Sunsets and Cocktails
There is much in my life that I am proud of, but one thing that really needs to change is my use of Social Media as a crutch in my downtime, and I know that I am not alone in this. Are you, like me, spending more time watching other people live their lives than you spend living yours?
Has your home and phone replaced connecting with real people, face to face?
For me this changes this year. I want to see people and experience life beyond an iPhone screen, but still in the comfort of my own home.
I turned to ChatGPT, or as I affectionately call it, Laurent, to provide some inspiration on how I could incorporate more gatherings and friendly catch ups into my year. Here is the prompt that I used:
Let’s plan 12 months of family and friend gatherings for the next year. Let’s make it a combination of Sunday lunches, Saturday evening catch ups, afternoon tea parties and cocktails at sunset.
The response was exactly the starting point that I needed. I got a mixture of events that will bring people together, each with its own theme, menu, colour suggestion and vibe.
So, this year I will work through ChatGPT’s suggested plan, and provide feedback on how it went, what I tweaked and what I will never, ever, ever, do again.
I want to create memories with those that I love so that I will have many happy memories of time spent with those closest to me to reflect back on. The key for this is connection, not perfection.
The response was exactly the starting point I needed: a gentle structure of events designed to bring people together, each with its own theme, suggested menu, colour palette and mood. Nothing prescriptive — just enough scaffolding to get me out of my own head and into action.
And action, it turns out, often begins with housework.
There is nothing quite like an impromptu get together to spur on house cleaning. If I am being brutally honest, we usually invite people around when the house is in dire need of a spruce up as that motivation to clean up works like nothing else can.
If you’re anything like me, you don’t clean for yourself — you clean for company.
And so it was last Sunday. I had mentioned to my partner that I wanted to have afternoon drinks on our deck. Before I knew it, our friends were on their way and the robot vacuum cleaner was busily removing evidence of our dog’s proclivity to shed absolutely every hair from her body.
When I thought of drinks, my mind turned to cocktails. After all, I had received a Cocktail Bible for Christmas and it would be churlish of me not to use it. A quick scan of what ingredients we had on hand, and a peruse of the 1001 cocktail recipes at my finger tips gave me a decent list of drinks that I could offer. Cocktails are the perfect level of effort. They feel special, but are not labour intensive, and people have fun creating their own signature blends.
The slushie machine makes an appearance.
I won’t pretend that I am above trends, although I generally hop aboard them months, if not years after they were a thing. But, this time, I wholeheartedly bought into the slushie machine craze for this very reason; I had visions of sitting out on the deck, friends by my side, frosty drink in hand, so I found one recipe that would be perfect for my new toy, a non-alcoholic Pine-Lime Splice, featuring Bickford’s iconic lime cordial, pineapple juice, milk, cream and sweetened condensed milk.
Once the slushie machine was whirring away in the background, accompanying the strains of lounge music from the Bluetooth speaker we set to work on the cocktail list that I had prepared.
Yes we had a list.
Yes we rated them.
Sangria was popular. It is easy to drink, fruity and quenching, and feels like holiday vibes even when you’re in your own back yard on a Sunday afternoon.
But, the clear winner was the Pine-Lime Slushie. I had originally made it non-alcoholic. In its original format it was tasty, but, once coconut rum was added to it, it soared up the ratings list to top spot.
The only problem: Ice (or lack thereof)
Now, for the confession, because every gathering has one.
We did not have nearly enough ice. Not even close.
I should have checked earlier in the day, but I didn’t. And by the time I realised, it was too late to fix properly.
We had some ice. Just not enough, and it did impact the quality and enjoyment of the drinks. You can’t cut corners with ice. I have learned this now, the hard way. Warm cocktails are deeply disappointing, and nothing makes a drink feel sad faster than not being cold enough.
So, consider this your public service announcement from me.
If you are hosting cocktails, check your ice situation at lunchtime.
Not at 5pm.
Not when people arrive.
At lunchtime.
Future Suzanne will thank present Suzanne.
And present Suzanne is deeply disappointed with past Suzanne.
Styling notes
Warm terracotta, spring green and a cheerful yellow stripe.
I found a cheery striped table cloth for under $10 at a local thrift store. Its warm yellows and peaches, dusky red and violet brought both sunset and fruity cocktails to mind when I saw it on its hanger at the store, and I knew it was destined for this occasion.
I paired with a spring green runner, and some gorgeous green glasses that I found at KMart for an absolute song. Yellow ramekins and terracotta serving dishes further pinned down the sunset vibes and the table looked vibrant and fresh against the blue sky and the grey tones of our deck.
Flowers
Fresh bright yellow and dusky pink chrysanthemums added to the colour and movement on the table
Music
I put Spotify on and chose something that matched the mood: cocktail lounge vibes. It didn’t demand attention, just the kind of music that gently fills in the background.
Hidden finishing touches
The uninvited guests of the occasion were mozzies, those stalwarts of an evening gathering in Australia. I had insect repellent on hand, and although it took away some of the glamour of the evening passing around the mozzie spray, it was an absolute necessity and added to the overall comfort of everyone.
Having a fan on the deck was also a boss move. We don’t have a ceiling fan in the deck, which we might add some time down the track. In the meantime I brought out a small fan from the house and it moved the air around just enough to be comfortable.
The kind of night I want more of.
When everyone left later that night I didn’t feel drained; that’s how I knew it was a good one.
It wasn’t perfect (ice, I’m looking at you). But it was easy, warm, and relaxed. The kind of gathering that reminds you that you don’t need a huge reason, or huge effort to see friends.
Sometimes all you need is:
A cooler week after summer heat
A deck at sunset
Something delicious in a glass
And people to laugh with.
And maybe,
Just maybe,
A full bag of ice.
