We have get-togethers at least once a month, if not more. Our major celebrations include a random huge summer blow-out, our annual Christmas party for friends, and Easter for the family. Birthdays are big celebrations too.
Who do you entertain? Friends and family.
If you entertain, is it more formal, casual or both? Very causal. I want our next Christmas party to be super formal and fancy, but I doubt that will happen.
Are certain areas of your home off limits to guests? Most people stay on the main level of the house, but they are more than welcome to take a quick tour of the house if it's the first time they've been here.
Do you expect guests to just make themselves at home? Or do you prefer that they be a bit more reserved? (does that make sense) I'd be peeved if someone was laying on my bed or going through my closet, etc. But I want people to be comfortable. Our group of friends has been very close for 10 years, so most people make themselves at home (ie: get a drink for themselves).
Do you like to entertain in your home? Yes
How frequently? We have a few couples over once a month then maybe a bigger party/cookout/celebration every other month?
Who do you entertain? Friends and/or family
If you entertain, is it more formal, casual or both? Definitely casual!
Are certain areas of your home off limits to guests? Nope unless you're one of our many friends allergic to cats, the basement becomes off limits for them.
Do you expect guests to just make themselves at home? Or do you prefer that they be a bit more reserved? (does that make sense) Make yourself at home! We're very laid back, casual people. I just want everyone to come over and have fun enjoying each others company.
Do you like to entertain in your home? Yes
How frequently? Probably something every month, at least every other month
Who do you entertain? Friends and/or family, I've had some larger Nestie/Bump gatherings too
If you entertain, is it more formal, casual or both? Post kid, very casual; pre-kid it varied
Are certain areas of your home off limits to guests? I don't invite anyone into our bedrooms or back basement, but I don't really set them off limits.
Do you expect guests to just make themselves at home? Or do you prefer that they be a bit more reserved? (does that make sense) I expect people to make themselves at home to a degree, but depending on who it is and how often they have been over to my house, I still try to make sure they aren't left to fend for themselves.
How frequently? When I used to stay home, frequently. After I went back to work, never!
Who do you entertain? Used to be our friends.
If you entertain, is it more formal, casual or both? casual never formal.
Are certain areas of your home off limits to guests? No
Do you expect guests to just make themselves at home? Or do you prefer that they be a bit more reserved? (does that make sense) Make yourself at home.
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