Jan 5, 2011

Before and After- Party Version

So in the interest of honesty I am going to show y'all what my house looked like an hour or two before my guests arrived. If you attended the NYE shindig, avert your eyes! My house is always perfect, I promise!


Hee.


 My fridge is full of sliced potatoes sitting in water to prevent browning. And pork. And cheese.  A pretty tasty fridge, although I had nothing to eat for lunch.

I want to thank you readers for all of your wonderful charger suggestions.  I ended up buying 2 dozen from J.C. Penney- $9.99 for a set 12.  Get thee to Penney's and buy you some on sale!  Cheaper than Wal-Mart with the added bonus of not having to go to Wal-Mart.

 The chargers looked lovely with my julep cups, cheap metallic glass candle holders from Cost Plus-World Market, burlap runners, and gold ornaments.
The living room was filled with two square card tables, each sitting four, and two long tables seating six.  I rented the chairs (the same ones I rented for the park party this summer), and ended up renting the silverware.  That was a stroke of genius!  Instead of counting the silver for 30 people, and scrabbling together a few sets, fretting whether a piece of my good silver got thrown away, I simply had to rinse everything in prep for the party rentals place dishwasher.  And it was about $25!


Mama brought me over some nandina and holly from her yard, which we stuck in my julep cups for the dining room table and the tables in the living room.

We sat down to eat around 10 PM (so continental and glamorous, no?).  My potatoes were a bit al dente, but I took a big gulp of wine and forgot about it. Well, not completely, as I just got irritated with myself thinking about it.  Bygones.

I'll be back with more pictures, and recipe reviews. Here's a spoiler- melted cheese is always a hit. . .

15 comments:

  1. Your place looks fantastic! And you're right - renting flatware was a complete stroke of genius. Nicely done, hostess extraordinaire!

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  2. hostess extraordinaire. amazing that you threw all that together on such short notice, truly.

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  3. And you were worried about WHAT? You pulled it off!

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  4. I love it! You pulled it all together so well and it looks ah-mazing!

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  5. everything looks absolutely fabulous! i may just have to make it out to penney's to pick up some of those chargers. how much did it cost you to rent the chairs? i hadn't thought about renting for a party before -- i always thought it would be out of my price range -- but that silverware was a steal! all of it's just beautiful!

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  6. Beyond impressive! I had never really considered renting chairs, but that is something to file away for our next little shindig.

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  7. Your place looks great! You are such a great hostess.

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  8. Looks lovely, very jealous- Hubs and I spent New Years in our pajamas. FYI- I have a baby shower coming up and I'm excited to try your popcorn favor goodies! If they go over half as well as your bacon wrapped crackers it'll be a hit- thanks for all the ideas!

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  9. Congrats on a successful fete! Your house looks beautiful - I'm sure your guests had a wonderful time!

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  10. That is a BIG tree! THe table looks gorgeous. Seems like you are really an effortless hostess with all these parties you've thrown together in the past year!

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  11. Wow! Amazing! You are a hostess extraordinaire! I'm so impressed - everything looked absolutely incredible. I'm dying for an invite to your next shindig!

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  12. I love Dr. B's tux! Next year that should be a requirement. Your house is warm and gorgeous.
    I am so proud of you!
    Mama

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  13. Good for you Samma! The best part about having a house… entertaining friends.

    Oh and those potatoes - the same thing happened to me on Christmas. Durn!

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  14. WOW - this looks amazing - you do such a good job and i'm SO glad you didn't have to go tow wal-mart! hehe

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