I Say We Party

Anyone who knows me, knows I love a good party ...a theme party...big parties, small parties, garden parties, dinner parties, drinks parties, tea parties...who the heck cares people - let's gather and celebrate!
My parents threw great parties when I was a kid, we weren't always a part of the action but I always paid close attention to all of the planning my mom was doing, the food she was making and such, filing that info away in my "someday" file. Since dad passed away mom has created her own style of party, a neighborhood Christmas coffee gathering,a cousin get-together, last summer she even hosted a block party!
Tuesday night she played hostess again, and it was lovely...if I do say so myself.
My nephew got married in a civil ceremony and my mom, my sister and I couldn't let such a memorable occasion pass without a celebration. Mom ordered a cake and made finger sandwiches, I made a couple of appie trays ...we all bought a couple (or several) bottles of champagne and presto-partio!
I forgot my camera so I don't have a single photo of the bride and groom, the cake...nothin'...silly me. I found this one of me, mom, my niece, sissy and her hubby. It was taken this past June at my niece's graduation from college...


from the left, moi, mom, darling niece, sissy, sissy's hubby
the party peeps - my sissy isn't so much into party planning but she's my go-to girl for recipe taste testing...her hubby too...they're so much fun to cook for because they're enthusiastic with their appreciation - what's not to love about that after a long stint in the kitchen?
Now that I don't have a single party on the calendar until May it's time for the Jan-Feb pantry, fridge, freezer clean-out. I do it every January, go through the cupboards etc and get creative making odd meals out of odds and ends. We've taken to calling these meals "freezer surprise", I must admit they're not always a hit, but the good Dutch girl in me believes in the whole "waste not want not" quote so on we go.
Now about those 8 bottles of champagne leftover from the wedding reception Tuesday evening...I think I should call my sissy and niece for a little taste testing.