About Us
en·ter·tain [en-ter-teyn]
verb
1. to have as a guest; provide food, lodging, etc., for; show hospitality to. He entertains guests: receive, host, play host/hostess to, invite (around/round/over), throw a party for; wine and dine, feast, cater for, feed, treat, welcome, fête.
2. to exercise hospitality; entertain company; provide entertainment for guests: They loved to talk, dance, and entertain.
ad·ven·tur·er [adˈven(t)SHərər,ədˈven(t)SHərər]
noun
1. noun: adventurer; plural noun: adventurers
a person who enjoys or seeks adventure.
cou·ple [kuhp–uhl]
noun
1. two of the same sort considered together; pair.
Our Story
We are Jon and Debbie, a happily retired, and now considered middle-aged, couple. We spend about half of our time at home, where we share a passion for entertaining. Jon usually handles the booze, music and grill. Debbie’s domain is the kitchen. But we do it together. This passion earned us the nickname the Entertaining Couple.
A few years ago we retired from full-time careers, both working for one of the most recognizable brand companies in the world. Most of the time, a normal work week was 50, 60 or even 70 hours a week. Yet we kept finding ourselves in situations where we were hosting some sort of party at our house. Which meant we had to find a way to merge real life with the life of of playing host and hostess.
After we retired from corporate life, we found more time, and even more reasons, for entertaining. We look for opportunities to gather friends and family together. We believe that big lives are made up of a lot of small moments, and those small moments are worth celebrating. There truly are reasons, every day, to celebrate.
Along the way, we realized that only half of our time was being spent at home in our house. Now we are telling the rest of our story as we share our other passion of travel and adventuring.
Our Approach to Entertaining
We prefer the relaxed atmosphere of partying at home, where we can share a leisurely meal and feel free to linger over that second (or third) bottle of wine without the pressure of vacating our table for someone else. And if we get a little loud and disorderly, the only one we disturb is the cat.
Along the way, the question we get asked most often is, “How do you do it?”
Entertaining comes in all shapes and sizes, but we have found recipes and routines that work when we’re hosting a party regardless of size or elaborateness. Big, lavish parties or small, (very) casual dinner parties. Birthday parties, cocktail parities, or TGIF blow-outs. Beer tastings or barbecues. Every party starts with a plan and a list.
Rather than focus on perfection, we focus on our guests and on achieving the feeling that the Germans call “Gemütlichkeit,” which loosely translated into English means “a situation that induces a cheerful mood, peace of mind, with connotation of belonging and social acceptance, coziness and unhurry.”
“The proverbial German Gemütlichkeit is difficult to explain. But you won’t go far wrong if you think of good food, good company, a drink or two and plenty of time to enjoy it all!”
We’ve learned that it doesn’t matter if our dishes don’t match or that we served meatloaf instead of prime rib. What matters is that we gave people a place to party.
Our Approach to Travel
It’s safe to say, our days of backpacking from hostel to hostel and travel on the cheap are long behind us. We want to go and see and experience but prefer a little comfort along the way. We plan all of our own trips and itineraries as well as book our own reservations. Once again, the question we get asked most frequently is, “How do you do it?”
The Blog
This blog is our way of sharing with you our entertaining ideas, our recipes, and our tried/true routines for making it all work as well as ideas to inspire and encourage your travel wanderlust. We’re here to help you get over the intimidation and anxiety of parties at home and travel abroad. In both cases, a good plan and a little confidence go a long way.
We can’t promise that it will be effortless but we can help you make it worth the effort.
Getting To Know Us In 60 Seconds or Less
- With the exception of about 9 months, during our careers we always worked for the same company.
- Debbie (aka “the Hostess“) considers popcorn a food group. Jon (aka “the Bartender“) considers beer a food group.
- It’s not unusual for us to order food from an online source when we can’t find the specific brand we’re looking for at our local supermarket. (Apple Jack cheese for our pizza, Ballpark mustard, Fever Tree tonic water, and Sweet Ginger teriyaki sauce, to name just a few).
- We are both fastidious about details, just not the same details.
- Jon is 12″ taller than Debbie, but we are both the shortest in our respective families.
- On average, we entertain in some fashion in our home 2 times per month. That’s about 25 times a year, if you’re doing the math.
- Our marriage is where technology genius and free-spirited creativity blissfully collide.
- Debbie subscribes to 2 magazine: Conde Nast Travel and Travel+Leisure Magazine.
- Besides food and entertaining, Debbie is the photographer while Jon is the web admin, bartender and music man.
- We are blessed to call La Conner, Washington home.
Thanks for visiting. You can learn more about us on Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter.
