Ice Cream Social

I turned 29 on Cinco de Emma this past year. To celebrate my “first annual 29th birthday” as Jackson and I have jokingly called it, we invited lots of friends and family over to build themselves an ice cream sundae. I ordered some fun little pink ice cream cups online, found matching spoons at a local party store, and gathered toppings and bases. Most importantly, I rush ordered a used banana split dog costume off of eBay (the seller was very supportive of its purpose and helped me get it in time for the party).

For the ice cream, we offered Blue Bell chocolate and vanilla (if it ain’t broke…) and a Trader Joe’s vanilla soy that was truly impressive for our dairy-free and vegan folks. Then, I made several custard-style ice creams: lemon mascarpone, dulce de leche, and birthday cake! Each had recommended sundae pairings, obviously.

• For the lemon mascarpone, I had a gluten-free lemon poppy seed coffee cake crumble and lemon lavender sauce to top.

• For the birthday cake, we had rainbow sprinkles, brownie pieces, and hot fudge.

• For the dulce de leche, I added a caramel sauce and chocolate sprinkles.

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We had a blast and it was a great way to see some folks and have people drop in on a Sunday afternoon without taking up the whole day or having to feed 30+ people a full meal. Would you ever host an ice cream social?

xo,

em

Based On A Novel By Stephen King

You might be aware that spooky season is my favorite season. I was a late bloomer when it comes to horror movies, but I’ve now come to enjoy the genre and watch spooky movies even outside of spooky season. (! I know, right!)

Jackson and I throw an annual Halloween party where we pull out all the stops: the drinks are flowing and the food is plentiful. I absolutely love hosting and Halloween is a great excuse for us to invite our friends out for an evening of rowdy fun. While our dining room is still awaiting its construction projects, we were able to turn it into a buffet easily and we placed the bar outside on the porch.

The last few years, we’ve tried to select a different theme. This year, we went with Stephen King since I’ve lately been reading his novels. (The man is a master of the craft of writing for sure).

Naturally, we opted for a couple’s classic: Jack and Wendy Torrance from The Shining. Potato opted for a simple yet complementary costume: Georgie from It.

Make a balloon arch, light all your candles, and crank up the Haunted Hits playlist - it’s party time, y’all! Yes, we built a Pet Sematary in our backyard. Yes, the way to get into the party was to make your mark on the Overlook Hotel’s redrum door with an axe. Any more questions?