Trick or Treat! (Rub My Feet)

Happy Halloween! Today has been a shitshow in our house, as I have been so distracted with party planning and executing this week that I forgot to make Bobby's costume. Since I don't have many years to dress the kiddos up in costumes of my choosing, I originally wanted them to wear costumes that reflect their current personalities. So Vivi will be going as a Cabbage Patch Doll, since she is super loveable, plump, and cuddly with a Reubenesque figure and luscious cheeks. Here is a sneak peak at one of her fittings. I can't take it.

I have been planning for Bobby to go as a cave man, since he basically acts like a tiny neanderthal and grunts and eats sticks and stuff. I bought all the fabric, cut the pattern out, and then just got so darn distracted with decorating, planning, and baking for the party I hosted on Halloween Eve...that I dropped the ball. I remembered this at 1am, and then of course didn't sleep a wink after that because it was bugging me that I had forgotten it. I hate when I drop the ball. So I worked on the costume this morning, and Bobby promptly tore it to shreds. I'm so over it at this point that I have decided to go on strike and let him wear a Walmart special. Or nothing at all. I'm to the point of giving 0 craps right now.

But at least I have festive nail polish. That's a tiny win.

 But back to the party. I love hosting parties. I love the decorating, planning, and baking. It isn't until the night before that I start cursing myself for volunteering to have my home on display and feed the masses. That's when you can only do so much, and everything else has to wait until the last minute.

Hosting an event can be stressful enough when you are childless or have older children, but stress gets taken to a whole 'nother level when you throw a toddler into the mix. There's unraveling, undoing, spilling, stage-5 clinging, and general shenanigans that only a toddler or a spawn of satan could come up with. I am incredibly lucky that my parents live 2 hours away and were generous to come over yesterday morning to distract the beasties for a bit while I cursed myself and wallowed in self-loathing prepped for the party.

I looked at the clock and realized that people were going to begin arriving in thirty minutes, and meanwhile I was still dirty and disheveled, the counters were covered in honey, I had forgotten to clean the bathroom toilet, and I still hadn't vacuumed. Thank God my awesome co-hostess, Heather, showed up to take care of the last minute details while I quickly threw on my witchy wear (moral of this story: never host a party alone).

Alex took the babes to a friend's house for the evening, and everything went off without a hitch. It's always at that point, once everything has come together, that I forget all the pain I just went through and am so happy to see everyone having a good time. And then--every damn time--I go temporarily insane and offer to host another party. "Yeah, girl, let's do one for Christmas!" It's masochistic. It's like childbirth amnesia for the domestic hostess.

The Halloween Eve party was great fun last night. It was a witch theme, and all the costumes were great. Decorations were in every nook and cranny, and the drinks were flowing. My fabulous co-hostess made so many wonderful dishes, and as soon as I get the recipe for her bacon crackers from her, I am going to post it. Because it was the best thing I've ever put in my mouth. And that's saying a lot. 

The menu included:

Crudites, Bread, and Cheddar Fondue

Jalapeno Crab Dip

Soft Pretzel Bites with Chipotle Mustard

Crostinis with Fig Chutney and Bleu Cheese

A Cheese/Fruit/Nut/Meat/Olive tray with Organic Gallberry Honey

Marinated Quinoa Meatballs

Bacon Crackers

Black Velvet Cake with Pumpkin-Pecan Filling

Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies

White Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles

Espresso Brownies

Caramel Apple Sangria

(Non Alcoholic) Witches Brew

It was yummy. The bacon crackers were my favorite non-sweet item, but I stayed pretty true to lurking around the dessert table, per usual. I also loved that the Sangria (which was amazing, if I may toot my own horn) was demolished, while the non-alcoholic beverage remained untouched. These are my kind of people. And I was so happy that everyone really got into the spirit and brought their A-game with their witch costumes. I only hate that it was an evening party, which makes it difficult to get good pictures of the food and decor. Oh well, you get the jist.

The best part of the night (totally showing my weakness here) was that a few darlings stayed afterward and polished off wine bottles while they completely cleaned all the dishes and my entire kitchen. I had secretly been stressing about cleaning that mess up for days, especially since Alex left at the ass-crack of dawn this morning for a week-long trip to Japan. So this was the best hostess gift anyone could have given me ever. If you are paranoid about a clean house, then surely you understand. I was able to relax and not worry about all the work I had to do in the morning. Until I remembered that I hadn't made that costume. Rats. 

Keep on keepin' on!
-Annette