Worth It

You may be wondering why I have been MIA lately. I have been planning my parents' 40th Wedding Anniversary party. The party was last night and it was a huge success (if I must say so myself! :)

I have been planning, cleaning & decorating for weeks. I wanted to make this party really special for my parents...I figured it was the least I could do after everything they have done for me! With the help of our fabulous friends, Rian & Lauren, we decided on a sit down dinner. I thought I was out of my mind for planning a dinner for 41 people in our house (32 people came) but it was definitely worth all of the hard work!

There is NO WAY I could have done it without Rian & Lauren. Rian came over on friday night and started prepping the food. He was there around 4 hours. Saturday Rian and Lauren came around noon and didn't leave until the majority of the mess was cleaned up last night...I want to say that it was around 1am but I don't have any recollection of time. While Lauren & I did a lot of the prepping, Rian did ALL of the cooking! I bought some appetizers from Sams (primarily dips, veggies & fruit) but that was all I had to do. This is a good thing too since I was already EXHAUSTED by the time the entree was on the grill.

Lauren did not miss a beat and was serving the food, doing the dishes and even taking photos of me giving my speech (I didn't even notice that until this morning when I looked at the photos). oh! and Lauren even made menu cards for each place setting. A request from Chef Rian, of course! I am forever indebted to Rian & Lauren. THANK YOU! The food was incredible and it received a gazillion compliments -- including the guests of honor AND we all know how much they love good food. They travel enough to know what good food is!

I also want to thank my sister, Chrissy for all of her help. She helped by keeping me sane over the last couple of weeks. She was at my beck and call to help around the house and to put me in my place (or at least try) when I was doing TOO MUCH and trying to make everything absolutely perfect! Chrissy also made the name tags for each seat and folded the napkins into fans with a bow tied around them. The napkins also included a piece of greenery and looked fabulous! I spent a lot of time planning the table scape and making sure it was beautiful! I LOVED the way it turned out and I regret that I didn't take many photos! I guess I had A LOT on my mind! ha!

Brad also deserves a huge thank you because after he was in class for 7 hours yesterday, he came home, got dressed and helped chauffeur everyone from a parking area down the street. Brad also helped me stay sane over the last couple of weeks, helped me pick up all of the rentals and helped clean up last night!

Everyone said that I did a great job and that I was "suzie homemaker" and the "hostess with the mostest" but the truth is that I couldn't have made such a memorable party for my parents without the help from the people mentioned above! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

THE MENU

Salad - Riesling Poached Pear Salad with Mixed Greens, Crumbled Blue Cheese, Candied Pecans and Strawberry Vinaigrette

Entree - Grilled Filet Mignon with a Jumbo Prawn, Basil Mashed Potatoes, Sauteed Green Beans and Carrots with a Red Wine Reduction

Dessert - Traditional Bananas Foster & Amaretto Cream Anniversary Cake


I should also mention that I was super excited about the cake since it was the same flavors as one of the tiers from our wedding cake. Brad and I didn't eat our wedding cake so we were able to enjoy it last night!