Thursday, May 07, 2015

Mission Control



Well hello everyone. Today is a big day in the United Kingdom, it's our general elections! We cast our vote shortly after 8 am and I have to say I was surprised by how quick it was. We did not have to wait, there was no queue, we just walked in, made our mark and walked out. Of course it is lovely not to have to spend hours queueing which has always been my experience when living in South Africa, but it is a bit disconcerting and I hope that it is not a sign that people are not voting.

Anyhoo, tomorrow we shall find out who will be running our country for the next 5 years - exciting days :)

Speaking of exciting days - I am currently planning my DH's and DD's birthday BBQ which is this Saturday. Below is my A5 Filofax Malden which I use as my 'mission control' for all things related to my home and any work relating to my Etsy shop, writing deadlines and blog. I'll be sure to do a post next week some time giving you a tour through my planner.


So like I was saying, this Saturday we are putting on a South African Braai (that's an Afrikaans word for BBQ) for DH and DD. We have around 16 people coming and I'm doing all the catering, so planning is essential.


I started my planning with the guest list and all the details of the event, the whens, what's, hows etc. Then I put together a menu which consists of some interesting dishes for our guests, a dessert bar and drink options.

I then split the work over three days - two days before and on the morning. I printed out my recipes for various dishes and popped them into my planner along with an allergy card which has a list of foods that one of our guests is unable to eat. All catering takes her food intolerance's into consideration - I don't want any of my guests to feel awkward with limited choices due to allergies which are beyond their control.

Look at the colour of that Watermelon Lemonade! Just stunning - tastes good too :)
I've spent a large portion of today shopping for all the groceries I need and I have made the drinks - Crunchy Punch (delish) and Watermelon Lemonade. On the day I will garnish the lemonade with mint leaves and lemon slices and put the crunchy punch together just before the guests arrive.

Here's a quick look at the menu:

Main Meal

Boerewors
 (Afrikaans name for a South African speciality - literally translated it means 'farmers sausage')

Chicken Skewers 
(for those who might not be that enamoured with the boerewors)


Mediterranean Potato Salad

Cheese and Onion Home-baked Bread (no yeast)

Garden Salad

Roasted Butternut

Beetroot Salad

Drinks on Tap

(you can probably make out my recipe in the photo above but if you can't I have linked a recipe found on Pinterest)


Dessert

Ice-cream Bar with lots of topping options



Marshmallows for toasting on the coals

tea and coffee to follow

BTW - for those of you living in England I bought the drink dispensers from The Range (this week) for around £14.99 each. I think they are fabulous to have for entertaining. Something to note however is that you should only fill them 2/3 of the way. If they are full up the pressure does not release the liquid - I found this out after twiddling about for ages with the dispenser in the picture above. It is now 2/3's full ;)

Blessings to you all...

7 comments:

  1. Good Afternoon Shirley, My vote has been cast.... actually I did it by post 10 days ago... we are now eagerly waiting to see which party wins tonight.... George, my husband has the tv on watching what is happening.
    Thank you for the tip about the drinks dispenser, I saw one in TK Max and thought it would be useful, I would never have imagined that it could not be filled completely.
    I love the menu you have created and the watermelon lemonade sounds fabulous..... I too have a 1980's filofax which I use for family events.... I just can't let it go, it is filled with Christmas lists and holiday lists from years gone by. I think my daughters will love reading it in the future. I look forward to finding out how you organise your filofax.
    Best wishes
    Daphne

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  2. I wouldn't be concerned about the low turn out. If it's like elections here, people probably thought 8 was way too early to be up voting :) Could you imagine NA/UK people lining up for hours and hours to vote?? Nope, they would just stay home and complain.

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  3. OK dear.....what time and can I bring my whole family.....there is only 23 of us. HaHa. Looks fabulous.

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  4. I am with Wanda, what time do you want me??? It all sounds truly wonderful. Hope the weather is good for you and that you all have a great time.

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  5. Oh wouldn't that be lovely? To have a BBQ with all my lovely bloggy friends!

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  6. Love your party plan. I store mine from year-to-year to use as templates for next year's party.

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  7. That sounds like a mammoth party. Hope it went well.
    On another subject, I've just updated my UK Christian home educators blog list and included yours. Hope that is OK.

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