Party Virgin

So, I wanted to post a follow-up on my previous post http://tinyurl.com/yj5uuzl and let you all know how the party truly went down…

In planning my big party full of yummy apps, I failed to realize that in fact my family may actually help rather than make it a more stressful event. I've thrown a few parties, but never for family, and never with this much food (except for one disastrous Thanksgiving with 8 girlfriends which involved an uncooked turkey & 8 bottles of wine). So needless to say I was a bit nervous of my talents pulling through.

The party was set to start at 6:30, but somehow my eager parents ended up at the door by 4pm. Makeup-free and in the middle of a mess, I wasn't sure how I would pull it off...until something magic happened- they both just started helping. I resisted at first, but the result was unexpected: not enough time to make the twice-baked potatoes? Problem solved, (thanks Papa Bear)- we'll make a quick dish of candied sweet potatoes instead! No matter what issue came up- and there were quite a few in those final hours- we tackled it, TOGETHER. I've never felt such warmth in my heart as when we were all in the kitchen together. Mom chopping veggies (which she NEVER does, I might add), PB monitoring the sophisticated oven schedule (cannot WAIT for my dual oven in the new house!), lil sis arranging platters & the hubby preparing the bar.

Most everyone arrived early, and all came bearing gifts...in the end everyone had a blast, were well fed, and most important I skipped my final appetizer in lieu of spending time with my family out of the kitchen. To make that call proved to me, I AM grown up...and who cares what they really think! They all put on a happy face & dug into the food.

Happy Thanksgiving. Today I am thankful I get to EAT & not cook :)

Just call me Martha

For some bizarre reason- that I will get to- I decided to host a pre-Thanksgiving cocktail party for my entire family. Granted this idea was birthed after many glasses of champagne (ahem witness profile picture for background)...it seemed brilliant at the time.

My family has this belief that I am about 15 years old, and I continually attempt to prove them wrong. "Look at me I can buy a house!" to which I hear "Well, are you sure you can afford it?" "You know, I have a realtor I can recommend" or my favorite "Don't expect to decorate everything all at once, I mean we've been in our house 10 years and are just finishing projects!" Would you like to submit a timeline for which I should adhere to? Or perhaps just hold my hand as we skip to the bank, the realtor, and the home development office? I know, I should be thankful that my family cares so much...

Which brings me back to THE party. I decided to not only host everyone, but to create all 10 appetizers FROM SCRATCH complete with innovative presentation, ex "Butternut Squash Soup Shots" (actually more delish than it may sound). Why you may ask? Well, perhaps if I can pull it off everyone will realize "wow she truly IS all grown up". I mean, I have my fancy, well-stocked China Cabinet- and what "15 year old" has a full set of china?! So the end result is potentially great, but the past few days I've been working myself into a frenzy over the recipes. What if I'm missing an ingredient? What if it looks yummier on the page than the actual turnout? Should I really make the pizza dough from scratch or just swing over to Whole Foods?

The bottom line: I should've known better. I never do anything half-ass, and when it comes to my family I'm DESPERATE for their stamp of approval. Let's hope they behave after all of the wine I feed them first!

First Day of School

Ah, so it's been awhile since my last post...on top of the house transition I decided to switch jobs too. Life just can never be too boring for me! Or status quo, I should say...

Starting a new job brings me back to those first few days of school, except it's like you also transferred school districts. The predictability element of who will be there is no longer present, yet the familiar questions still persist: What to wear? Do I bring a lunch? Will they like me? Who will I sit next to? All of these questions kept me up most of the night before my first day, my stomach in knots...and I felt like a teenager again, obsessing over "the perfect outfit" or "the perfect lunch". Verdict? I usually ended up hating whatever outfit I picked, and ran out of time to make my lunch. HA! I repeated this same sequence last week for my first day.

So far, I'm closing in on my second week and I still don't have a lunch buddy, am getting better at the office attire, and at least have had a few meaningful conversations with my co-workers. However, the "lunch pool" is pretty small (I'm one of 8, and the only girl!), so that part I guess will just take time. For now, Macy's Holiday displays during my lunchtime walks have been keeping my spirits bright....fah la la la!

(And no, I haven't bought anything- yet- thank you...)