Anatomy of a Dinner Party: a day in the life of a hospitalityaholic
 

Taruan

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Postcards from NYC

Tuesday, June 7th, 2011

Good Morning Darlings!

You know Eric and I had the best time visiting New York. Our sweet friend, Johnny P., lent us his Brooklyn Heights apartment and upon arrival, saw the most breathtaking view of the Statue of Liberty. Amazing.

I though you all would like to see some photos.

Enjoy!

Visit NYC with me!

Souprise Saturday

Tuesday, October 5th, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

I am still glowing from the weekend’s activities. Last Friday, I got some surprise news that tickled me to no end. It was a treat I wanted to share with our very besties and neighbors so I sent out an email asking everyone to be at our house on Saturday between 5- 7pm for a huge surprise.

All the guesses I received were hilarious – was I pregnant (what?!?!), did I get a television show (hmmm…), are we moving (hell no!!!)

But I knew it would make all of us smile and warm our hearts in a big way.

And it did.

Are you dying to know? Come on in!!

How To Host A Legend

Monday, July 19th, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

You would call Eddie Ross a designer on Bravo’s Top Design, the former Senior Style Editor for Martha Stewart Living, Decorating Editor for House Beautiful, Contributing Editor to Woman’s Day and wildly popular blogger.

I am lucky enough to call him my friend.

When I learned that Eddie and his ultra fabulous beau, Jaithan, were going to be in town in July, they were so kind to set aside some time in their incredibly busy schedules to join us for dinner.

Okay, now that they have agreed to dinner – where do I go from here? This was not to be a wienie cookout with s’mores (though there is nothing wrong with that!), but needed to be warm, inviting and sophisticated – like the two of them.

Warm – check
Inviting – check
Sophisticated – let me work on that

Was I Up To The Task? Come On In To See

July 4th Weekend-Part Two

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

On day one, after spending the afternoon on the Crush Pad with Doug, Sharon and Chef Dairen, we drove home to Atlanta where Eric had made dinner reservations at Abbatoir. It was a splendid affair, although no pictures. A couple needs to have some private time, after all.

But on Sunday, we made our favorite baked potato salad and headed over to Jay and Valerie’s house for their fabulous fried chicken, and Curtis’ world famous pulled pork and lots of other goodies. And of course, I brought my camera!

She's A Grand Old Flag, She's A High Flying Flag....

Join Me Inside For Some Tasty Treats!

A Night At The Drive-In

Monday, May 10th, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

Who else saw Iron Man 2 this weekend? Show of hands? Me, me!! A group of our besties got together and caravaned to the drive-in to enjoy the late spring weather and have a little cookout (any reason for a cookout with our friends!) We joined our friends and neighbors, Jay & Val, Chioke & Taruan and Jay’s sister, Heather, and had a blast.

Jay and Val had obviously done this before and brought a portable grill, all the turkey brats and potato salad. I brought cole slaw, chips & spinach dip, Italian sausages and a lobster tail. We all parked next to each other (that was a feat – it was packed!) and got to grilling. Val also made sangria and the fun began.

Chef Jay Firing Up The Grill

More Drive-In Antics Inside

Taruan’s Birthday – Don’t Call It A Party

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

This past Friday was my sweet Taruan’s birthday date of birth celebration day. Called a “get together” by his partner, Chioke. Tomato, tomahto – I call it a party. And it was such fun!

Chioke always has something surprising and fun at his parties get togethers and this time was no different. Take a look at the outside of their house as we walked up.

Nope, That Doesn't Scream "Party". Not One Bit.

More Unparty Photos Inside

A Sweet Night With My Boys

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

As I look back to February and whip out all the fun nights we’ve shared with friends, I had almost forgotten this one.  After returning from NOLA, we invited our sweeties Taruan and Chioke for a sweet night.  And from the looks of the photos we took, you would think there was no dinner served….but I just cannot recall.   Although, here is evidence that I made some fresh tortilla chips.

Mmmm, Fresh Chips!

You all know how to do this, right?  Take a stack of small tortillas, cut them in half and half them again.  Fry in hot oil, scoop out and sprinkle with kosher salt. Devour.

Almost too easy – and so much better than store bought.

More Sweets After The Fold

Just Dance (Party)

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

Listening to Lady GaGa while writing this post. Still reeling from her amazing concert on 12/28. So, when I saw an ad for a new Wii game, “Just Dance“, I knew this would make for a great party evening.

With the snow keeping the majority of our neighbors inside recently, I decided to make a few calls last Friday and invite a few buddies to come by, and, well, just dance.

More Dance Party After The Fold

This game is hilarious. Not only is it a blast to play, but even more fun to watch.  There were six of us gathered at our house around 9pm and the fun started.  Taruan, Chioke, Eric and I took to the living room floor and got moving. I believe we started with “Hot and Cold” by Katy Perry.  You just follow the dancer on the screen and do what they do. This sounds so much easier than it is.  But in no time, Taruan, The Dance King, was killing. He was trouncing all over everyone. He could not be beat. Val and Jay joined us a bit later and the party was in full swing.

Taruan, The Dance King
Taruan, The Dance King
Chioke Challenges Taruan
Chioke Challenges Taruan
Chioke and Karen Take A Break
Chioke and Karen Take A Break
Twix Break!
Twix Break!

All that dancing works up an appetite, so I pulled out the homemade twix bars I had made the night before and they were devoured. Time to mix a few adult beverages and back to the dance floor.

We didn’t stop until 2am, when I decided to whip up some biscuits and sausage gravy. Not everyone eats pork, so I put out some raspberry/jalapeno jelly and the beloved honey bear. Chioke had the grand idea to slather the biscuits first with the jelly and then the sausage gravy.  Across the table I asked him how he came up with the idea – “Greed,” was all Chioke said, with an evil little smile.

If you had tasted it, you would agree that a little greed can be a very good thing indeed.

There’s A White Elephant In The Room…

Monday, December 21st, 2009

Good Morning, Darlings!

Four more shopping days until Christmas! So exciting!

This weekend was a bundle of fun.  Friday night my darling and I spent the evening in, watching movies and cuddling up on the couch. Perfect time!  Saturday was Val and Jay’s White Elephant Party. You know about White Elephant parties, right?  Everyone brings an inexpensive gift and puts it under the tree.  Then a corresponding number goes into a hat for drawing later.  You all draw numbers (although Jay and Val did theirs a bit different – they put everyone’s name into a hat and then drew them for picking a gift), pick a gift, unwrap it and decide whether you want to keep it or trade for a gift that someone else has.  It was just a blast.  All our neighbors were there (I seriously love walking to and from these parties!), the food was great and the gifts hilarious.  Sorry, but some of them were fairly NSFW (not suitable for work viewing), but I did take plenty of photos.  Take a look:

More Zaniness After The Fold

Magic Berries and The Magic of Movies

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

Our beloved friends, Chioke and Taruan (aka – the best looking people on the planet) hosted the coolest party on Sunday.  They let all their friends vote on their favorite movies from the 80s and then chose four for us to watch.  They listed the movie times so everyone could come and go when their faves were on.  This was the schedule:

1pm – Weird Science

3pm – Coming To America

5pm – Heathers

7pm – Labyrinth
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