Slow It Down Sunday

I'll start honestly... the party could not have gone better. Several times I paused and thought about how much fun I was having. Gotta be a good time when the hostesses are having fun, right? I'll post more with pics tomorrow (we took the real camera route with Caro's digital) but above is why I'm fearing the scale tomorrow. That cake- rough estimate is that it is the 14th time I've made it- it's always good. Ina Garten is a goddess.Lo, pictured above, gave me the first Barefoot Contessa cookbook for my 20th birthday. The one with the chocolate cake recipe of stained pages from five years of birthdays. This was us last night and even though our big girl lives stand in pretty stark contrast to our college craziness, it's amazing to still be able to have wine surplus and turn silly with your girlfriends.

That's what this weekend was... a girlfriends weekend. Between the party last night and Sex and the City this afternoon...feminine fabulous.

The best/worst thing about hostessing is the leftovers. I tend to farm them out to guests and it's worth the $2 tupperware not to have 5 lbs of rum buttercream chocolate frosting in my fridge. But when the leftovers all amount to a salad like this one, it justifies the hangover and then some. Mixed greens, grilled chicken, bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, hard-boiled egg, homemade croutons, avocado and homemade Caesar. Even better eating in a sunny yard. I'm taking multiple pictures of salad. Yipes.

A couple other smiles today... flowers are another leftover I really don't mind. These pink peonies are making my apartment feel quite lux at the moment:) Then there is the kitty sitting pretty in the sunlight...HC has proven herself worthy of indoor/outdoor experimentation because she sticks around the garden when I'm out there. We're both happy with this development. And lastly, a beautiful tree in the yard. I am already in love with this apartment but the garden? It's gonna be a great summer.

More tomorrow with pics of the actual party and probably a whole post on party prep. Preview: Caro and I decided to start our party as we prepped and I apparently forgot how to read a Roman clockface. The short? I tweaked and had us running and rushing to finish everything an HOUR early. At least I stopped sweating and had a fresh beverage by the time the guests realllly arrived.

For now? I was rowdy for a long while and now I'm just ready for my bed. It's so nice out that I want to take the white shag rug in my office back out to the lawn and sleep outside. I will do that at least once this summer.