The Hubs' Birthday and Our Mardi Gras Celebration

It has been a BUSY week!  We were non-stop with Matt's birthday and Mardi Gras festivities and everything turned out great.  I'll start with a quick recap of my husband's birthday dinner that we hosted at the house.  

I talked a little bit here about some ideas that I had for decorating for his birthday dinner.  I got a few decorations from Party City, fresh flowers from Fresh Market, and broke out our wedding china for the very first time.  It has been packed away since we got married and I was excited to break it out.  And actually, I only had the salad plates because our dinner plates still have to be ordered :(  I'm slacking big time with that.  Anyway, the table turned out festive and fun and fit our party of 8 just perfectly.  

I learned a lot about hosting a dinner party on Wednesday night.  I had my MIL babysitting Brody for several hours and I had done the grocery shopping and party city run the day before and I still felt like I spent ALL day long getting ready for this dinner.  It was crazy.  

The Menu:

Mixed Green Salad

Standing Rib Roast (I used this recipe for a cooking guide)

Mushroom Gravy

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese 

Roasted Asparagus, Broccoli and Cauliflower

Ice Cream Cake 

I made the classic mistake of choosing an entrée that I had never cooked before and that made me nervous.   My Mom had cooked it and I was using her recipe, but it was still probably not my smartest decision.  

Doesn't this piece of meat intimidate you???

 

It all worked out and the roast was edible, but I definitely overcooked it! DAMN, I was pissed.  Thankfully I had wonderful guests that could careless that the roast wasn't medium rare and still cleaned their plates :)

A few drinks at the bar first may have made the meal taste a bit better...

The birthday boy had a great time and that's all that mattered!!  He also appreciated his wife slaving in the kitchen all day and being joined by friends and family to celebrate his birthday.  

We had one night to recover from the dinner party and then Friday we had to put our party shoes back on.  We had our Pensacola Mardi Gras celebrations this weekend and it was a blast.  The weather was perfection and it felt so good to actually get a little sunburn.  

This Mardi Gras celebration was always one of my Dad's very favorite weekends.  We have always made it a big company event and encouraged camaraderie and celebration amongst our Adams Homes family.   This weekend was no exception.   In fact, it was our largest turn out yet.   The Mardi Gras committee dedicated the parade to my Dad and let the Adams Homes float lead the whole parade.   It was a wonderful celebration and remembrance of a wonderful father, friend, boss, and leader.  

Brody got ready for the Mardi Gras too.  He came and enjoyed an hour or so of the festivities and then headed home with his Grammy while Matt and I threw hundreds of beads and toys to thousands of people lined up on the streets....

PLEASE TELL ME....

What's your go-to dinner party meal??