friends and parties

i love having people over, but sadly don't do it as often as i would like. between the munchkins sports and household chores, it is usually 8:00 on a weekend night before i realized that i should have made some phone calls.

my friend joy had a birthday recently, so i jumped at the chance to have the girls over and was able to gussie up the place for a night.

a few weeks ago, ruffled blog posted this amazing fantasy dessert table. i fell in love with the pink ruffle cake immediately - it was the perfect centerpiece. after a little Internet searching, i found that it is actually a martha stewart design. since, i have never met a cake i didn't want to tackle, i promptly went to the store and bought the appropriate frosting tip (#103, for anyone interested.) in the end, i think it turned out pretty well, and the lemon cake made from scratch on the inside was as delicious as the outside looks.

the main reason i love having people over is it's an excuse to get out all the little goodies i buy at estate sales throughout the year. i can use the meticulously hand embroidered napkins, the crystal fostoria glasses, and the silverware from the 40s with a beautiful lily of the valley pattern. i love it all and don't believe about hiding treasures in a drawer!