We Threw a Party...

...and lived to tell about it.

I piggy-backed on Christmas to throw an open house/housewarming party for a few reasons. 1) We haven't hung anything on the walls and I thought our holiday decorations would generally make up for that fact. 2) I love all things festive and what's more festive than a Christmas party?

About 10 minutes into the shindig I spilled apple cider all over my shirt. I'm kind of impressed I had time to change into my party outfit in the first place. I had even less time to change the 2nd time around so I threw on the closest acceptable top I could find, which I'm pretty sure came from the loungewear section of Anthropologie. Basically I looked like a slob (especially compared to my lovely friends who all looked so nice), but my house looked pretty good and the food was pretty tasty, if I do say so myself, so I'm calling this party a success.

I managed to take a few photos before the party started because (thank goodness) nobody came right on time. Some people call it fashionably late, but I call it the hostess grace period. Of course I didn't manage to take any photos during the party because I was too busy enjoying everyone's company. I'm so thankful we have such great friends here in D.C.

I made a lot of what I'm calling "retro Southern" food - some classic recipes you might have seen on party tables 30+ years ago. Christmas is such a nostalgic time, and I'm embracing the Southern side of Virginia, so it all made sense in my head. Unclear if it made sense to anyone else, but people seem to be pretty happy as long as they are well fed and properly hydrated. I'll share some recipes later this week (the sausage balls were a big hit), but for now, I just have photos.

The food table was more put together than the host. :)

Peppermint Pound Cake  

What's more classically Southern than ham salad and cheese straws? 

The traditional party cheese/meat tray + some pimento cheese spread for a Southern twist. 

The zebra rug, leather chairs, and glass table made a lot of sense in our downtown condo, but I think they look pretty funny in our 1930s colonial. Oh well....all in good time.  

Bourbon apple cider. More than one person asked, "What is that amazing smell?"

We put up tour signs to encourage everyone to take a peek around the house. Jon threw them away before I could take photos (fail), but here are a few of my favorites from 2 of the upstairs bedrooms, which are currently pretty empty save a few boxes.
Future nursery? (There, we said it).
Katie's vision: family room. Jon's vision: bowling alley.

Candy cane food label holders - straight from Pinterest. 

Party loot - we have generous friends! We need to throw another party now just to get through all this wine/champagne!

Someone had a little fun with our n-a-p pillows while they were on the house tour. 

The wine and gifts were awesome, but nothing can beat this photo of us and our house that our friend's son drew.
A little birdie told me today that he was excited when he saw how much our house looked like his drawing, but he was disappointed he made our center window square instead of round and that he put the chimney on the wrong side.
 How cute is that?! I love how thoughtful he was about it. Also, this is an incredibly accurate likeness of what my hair looked like on Sunday. He nailed it. 

Our "happy home" - too sweet.

I ended my night at 9:30 with 2 Nyquil. I was out by 10 p.m., and I'm not ashamed.