Dinner Party Saturday October 23rd

Britney and Lindsey's spooky jack-o-lantern. Sadly it was the only one outside our door because mine was so moldy I had to throw it away on Friday. It lasted 2 weeks but it couldn't make it to Halloween.

You're cordially invited to our first dinner party on Saturday, October 23rd at 6:30 PM. (Well to hear about it and look at the pictures from it, because obviously the party is over!)


I love bonding with coworkers!


Beautiful friends, Lindsey and Britney, South Carolina girls! The party couldn't have been if it had not been for you two girls, for many many reasons!


Crazy coworkers: David and me--blurry :(


Britney's friend Lindsey and kooky ol' me!


The girls: Britney, Melissa (to the left), Patrice, Alexis and Felicia.

Yup, it's true. This was my first official dinner party and it turned out WAY BETTER THAN I COULD HAVE EVER ANTICIPATED! I was a bit nervous and stressed. I babysat Saturday from 11-8PM so I couldn't be there right at the beginning and I had to have the food ready on Friday and Saturday morning so Britney and Lindsey (Britney's friend from South Carolina who was visiting this past week) could just reheat things and enjoy.

The menu changed a lot. Last weekend I'd planned a lot of different menu items that I later changed. As I mention in another post, after making my homemade pesto on Thursday night I realized (with Lindsey's excitement over my pesto) that it would be a nice, easy and cheap idea to serve pesto pasta for dinner instead of some other seasonal dish. Considering the basil was harvested on Wednesday, I can't think of any other dish that would be as seasonal, local and affordable (we are living on a budget here).

So here was the final menu:

Appetizers:
Britney supplied chips and dip: the dip was not vegan but everyone enjoyed it (minus me and my vegetarian coworkers). It was a velveeta dip that she put in her crock pot to keep warm. She used tortilla chips for the dipper.


Britney's best food offered at the party: the dip, which she is clearly stoked about in the photo...or in the middle of a convo, who knows?!


Homemade pumpkin seeds. Britney and Lindsey carved their pumpkin on Friday afternoon, so I had them fish out the seeds which I dried that night. Saturday morning I made my two favorite flavors of seeds (the rosemary garlic variety and the sweet seeds with the pumpkin pie seasonings).

First course:
Pumpkin curry coconut soup. I got two rolls of fresh French bread from Whole Foods (99 cents/loaf) on Friday that I cut up and had Britney head in the oven before serving.


Creamy coconut curry pumpkin soup, a bit spicy for some folks but darn tasty nevertheless (at least I thought so!)


Bread ready to be reheated!

Second course:
Pesto pasta!


Creamy and oh so vegan, on whole wheat pasta too!

Dessert:
Pumpkin bark. Mom sent this to me in my Halloween care package and I decided it would be a very festive, easy and FREE thing to serve for the party. It was such a rich, decadent food that I didn't mind sharing it around. Plus Jonathan's (my coworker) girlfriend Diana really was into the container the bark came in (she's really crafty) so I gifted the tin and a bit of the bark to her at the end of the night.


Thanks Mom!!!

M & M's: Britney and Lindsey supplied some blue M & M's in a little candy dish.

Assorted cookies: Patrice (another coworker) surprised us by bringing a bag of assorted German short cookies that were tasty and popular while we hung out and had some fun.

Overall, it was a phenomenal party. Everyone was able to come except for Travis, who we knew wouldn't be able to come from the beginning of the planning of our party. Even Jennifer said she wouldn't be able to come but then made a surprise appearance in the middle of the party. And Jonathan and Diana surprised us by showing up, since they had been deciding between our party and a concert.

Dance Partay!!


Jonathan knows the moves and Diana knows how to sway to the beat!


Melissa always knows how to get down and funky, don't ya girl?!


A little dance lesson going on in the kitchen. You got it Britney!!


Melissa and Alexis = crazy funny and such talented dancers too!!

Some pics from the night:


Never have I ever hosted a dinner party before!!


Kyle, Alexis' husband, chillin' in my comfy pink butterfly chair (thanks again Mom) and David's hand just sayin' HI!


Straight up chillin.


We knew it would be an awkward angle, didn't we Alexis? Ha


Jennifer made it!!


Diana, Jonathan and David hanging out on the couch watching some sports game. Sorry it's blurry.

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR COMING AND ENJOYING THE FESTIVITIES! More parties to come!! :)



A lovely note was left on our board beside our front door! Thanks Felicia!!