Girls Night Out

 

On Tuesday night, about a dozen close friends joined me for a Girls Night Out party at my house. Laughter, dinner and drinks - it was so much fun, and easy to plan. I made the invitation (see blog below) and sent it out about 3 weeks ago. Plan A was to host the party outside but rain and humidity intervened so, Plan B, we gathered inside.

The rest of the plan was simple. A limited bar including my new favorite summer cocktail - Rosemary Vodka Lemonade (click here for recipe), as well as wine, lemonade tea and water. Light buffet dinner included flank steak marinated in a delicious wet paste (see blog above), orzo salad with salmon, summer tomato salad and fresh melon salad; most of the menu items were seasonal, inexpensive and easy to prepare the day before. For dessert, I made my favorite Berry Trifle - layers of angel food cake, white chocolate pudding, cool whip and fresh berries - plus Hershey's Miniature Chocolates - Creamy Milk Chocolate with Toffee and Almonds (yum!)

Decor was simple, too. Incorporating the look and feel of my invitation, I used orange and yellow elemtents - scattered sunflowers from Wegmans for $6.00 a bunch; orange and yellow disposable plates and napkins; orange placements from Pottery Barn ($4.49 on sale) and even, drink and food buffet menus that looked like the invitation.

The biggest surprise was entertainment. I hired a fortune teller, GA Orndorf, via Bialek's Music, one of my preferred local entertainment companies. The girls and I got a kick out of GA's insight and predicitions - especially the ones that were slightly off the mark!