You Know They Feel at Home When.....

...they plan a party to be hosted at YOUR house! And we wouldn't have had it any other way...!

Enjoy these photos of the infamous Italian Dinner...

(PHOTOS: 1. Seated for dinner (as you can see, we added 2 benches to accomodate everyone!); 2. Emily & Stephany, setting the table; 3. Table is ready to go!; 4. Girls on stairs, all dressed up for dinner; 5. Girls in the living room; 6. The group on the stairs (where we always take photos!); 7. Marissa making cheesecake (Sarah helped, too!)

NOTE: Click on each photo to enlarge it for a better view!

Last fall, Sarah and Stephany, a couple of the gals in my son's close group of friends, came to see me. They said, "We need your help." "Ok," I said, "what are we doing?" They went on to explain that they wanted to host a dinner and wanted my help. Well, naturally that was music to my ears! The two of them were representing the 'girls' of the gang who wanted to host an Italian Dinner for the 'guys'. What a great idea, I thought! And it was! The girls wanted to host the party here in our home and in our dining room, which also thrilled me! I cannot express how delighted I was that they were comfortable enough to want to have it here! And needless to say, we were thrilled that they were comfortable enough to ask!

We plotted and planned what to serve, how and whom to invite, what date would be best, how to convince the guys to 'dress up' and so forth. I'm not sure who was more excited - the girls or me! They decided what items they would serve and who would be responsible for each. In fact, they decided pretty much everything. It was their dinner and I wanted them to make decisions they would feel good about.

Our plan was to get back together to decide which dishes and centerpieces to use. I pulled samples of my collections so the girls could see what choices were available. The day before the dinner, Marissa and Sarah joined me in the kitchen and I taught them how to make cheesecake. I so enjoyed having the gals in the kitchen with me!

The following evening, Emily and Stephany came early to set up for the dinner. That was a fun time, too. Please see all the photos....

The time finally arrived and all the guests were here. Unfortunately, several from the group of friends could not attend because of work schedules, but the 13 who could attend seemed to have a fun evening. I know Ken and I sure did! We just let them take over the formal areas of the house and we surfaced only to serve, as needed (although the girls had that covered, too), and to take photos. We miss our kids, but we treasure the times we spent with them. We love you guys!