Party Recap

Well, now that I've had the weekend to drink my memories away, how about a party recap? Photos to follow some day in the future.

So Thursday was Flatmate Susie's birthday. (29 again and holding strong) She invited some friends over and we foolishly decided to cook for them. Foolishly because we own neither enough cooking utensils nor enough service wear. Nor silverware. Nor cups. Nor anything else for that matter. However we rose to the occasion and FS raided the kitchen at her office borrowing plates/cups/silver and chairs for the weekend. Nice lovely stuff, that if it goes missing? We returned. Anyway, we cooked. Menu included fried ricotta with pesto, roasted garlic with goat cheese and grapes on bread (which she informed me might have over shot the sophistication level of the Irish but was good none the less), bruschetta of various types, potato salad, veggie quiche and kebobs. Guess what the most difficult thing to procure was? Skewers. We looked for days for the damn things. I can get them at 7-11 at home, it never dawned on me that this is an exotic item. Luckily, I remembered the Asian Emporium (no really, that's the name), an Asian foods grocery near my office, and lo! Thursday at lunch, I succeeded in finding skewers. Had no idea what I was going to do with all that kebob stuff if that failed. Glue tooth picks together? Chopstick kebobs? Weird stew??? Anyway, Asian Emporuim saved the day with not one size, but 2 sizes of bamboo skewers. I will only ever say nice things about them again. So, food was good, lots of compliments including one from Libby, sister of FS who told me my quiche was the best she'd ever had. Ever. I make good quiche...

Let me set the record straight though: Flatmate Susie did indeed cook. I did not run her out of the kitchen. She made the bruschetta, the potato salad and chopped the veggies for the quiche. And the girl cleaned.... Together, we make 1 perfect woman. She looked lovely, as all birthday girls should. Wearing a chocolate brown lace dress. Quite flirty really. She looked good. I on the other hand, did my best impression of Florence from the Jeffersons; only in the room long enough for a smart remark and a withering glance. Either that or I was peeking out from the kitchen.

People showed up on time-ish. Party time anyway. Not early, not on time, just late enough to give us a little breathing room. Gifts were proffered and opened. Alcohol was served, and not just to me. Although I do seem to be the only person in Ireland that drinks red wine. I think all her friends know each other, because everyone was really chatty right from the beginning. Which is nice. No one likes a quiet party. So everyone was talking and sort of playing conversational musical chairs, nibbling and drinking. It was really quite perfect. Had 5 more people showed up, we would have been over capacity though. As it was, just the right balance of people in a small space.

Everyone left at a good time. After a very subtle hint, but they went into the night happily. That's all a girl can ask for after she announces "We love you. Go home." Hey! I'm an American; it's my job to be rude and pushy. The house didn't take long to put back in order, so I think they were the perfect guests. Brought gifts, brought wine, compliments all around, ate almost all the food, took all the beer home with them, didn't trash the place. It was a good night. She's got good friends. And I'm not just saying that because they're reading this. :-)

Oh, and the cake... yum. Lemon blueberry cheesecake. Yeah, that was a good way to finish off the night.