Take a group of old school friends, a few bottles of prosecco and a spread of delicious nibbles and you have yourself an evening full of giggles and fun. Coming back from the other side of the world for a few weeks, I couldn’t help but plan an evening with my favourite girls involving good food and plenty of booze!
Always being one for a cheese board and regular customer of our local wine bar, I had to provide a platter of delicious offerings including lots of fruits, pickles, cured meats and chutneys to accompany the carefully selected array of cheese. Also known for my love of creating and consuming beautiful salads, I made a salad inspired by a recent visit to Cote Brasserie which included apple, currents, walnuts, goats cheese and a honey mustard dressing. A board of fresh french stick with oil, balsamic and basil leaves was the perfect accompaniment to complete the nibbles table.
When originally planning the gathering, I had envisioned using my bar skills and putting together some fancy cocktails. However I was far more concerned with getting the food prepped so opted for pink sparkling and endless bottles of prosecco to quench my guest’s thirst. My mum even kindly lent us her stunning antique prosecco coupes which were the perfect prop for photos too.
Another important component to creating the perfect setting was the music. I linked my spotify to the speakers and put on my go to chilled house music mix from Majestic Casual. Some cute fairy lights and candles made for a cosy setting around the coffee table – the girls said it looked like Christmas in there!
I wore my new knitted jumper which I’d spotted in a little boutique in Farnham along with my favourite ruffle suede mules from Zomp Shoez in Sydney. When the girls arrived at 4pm I couldn’t wait to pop the bubbly, relax and catch up on life with my friends. It couldn’t have been a more perfect setup in which to enjoy each other’s company and soak up the time with my girls.
Of course we had planned on moving the night onto the local club in town and having started in the late afternoon, by the evening we were more than ready to let our hair down on the dance floor. This is where the night got a little more boozy as we ordered in the tequila shots and jaeger bombs! Let’s just say there were definitely some memories made and stories to be told…
Dani Aneka 