party * time

I love having people over.  I love the menu/drink planning, the anticipation, and the primping. We have not hosted a get-together other than a casual dinner or game night with 1 or 2 friends since we moved to Chapel Hill. It’s been six long months of no party-throwing!  But last night changed all that.  In honor of my birthday, Kevin issued the party decree.  He rounded up my friends’ email addresses, scheduled a time for guests to arrive, and figured out what we needed to have on hand.  I went with him to grocery store and picked out prosecco, while he procured beer. 

It is always surprising how much I actually like cleaning when I have guests coming over.  It is the perfect activity to burn off party jitters and it is fun to watch as your home slowly starts looking its best.  I love that moment when you put the last thing in place and suddenly the stage is set.  Our place looked far from perfect – cat hair is ever present on all upholstered surfaces and we are not the sort of people who dust regularly.  But there was a distinct moment when we looked up and the place was ready.  It proclaimed: cue the music, light the candles, and bring out the candy dishes, because we are having a party. 

Kevin’s concept was simple: drinks and dessert.  He asked that people just bring themselves, but if they desired to bring something, a gluten-free sweet or a drink to share would be welcome.  Two guests brought desserts they had made from scratch – a very decadent flourless chocolate torte replete with caramel sauce and some wonderful, crisp chocolate chip cookies.  Other guests poured in with all manner of toffee and chocolate barks, as well as luscious red wine.  Everyone milled about, meeting new people and sampling the sweets.  It was so deeply satisfying to have a house full of new, lovely friends.

One of my favorite things about the South is that people say they are leaving, but then stay for another half an hour.  Kevin calls it the Southern goodbye.  It is not done out of good manners, it’s a result of wanting to stay longer and linger over the interesting things to say that only manage to pop in your head the moment you put your coat on.  So while someone may have to go, they will take their time about it, and you can continue savor the party.  It’s very charming to me that just because someone has announced they are leaving doesn’t mean you can’t have a perfectly engaging long conversation with them on their way out the door – in fact, it’s encouraged. 

Eventually, all the guests left.  We did the dishes and played with the cats and poured over all the great little moments of the night.  In the morning our house still looked good and the champagne glasses in the dish rack struck me as downright insouciant.  They seemed sparkly and smug knowing what fun they had facilitated the night before.  While I don’t feel smug, I do feel a little sparkly inside after having such a nice get-together.