Monday, November 7, 2011

BLOGGERS WHO BRUNCH..............or how to have fun on a Sunday afternoon!

I Have Never had a party before.....not in 61 years!!
Oh I have had the ladies over for lunch but with limited space over at the old
Homestead
Six was about my maximum...and that's counting ME!!

So when I moved on up to Here......
The first thing I wanted to do was have a party and of course who else would I invite
But the Bloggers.....and the New Neighbors!!
So this past Sunday I hosted my first official party and I think it went pretty well....

Come on inside and join us......All twenty one of us.

When we first moved in the Boss wondered what we needed with a big dining room.....
He doesn't wonder that any longer......
I tried to have as much seating as possible and this table
was able to hold 7 of my guests....

Of course if anyone knows me you know that this is an "after party"
Staged photo because I forgot to light the candles
on Sunday....
Hey...I'm allowed I cooked straight for two days...
I was bleary eyed......they looked lit to me!!

I did find these adorable paper place mats at
Anthropology and I placed them all over the house where seating was available....
I had my menu decided weeks ago and only needed to
figure out how much of each thing to make....
So I called upon my Best Friend in the entire world
Nunzie from Jersey
And with us both being Italians our Motto is....
"You Can Never Have Too Much Food"...

we had salads and ham and quiche and I even had a big crock pot of
Tomato Basil Soup....and muffins and chicken salad and more things then I can remember...
There was enough food to feed a small army
And I forgot to take a picture of the dessert bar.....
Thanks to whoever brought those delicious Rocky Road Brownies.....

I got to use my "Rue Mouffetard" plate that Ellen the blogger in Michigan painted for me....

My attempt at a "cheese board".....
those little wedges were really good...
One was cranberry...the other apricot...
I had the island decorated with pots of fresh herbs....
I thought it was a very Frenchy Touch....

I loved that all the ladies mingled even though a lot of them were meeting for the first time...
That lady in white and black with her back to the camera
is my Realtor....
She schmoozed the entire room.....
Being the best realtor in Atlanta I hope she picked up
some business....
After all she did find us this fabulous house....

Thank goodness for the Pottery Barn over sized couch.....
the Ladies sat there to eat and chit chat with each other...and there was a
Tremendous amount of laughter....
That would be left to right....
CCCatherine.....Debbie the Plate Addict.....Rose the Santamaker and Luwanna.....

back to the refreshments....
I did make this really good punch using Tropicana Peach Orchard Punch
2/3rds of it to 1/3 of the Mountain Valley sparkling water...
I added a few peach slices to the pitcher so the peeps would know what it was.....
Rose thought the peach was a lemon so
I don't know how successful I was....
And in true Sue Fashion....
I had two more containers in the fridge and I forgot to refill the pitcher when it was
empty....I wish someone would have said something.....
I'm surprised I remembered to unlock the front door to let people in.....

After we ate and I gave out door prizes.....because every good party should have
"Door Prizes"
we moved outside to get some pictures ....
The weather was gorgeous and I wanted a group shot
before all the ladies started to leave...

But not before we caught Rose trying to run off with the Boss'
new set of wheels....

Speaking of the Boss he managed some how to get in on the picture and
Once again it was Rose "the true life of the party"
who dubbed this picture....
"The Boss and his Sister Wives".....

is this not the perfect back drop for a group picture....

I had to get into at least one picture....

And have I mentioned they came bearing gifts!!
Ex-Neighbor Necie brought this fabulous box of French soaps
They smell as good as they look....

Cheryl of JoJo's Joys brought this
magnificent orchid plant....
and a delicious blueberry cheese strudel....
Thank You Cheryl!!
I just have to figure out how not to kill it.....it truly is beautiful...

Totally out of order picture.....
these were the party favors I made for everyone....
I had to explain NOT to light them as some people thought they were candles...
No.....white chocolate....
I had a lot of fun making them....
And then Blogger Cheri from Commerce made everyone an adorable felt
flower pin.....they came in all sorts of wonderful colors....
Thanks Cheri for making them for the gang!!
and Cheri almost didn't come......Hey Lady...I'm glad you decided to join us!

Back to my personal "stash"

Now let me explain just how brain dead I can be at times.....
when the ladies all arrived they handed me these wonderful bags and bottles and I
placed them down in the Library in a nice little pile....
I suppose I should have opened them before everyone left???
I didn't.....
Okay you know where this is going don't you.....
With the memory of a Flea when I went to open them after the fact
I forgot who gave me what.....
a few of the bags had names on them but the rest did not.....
SO.....I apoligize to all you wonderful women who brought hostess gifts because I
have no idea who gave me what!!!!!

I do know that this came from
Miss All Things French....
that would be Debbie of Confessions of a Plate Addict....
Thanks Debbie....I love it!
CCCatherine
brought me her beautiful note cards and some edible goodies....
Thanks CC....
Bonnie....The Artist"......framed the portrait of Boo that she painted for us last year
and included a great chocolate cookbook....
So the party came to an end and with very very sore feet I climbed this very
long staircase to retreat up to the sanctuary.....
I would like to Give a Huge thank you to all the ladies for accepting my
invitation and for all the lovely gifts you brought...You know who you are....
DENISE....ANET.....BONNIE....DEBBIE.....SUSAN.....KATHY.....LUWANNA..
STEPHANIE.......STEPHANIE'S MOM.....CHERYL
DEBBIE......ROSE......CCCATHERINE.....LYNN.....KIM.....BABS.....KELLY..
AMY.....CHERI.....AND SANDIE.....
WE MISSED YOU LINDA!!! and we hope you'll be back home from Texas real soon...

Watch for the Staircase in my next post as you'll finally get to see the
Finally finished being decorated
second floor of the house....

29 comments:

The Quintessential Magpie said...

What fun, Sue! And I want to know what happened to my invitation??? I would have driven from Florida for this, girlfriend!

Glad you all had fun. What a great party and beautiful home!

XO,

Sheila

Haden News said...

What a FUN party!! Great job, I would LOVE to know how to make the "egg chocolate" How fun!

Janet said...

Oh Sue, I so wish I lived closer; that looks like a fantastic party. So many giggling gals, I can only imagine what fun they all had :)

Kelly said...

Sue, I had the best time! You have the perfect house to entertain in. My house is probably closer to the size of your older home, so I fret when I have a large group over about where to seat everyone. It was so nice to meet you and all the other ladies. Hope we can do it again someday.

Cheri said...

I am glad that I decided to come...your house is so lovely and party perfect. The food...Oh my gosh...the food...I would be embarrassed for anyone to come to a lunch at my house. I know...I'll hire you to cater it. LOL

Good times...great fun...hope I can come and see you gals again soon.

Helen said...

Of course I am insanely jealous! I attended a meeting in DC and followed it up with a short visit to Roswell and my oldest son. PS ... I am 'considering' a move back to that area sometime next year. I have an agent looking ..... we'll see.

Kim @ Savvy Southern Style said...

Sue, you were a gracious hostess. I had so much fun. My gift did have a card with it. It is the Christmas tree paper hand towels. I use the paper hand towels in my powder room all the time and I noticed you did too so I am sure you will use them.

Hope we have a get together again some time.

Linda @ A La Carte said...

I knew I was missing the best party ever! I'm still in Texas and wish I were back home. So much gorgeous food and fun! I hope we can do something for Christmas! hugs, Linda

aka Nunzie said...

I miss you & all the fun!!! Joisey is too far from Jorja!!!!

The Country Nest said...

Looks like a lot of fun and the food looks delish, you can never leave an Italian home hungry.
The house looks wonderful too.
Hugs,
Donna

Kim said...

Well from one Jersey Girl to another - I wish I coulda been there! I'm a new follower - found you from Kelly's blog and your home is gorgeous!! I'm so happy to have found you and can't wait to go through your blog. Pop over for a visit sometime!
xoxo,
Kim

Ramblings of a Southern Girl ~ Rhonda G said...

What a wonderful gathering! And your home is beautiful! Pretty cute picture ...the boss and his sister wives! LOL! :)

Sue said...

Dear Sue, I LOVE you! You know I would have been there with bells on if I could have. I would have even helped you cook. :-) And we would have gotten in to waaay too much trouble.

Cindy (Applestone Cottage) said...

Hi Sue,
What a great party! You have a stunningly gorgeous home and what fun it is to see some of my blogger friends there.
The food and gifts look simply outstanding!
Hugs,
Cindy

Chatty Crone said...

This was one of the nicest parties I've even been too. Beautiful home, delicious food, fabulous host, great friends, and the view was awesome. So much fun. I love your home. Hey we have to get together for lunch with some of the gals before Christmas. Thanks for inviting me.
Sandie

~CC Catherine said...

Hi Sue! You are amazing...not only did you singlehandedly (I just made that a word) put that lovely spread of food on in such an European feel ~ You then captured it all and posted within a few days. YOU ROCK! I'm still trying to edit my photos from my Canadian Bloggers trip to do a post on it. Aren't I shameful. My head is hanging, trust me. I LOVE all the pics - the group shots really came out great and YES, the backdrop was PERFECT for the pics. My only regret was that I didn't get to talk to EVERYONE while I was there. :) You are truly the PERFECT Hostess, for SURE! :) Thanks again for the invite, I was elated to be included. I have pics of the scrumptious desserts if you want me to send them to you. THANKS for my lovely book, "French women don't get fat". :) I love it!

Sue said...

To any of you lovely women who came to my brunch on Sunday if at times I seemed a bit "out of it" during the party I found out today that I broke another part of my foot on Saturday....the last break just healed and it caused the bone next door to break....getting old sucks!!!

Kathleen said...

Well it all looks wonderful! I am sure they had a great time! I thought Joyce was going?Well done, Sue, hope your foot heals!

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

It's the perfect party home, and everyone looks like they are having a fabulous time!

Marianne said...

Said it once, said it again and now I'll just put it in shorthand ----- IWIHYL, Sue. (Thanks for the nice email.)

Confessions of a Plate Addict said...

Oh, Sue! I have talked about nothing but your brunch since Sunday! I don't know when I have had so much fun! Your home is beautiful and you are the quintessential hostess! The spread was fabulous...and once again I must say in Southern-ese...You put the big pot in the little pot! You outdid yourself! I love my little fried egg! I will never let anyone eat it! lol Thanks so much for being such a wonderful hostess! And now...take it easy, put your feet up and get well! Happy weekend!...hugs...Debbie

Pondside said...

That looks like so much fun! I'm sure we all wish we'd been there, but thanks to your post we can feel a little like we were!

Jojo said...

I had so much fun!! I haven't laughed that hard and I loved your new home!! By the way, that light up cup you gave my is incredible too!

Susan (Between Naps On The Porch.net) said...

Sue, this looks like a blast! So sorry I was sick and had to miss out on the fun. The food looked insanely good! You did a great job preparing. Love your home...it's beautiful!
XO

Yvonne said...

You have great taste, lady. Enjoyed the tour and party.

Desiree said...

What a treat to see the party from the perspective of the now famous hostess herself! This was a marvellous account of everything that went before, during and after your event. I think you were very brave to tackle having such a large party, now knowing you'd never done anything like this before. I'd imagined you do this sort of thing all the time, since you seemed such a natural! I guess there's hope for me then, too? This kind of thing is my worst nightmare :)

I lobed pouring over every detail and examining each picture in minute detail too. I now feel almost as though I was there at the time. Thank you for sharing your incredible day with all of us! And, WELL DONE!!!

Marie said...

I heard about your wonderful party from Sandie at Chatty Crone..I love her! Just wanted to say how awesome of you to have such a party for everyone! Everything you did looked delicious and beautiful! Love the
Boss' car! Hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday!

Sarah said...

Sue, looks like a grand party. You Atlanta girls have so much fun together. Beautiful new home! Thanks for sharing the photos. Hope your foot heals quickly. ~ sarah

Terra said...

I heard about your party from Sullivan and Murphy blog and am amazed at how fabulous it was; you sure know how to host a party.
I am your newest follower.