Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Party Time!

I hope everyone had a nice Fourth of July! Ours was relaxing. We didn't do much since we were still exhausted from parties on Saturday and Sunday night, but we did manage to see some of our local fireworks from our front yard (after Nick played a round of golf with his friends). We also hung out with my parents for a while and did a lot of wedding talk. I'm already stressed, but also extremely excited.

Check out our garden! That's a lot of butternut squash, cantaloupe and spinach. I hope it all turns out. It's definitely thriving in this hot and rainy summer weather.


I really think the true reason Nick and I have parties is so we have an excuse to get our house and yard in tip-top shape.


These pictures don't do our yard much justice, but it looked amazing, and I have to give Nick all the credit! He kicked butt getting the yard together.



And of course there is no party in Columbus without an OSU cornhole set. Is cornhole a mid-western thing? It may be, but look it up, it's fun.



If you've ever thrown a party before, you know that it's always better to have too much food and drinks, as apposed to not enough. Just like last year, we were way overstocked, but this will definitely not go to waste.....




MARGARITA!!
Our friend is a bartender and he created this by mixing a standard margarita mix (which already included tequila...) with more tequila and about a half liter of Sprite. It was a huge hit, FYI.


I stuck to my new favorite beer; Bud Light Golden Wheat. Of course, after Saturday night I think I'll be taking a break from this drink for a while. Ugh.



We had the food catered, and many of my friends and family also brought some sides. We had pulled pork, roasted chicken, coleslaw, watermelon salad, pasta salad, and a relish tray with hummus. I made baked beans and brownies (no, not bean brownies, although those taste really good too!).

Like the big loser I am, I went around and took pictures of people's plates that were loaded with half veggies/fruit like the new USDA guidelines suggest. Here are some examples in case you were wondering how it's done during a summertime cookout (I was very lenient, obviously);


Half plate with beans and raw veggies.



Half plate with beans, coleslaw, and zucchini (in the pasta salad).



Half plate with raw veggies, coleslaw, zucchini and beans.




And what about Nick's plate? He looks guilty....



Well, he may not have had half of his plate filled with veggies/fruit, but his sandwich was a classic summertime creation; whole wheat bun, pulled pork and coleslaw. Now that's how it's done!



Random picture of my cousin and me.


And evidence that I am truly a "green" girl, I made everyone put their name on their cups so they would only use one. This worked well.



The party went on pretty late as we sat by the fire in our new fire pit. This fire pit was perfect and we are hoping to use it more throughout the year. I roasted about four marshmallows....so tasty.



QUESTION:
Did everyone have a nice Fourth??

16 comments :

  1. A stocked fridge def never goes to waste! Your party was a huge success! I can't wait to move into a house so we can have parties too.

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  2. That fridge full of beer looks like ours in the basement ;) Never goes to waste! I love that you took pictures of people's plates that were half veggie...love it! Only a dietitian... :) And the yard does look fantastic! Can I invite myself over for some corn hole? (We call it bags, but yes, I do think it's a Midwest thing). I'll bring my Illini set ;) Glad the party went well and sad we weren't there :( Have a great week, Gina!

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  3. As Nicole, RD said: yup, I think is is a pretty Midwestern thing, but in the Chicagoland (and apparently IL as a whole) area, we call it bags. Just so you know if you ever go, haha! :)

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  4. Looks and sounds like a great time!
    It's so satisfying when the garden starts to produce, isn't it?! We just picked tons of beets, lettuce, onions, and kale yesterday... I had to give some away---there's no way we would eat 17 beets! A great problem to have in my book :)

    Happy 4th (a little late)!

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  5. Your party looks awesome and the yard really does look amazing! :)

    Obviously I fully understand wedding stress however I'm thinking Nick needs to get that ring on your finger soon... just saying haha. Haha, does Nick read this?

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  6. You sure know how to throw a party! Gorgeous yard!

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  7. YUMMMM, those BBQ/cookout foods look FANTASTIC!!

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  8. i'm exhausted by this weekend! we entertained 3 days in a row! by yesterday night i was like get me away from peopleeeeee hahaha but bbqs are so much fun!

    van planted a garden last week! i'm excited to see what comes through haha :)

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  9. totally agree about getting house in tip top shape for a party (why don't we all do this anyway? doesn't matter). And cracking up over what would be my husband's dream fridge- filled with beer. Fourth was great (tired now).

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  10. what a great party!!!! And it's so funny how u made your plate to follow the dietary guideline! ;)

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  11. Glad your party turned out well! Naming everyone's cup is definitely a move I always try to make too!

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  12. Your house looks GREAT! You did an excellent job hosting and boy o boy is that fridge stocked! lol My husband's dream!

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  13. Hi Gina, looks like a fantastic time was had by all. Have a great week!

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  14. That looks like serious party success! I am wishing my backyard looked like yours. Amazing work!

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  15. Yep, I think inviting people over makes you clean more!

    Everything looks great Gina! My grandfather was from East North Carolina, so his pulled pork with coleslaw combo was a staple of my summers growing up. :D

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  16. What a fun party! We have a lot of parties at our house too, and it is definitely great incentive to clean up the house or yard. Love that you took pictures of everyone's plates!Our party this year was on the 3rd and on the street (cul d' sac) with our neighbors. I made my quinoa salad to share and everyone had a wonderful time (Plus we didn't have to clean up any mess at our house :-)

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