Party Recipe

Margaret and I planned to throw a casual graduation party this weekend. And yesterday – it turned into an engagement party as well! So excited: Jackie is the last of our group to finish school – with her Ph.D. after years of studying Dengue Fever. Her new fiancé, Pierre, is graduating with a Ph.D. in…

Remember when Mondays were the new Fridays? The official photos and details of Rebecca’s lovely Monday night tasting dinner are now up on Oh Happy Day. A wonderful event! I’m still dreaming of Tom’s artichoke soup.

We celebrated the 105th anniversary of the 1906 earthquake and the 5th anniversary of this annual party last night in style. Two good friends RSVP’d at last minute, bringing the total for dinner to 19. Even by my crazy standards, that was a little intense. Guests arrived at 7:00, complete with dogs, babies and dates…

If I didn’t already have so many annual parties this time of year – I would add a Burns supper to the rotation in a heartbeat. We really outdid ourselves with this event! Decorations: A plaid scarf as a runner on a white tablecloth, potted ferns, artichokes, red candles, thistle stamped napkins. Guests decked out…

In a few weeks, Rob and I will be host to the final party in the “Tour de Awesome” series for my friend’s 30th birthdays. Tour de Shane has a Scottish theme, with the main event being a big dinner party! Here’s what I’m brainstorming so far: Food – A hearty menu with some kind…

Wow…we already have over 20 RSVPs for the annual holiday brunch this weekend. How exciting! I think I’ve assembled a menu to feed everyone without undue stress. Most of this can be either set-out as is or prepared in advance to be thrown in the oven the morning of the party. I’ll just need to…

The Black & White Ghouls Ball was so much fun! So much, in fact, that most of my photos from the night are blurry! I’ll do my best: Decorations: A canopy of black and white streamers, skeleton picado garlands, twinkle lights, white tablecloths, silver candelabras, black rats in white bows, white porcelain bust in a…

This shower was inspired by one of my favorite hostesses! Kate, who threw a bridal shower luncheon for me featuring a sampler of cold salads. (too bad I didn’t have my cute husband in a bow tie on hand to play butler as she did!) Yvonne is an engineer, so we went with a math…

Rob and I decided to host a Black & White Ghouls Ball this year. Black and white costumes of all kinds! Black and white food. Twinkle lights, polished silver and black linens. Halloween and my birthday all wrapped into one. Here’s what I have so far: a Skeleton tuxedo costume, inspiration for a vintage gown,…

Here’s one halloween party idea with an elegant-edge: Zombie cocktail party. Ghoulishly glamorous! You just need your fanciest party dress, gloves and gems to wear. A skeleton bow tie for the beau. And plenty of fake blood and zombie make-up to share. Drinks? Guinness champagne cocktails. Food? Black macaroons, small sandwiches, canapes and dry ice.…