On hosting adult parties

Our deck-warming party last weekend was the first real grown-up party we've hosted at our place. Co-workers, neighbors and other assorted adults were on the guest list right next to our college friends - something that only happened at our wedding.

So, in case you haven't thrown your first adult party yet, here are some tips:

• Grown ups bring food. Like lots of it. After a baking drought, I was hell-bent on whipping up homemade goodies last weekend (the best dip ever, soft pretzels, salted caramel brownies, potato salad (no recipe link, used my mom's recipe!) and even a wild berry and lemon coffee cake for Hubs and I). I never expected the on-slaught of guest-brought treats (Wine! Pasta! Cupcakes! Cookies! Fruit pizza! Fruit salad!)! We had food for 60 at a 30-person party.
• College friends will bring six packs, or possibly 30 packs. Nothing wrong with this. Nothing at all.
• You can never have too many kinds of soda. Diet, regular, caffeine-free - these were all requested. Be ready.
• Get ready to feel like a rock star. Real adults will find everything about your little party and your little house and your little white cat great and they will tell you all night long. This alone earned them repeat invites!
• Don't worry about the mingling. It happens on its own. I was so thrilled to see everyone chatting; I swear I could just watch parties and be totally happy. I get a kick out of it.
• If you're going to make salted caramel brownies, label them. One neighbor thought it was some kind of meatloaf and the rest probably thought I mixed up the salt and sugar. Tasty, though!

Do you mix it up for parties or keep groups separate?

The Reba Experience

(I don't capitalize my titles often. This warranted it. Reba and George were an experience. Of a lifetime. For this hoosier.)


I had so much fun at Preba and the ensuing fun that was the Reba and George show! Our seats were high, our seat neighbors were a tad cranky, our pretzels were bountiful and our beers were pricey. What more could four yeehawfunladies want in a weekend?
14,000 Reba fans! That's bigger than a lot of towns in this ol' state. :)

What's crackin'

A few yummy/awesome/helpful things I've seen flitting about the blogs of late:

• This super cute (and cheap! and easy!) wreath made from coffee filters at Remodelaholic.
• Directions for a little pot of DIY lotion at Design Sponge. Sounds like a fun project!
• I'm not throwing any bridal showers, but if I was - this school cafeteria themed one from Offbeat Bride would be super fun. Whatever. It'd be fun for any party. Consider it on my list.
• Young House Love used these little shelves in their nursery, but I'm thinking they'd look lovely in the bathroom holding pretty soaps and DIY'd lotions.
• An easy way to upgrade plain tees and tanks, from Hey Jen Renee (who is a great knitting school marm, by the by)!
• I'm not a ham fan, as a rule, but this strawberry jam and ham sandwich from Tasty Kitchen piqued my interest. Plus, saying "jamandham" is fun and I'd like the excuse to say it more often.

What's catching your eye online these days?

P.S. Took my little theif to the vet and got good news! Where once I had a 19 lb. porker, I now have a slim and trim 16 lb. big-boned cat. His reduced diet is less reduced and I learned I can take him to the vet to get weighed for free (we don't own a scale, so Trip's weight loss was news to me).

Preba rumblings

Reba McEntire and George Strait are coming to Des Moines for a sold out concert this Saturday! I'm excited because although Reba's tunes have provided my life a twangy soundtrack, I've never seen the woman in concert. Plus, we're birthday buddies.

Anyway, I'll be hitting the show with my business partner in crime, Brittney; party planning guru, Kelly; and my baby sister and senior in college, E. Obviously, we're doing this in style.

Here's the game plan:

• E ordered us custom t-shirts, all jazzed up with our favorite Reba lyrics. Man, I can't wait to wear this one to the gym. This is the text for my and Kelly's shirts. Brittney and E will be sporting the "Here's your one chance, Fancy; don't let me down!" version.
  
• I'm hosting the Preba party before the concert (Pre-Reba, yeah?). We'll listen to Reba and George's best hits while enjoying Red Velvet Trim cake bites, PBR, champagne, Plain White Trash dip (queso), Backwoods Southern Lawyer pizza (bacon and BBQ!) and Red Headed Hashcakes (mini hasbrowns made with sweet potatoes and jalapenos). Oh, yes, there will be swizzles!

E's coming all the way up from the heehaw little town she goes to school in down in the MO for the weekend. Like a good big sister, I'll take her to brunch and dazzle her with the lights of Des Moines - but only after she's helped me rake the garden. It's a flipping mess out there.

What are your weekend plans?

Yay!

What does a highly weird, newly minted 27 year old do for her birthday weekend, you probably wonder. Allow me to shed some light:

• She takes the Friday before the Sunday birfday off work. Naturally.
• She spends that Friday throwing herself a solo party dubbed the Sip and Shine. Other party guests include a bottle of leftover wedding champagne, a carpet shampooer, a toothbrush, some dirty shower grout and obnoxious 90s music.
• She eats a lot of cheese.
• She watches Wet Hot American Summer.
• She reminds everyone that in the Lou, the weather is almost always sunny and 70 with leaves on trees this time of year.
• She goes out for brunch with her husband and sticks to the weekend diet of bubbly and cheese.
• She opens presents!
• She shares this birthday with two musically talented ladies:
That's Reba and Lady GaGa, duh.

• She plans to gets a little rowdy at a Willie Nelson concert. However, these plans get thwarted.
• She pouts for a few minutes.
• She instead celebrates by shopping for fancy salts and having a beer in the afternoon.

See you all Monday!

Baker's woman

So, I rarely bake sweet things. There was a slightly traumatizing cookie exchange incident that ruined me for life. Someday, when my wounds have fully healed, I’ll share more about the gray cookies I made and actually presented to others.

It was awful, but I made my way back to the Kitchenaid and pulled myself up by my bootstraps in the name of beer-infused cupcakes.

First, I had to prepare my area:

Leftover wedding wine was a must.

As was this adorable ruffly apron Brittney made (the girl knows her way around a sewing machine!) for me. Rumor has it, these puppies are about to land in an Etsy store so that you may also look so ravishing whilst you bake. (The bunny slippers and sassypantsfashionface are my own contributions to this stunning look).

I used this recipe, but substituted Young’s Chocolate Stout for the Guinness. They were lovely. And they were devoured.

I also had this lovely floral arrangement, sitting prettily on the dining room table to greet guests.

But, it was promptly eaten by this cat, whom I was able to capture perfectly in this hideous photo.

Party pants

Our St. Pat’s party was a rousing success, measured by the following statistics:
Time for homebrew keg to be emptied by 20 enthusiastic individuals: Approximately 2.5 hours
Remaining potato skins: 0
New dart holes made in old drywall during late-night dart tournament: at least 20
Remaining mini-ruebens: 0
Number of times I broke into song: .5, a considerable drop from previous parties

Plus, we had these precious food labels, handmade with love by yours truly!