29 Again...

F and I decided to finally have the oft-talked-about-but-never-planned party on Saturday night. It was advertised as a holiday party, but some friends already knew that it was my birthday on Sunday.

I was quite excited, as this was my first real party - my apt. in Brooklyn is big enough to accommodate a maximum of 4-5 adults (and one Cam) semi-comfortably. So I really have not had much experience planning one of these things...I started to get all Martha Stewart the week before: cutting out silver snowflakes to hang from the ceiling, getting a variety of lights (snowflakes, red stars, multi-colored, white) to hang around the apt to make it a little cozier. And of course, candles.

The day of the party was a bit stressful. Well, not at first, actually. Since I had hung all the lights and snowflakes on Friday night, I felt like the most time consuming part was over...

W-R-O-N-G.

Because I thought I had all this time, I spent more time than I should have in the city getting some last minute noshy stuff, and also looking for something new and sparkly to wear to the party. Yeah, not so smart. By the time I got home I was beat, and then had to deal with the sudden mess that seems to accompany F's return home from a week away at work. Plus dealing with all the little things that the cleaning people (yes, you read correctly) rearrange when they are here. If you've seen me under stress, you know that I am not always the most pleasant person to be around...F told me that if I didn't calm down, he would leave and go stay in a hotel (!).

Of course, the first folks showed up before I was ready, but my friend C helped me get other things ready while F tended to the guests. I finally got ready (changed my shirt, put on some makeup) about an hour after people showed up. I was also still cooking during the party - I had to make the Spicy Cheese Crisps from the Everyday Food Mag (I will post the recipe shortly - they are really easy to make and very yummy - like homemade Cheese Nips, with a little bite). But in spite of my stress, everything went really well.

One of the best parts of the evening? After most folks had left, F & I were hanging with L & A, two of my friends from school. A is one of the new German teachers - he's young, very laid-back (picture a German surfer dude with shoulder-length blonde hair, who's got a funky VW van). Well, he was getting ready to leave (he'd just brushed his teeth and was going to go sleep in his well-furnished van) when L noticed that he had his accordion with him. Yes, you read correctly - his accordion. We begged him to play us a song. We were treated to 2 songs, the second of which was the theme from 'Amelie' (one of my favorite movies). What a great way to end the evening.

P.S. If you click on the Flickr montage on the left, you'll connect to a small, but soon to be added to, group of pics of life here in D'dorf...