Marvelous Monday--

The party may be over but the memories will be part of us forever. What a wonderful evening filled with friendship, laughter and great spirits! It was worth every second of preparation.

Thursday, the day before the party, consisted of last minute morning errands for final supplies with the remainder of the day doing food prep and final cleaning. The window washer made the windows and mirrors sparkle, enabling me to check that off my list, thankfully. By the end of the day I fell into bed.......still with those last minute lists swirling around in my head, note pad on my nightstand jotting them down as I remembered them.

Friday, day of the party....... started at 6:00 a.m.

FINAL LIST FRIDAY--The day included picking up ice, flowers, baguettes and finishing all of the food. As I finished, I plated each item on the platters that I had labeled a few days prior, and sealed them with plastic wrap. Ice was placed in all of the ice buckets, Blood Orange Margaritas were made and the bar stocked. Flowers that came from the supermarket were arranged in vases.

Time to shower and change.

Joe, our server, arrived one hour prior to the party to become familiar with everything.

It's Party time........

My husband and I greeted guests at the door while Joe made sure they were given their first beverage of the evening. He also set up several food trays to pass (photos below). I would highly recommend hiring a server if you are having 40 or more guests. We ended up with 51 and  this allowed time for us to greet guests and mingle throughout the evening with Joe taking care of the rest.

Hors d'oeuvre table set and ready for our guests. The tablecloth was purchased at Yvonne Estelles in Park Ridge, Illinois. It is Beauville, painted by hand in France.
 
 

These hors d'oeuvres were displayed on the table for nibbing as guests passed by. We featured a cheese tray from Zingerman's as a tribute to the days we lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Some of the food was passed by server Joe. Upper right, Zucchini Rollups (big hit of the evening), lower left, Cheese Gougeres, lower right Shrimp Shooters. We also served Hot Roast Beef Mini Sandwiches.

The Bar and Beverage area was in our enclosed patio. The Blood Orange Margaritas were a beautiful Fall color and were a tribute to the days we lived in Houston, Texas.
 They were lethal!

Sunflowers in the kitchen made a great Fall Bouquet. The kitchen is always one of the largest gathering places at our parties.

I made the centerpieces this year with all pumpkins, gourds, and flowers that I purchased at the grocery store and Farmer's Markets.

Another tribute of the evening, were Buckeyes from the days we lived in Perrysburg, Ohio. Huge hit!!

Family Room fireplace decorated for Fall.

Our day ended at midnight with my husband and I sipping our glass of wine.....feet propped up, reminiscing about the evening events. The tributes we made to some of the places we have lived was a hit and a great conversation starter. Not only did we support businesses we loved in our past, but we brought a little bit of who we are and where we have come from to our new friends.

 Watch my future blogs for the party recipes and decorating ideas!

 Awwww------parties can be so much fun!! I hope that the steps to organize a Cocktail Party will help you with your future parties.

ENJOY!

Cocktail Party Prep

It's Wednesday..........only two more days until the cocktail party. I am getting so excited. On Sunday I sat down and prepared my final lists in detail checking off my accomplishments as I completed them.

• TO DO--which includes things like cleaning the house, preparing the yard, noting the Thursday window washer guy that will be coming, chilling trays, music play lists, making place cards for food, make a mani and pedi appt., and buying anything remotely related to a decorating need, cornstalks, pumpkins, mums, and stocking the frig with white wine, prosecco and beer. 

• CONFIRMATION--call one week before ---D'Angelo's Italian Market Princeton, NJ.... to confirm my order and delivery of  2 Antipasta trays and 2 Italian cookie trays, along with the confirmation of a server that will be assisting at the party for 5 hours. It makes my life a little easier if I order something to add to the menu that doesn't require more man hours from me!

• TO PURCHASE (non-food items)-- my husband and I completed this on Saturday. It includes everything from party decor to simple things like light bulbs. It is very detailed (because I HATE to run errands and get home and have forgotten something!) checking things off as we go and not coming home until the mission was completed. Keep in mind I do not do chaos well!

• MENU--I have been gathering menu ideas from magazine, cookbooks, and my own tried and true recipe files. I find it a bit more challenging to have a party these days with all of the food allergy issues that some guest may have; gluten intolerance, lactose intolerance, etc. Then there are the vegan, vegetarian etc. to consider as well. Keeping those in mind I crafted my menu making sure there was something for everyone. This is also the day that I choose what platters, dishes, trays and utensils I will be using and label them appropriately. I can just pull them out when preparing the food on the final day and plate them up. I also, do a dry run of where each platter will go on the tables, so the guess work at the last minute has been removed. It saves time and headaches in the end.

• GROCERY LIST--Make a final grocery list after crafting the menu. Since I also purchase my flowers and ice from my supermarket, they are always included as well. My shopping day is either Tuesday or Wednesday, two-three days before the party. Sometimes last minute fresh bread etc. will require one day before pick-up.

• FOOD PREP DAY-- One day before, I do as much food prep as possible.  I set aside the complete day. Cutting, chopping, assembling as many items that can be done ahead of time saves so much chaos on party day. I store everything in air tight containers, ready to place on trays the morning of the party.

• DAY OF PARTY-- EARLY DAY---Finish food prep and assemble trays. Stock bar with ice and fill beverage containers. Arrange food trays..........and oh that's right.......... WHEW-----I have to get ready too! Now where is that black dress????

We are doing something unique this year. With all of our moves we have come across some of the most awesome foods. So many times we reminisce about the taste of something-----how delicious it was or if I only had this for our party. This year I decided to make that happen. I am using two companies from our past to add a personal story to our party; Zingermans Deli from Ann Arbor, Michigan and Marsha's Buckeyes, from Perrysburg, Ohio!!! I am also making our token Houston Texas Margarita.......with a Fall spin.

When the boxes arrived I was so excited............

We love Zingerman's City Goat Cheese, Manchengo Cheese, Fig & Walnut Preserves and of course American Spoon Cherry Preserves made for Zingermans. These will all be featured on our cheese platters!

 

When we lived in Perrysburg, Ohio, Marsha had started her business in her basement. She is now shipping just about everywhere. Our box arrived neatly packed with ice in this perfectly arranged tray of #94 buckeyes.......pure heaven....peanut butter and chocolate!! AND won't these look beautiful displayed with our FALL theme?

 

 

When we lived in Houston, Texas I came across a Margarita recipe that will knock your socks off. I have shared this recipe and at the end of every evening it has been served there are a group of happy guests! I am making a new twist on our traditional recipe, paying homage to Houston, with a Fall version.


Well its time for me to get busy with the list of the day!  I hope you found this segment helpful with your party planning, maybe taking away an idea or two.

I will be back with the final party blog next Monday. Until then............

ENJOY  your weekend!

 

Cocktail Party Invitation

I have to admit one of my most favorite things to do is host a party! I know all of my friends

and family are out there are laughing at me right now.......like they didn't already know this 

about me.

When my husband and I moved to Longwood, Florida we bought our home in the most

awesome neighborhood. By awesome, I mean warm, friendly and beautiful too!

I was a Northern girl and had such fun adjusting to the ways of Southern entertaining. I loved

the way my new neighbors made us feel welcome from the day we moved in. This 

is such an important feeling for me. Having moved so many times, the "first" of 

anything is like rolling dice, you have a 50/50 chance of leaving with a new friend.

In Florida, unlike the North, your front door is left open for a party, no door bell necessary......

just walk in to the laughter, music and friendship. Of course, the added benefit of no snow 

shoveling in the wintertime was great too!

Although, we are not always able to have our door wide open in NJ, we make sure we greet 

each guest at the door. This personal interaction is so important. Always making sure to guide

them to the food and drink area, and along the way introducing them to other guests.

Well we set our date for our Annual Harvest Cocktail Party. On September 27th, the house 

will be full of new and old friends. It's so exciting!

After setting the date, I started searching for invitations. This year I found a beautiful invitation

with a new company I have never used before; IMPRESSINPRINT.COM. The invitation is 

very important to me. I believe it is a direct reflection as to what type of party it will be.

Fall colors are always so beautiful and warm. With that in mind, this is my printed invitation.

I loved the colors and the added embellishment of leaves on the front and back of the

envelope.

As I prepare my thoughts and begin jotting down my ideas and timeline, I will share with all of you
what it takes, in my opinion, to host a warm and inviting Cocktail Party for friends!


My best wishes to you and your family for a safe and beautiful Labor Day Weekend!

GOD BLESS AMERICA!