'summer 2015 party' report

our house party was pretty epic, even if i say so myself. but we have witnesses that agree :) the price tag was pretty epic too - i estimated it to come around to turkish monthly minimum salary. but that was a choice we made, wanted to go all out for once and share an unforgettable experience with our friends :)

food wise, i only made a salmon pasta salad, and Carilyn helped me in putting it together. also i accepted one "food donation"; finnish meatballs from Melisa. the rest of the stuff, turkish pastries, mezes, chocolate chip cookies we bought. oh, and i did make some cocktail snacks with foreign cheese :) we also ordered pizzas - even one with real prosciutto - so no one was left hungry!!

on the drinks side of things, doctor prepared fruity jello shots.

i like gelatin too so went for the vodka-liqueur infused gummy bears. berry vodka, cointreau and lime juice (not sold in turkey so doctor hand squeezed almost half a liter...). 24h in the fridge.

i also studied cocktails and bought glass jars to prepare drinks beforehand (make the drink, place jar with lid in fridge, or freezer, if prepping just before serving). i made 23 different cocktails using vodka, gin and tequila as base spirits. now that was fun! import liquor is so expensive in turkey you dont see middle class drinking cocktails...almost ever.
then i made a drink of my own from this finnish sweet & sour, licorice based candy (Turkin Pippuri hot & sour). infused a bag of candy in vodka, in a glass jar. it came out syrup-y, first tasting like cough cyrup, but then giving a sour back kick. it was well liked. i served it in shot glasses.

my cocktail recipes on our kitchen cupboards.

individualized punch glasses, of course...   (plastic table cover makes cleaning easier!)

 our fridge was packed!

 the guys corner...   and pizza leftovers.

 

for toasting, and pure enjoyment, we acquired 5 bottles of sparkling wine. and our guests surprised us with 3 more, as a gift. somehow they were all finished. for 17 guests, some of whom left early, even i thought this was impressive (considering all the other alcohol consumed, from whiskey to wine to finnish salmari, and the punch and shots of course).

today i have heard reports of extended hangovers. in addition, 2 individuals 'found each other', and exited the party together.... so i consider that a success.

the minus with holding parties is that with quite a bit of focus spent on "hostessing", and so many people, you dont really get to talk with anyone. you exchange a few words here and there but thats about it. nevertheless, i love hosting parties.

i think we went to bed around 4. the last couple hours were dance oriented, were were only a handful of people, getting somewhat drunk, and air guitaring ensued.

the smokers formed another party on the balcony. where my dear friend Carilyn also gave a speech (under pressure from others). it was appropriately short and sweet ending in something like "...and here's to doctor and jenni not marrying their cousins." :D there is a reason she was pushed to say something.

i got off pretty easy hangover wise. i woke up feeling kind of decent, and went for water right away, and as i felt a headache maybe coming on, i made the executive decision to get a hair of the dog. cos once a hangover goes bad, it's pretty hard to fight off. and whether it was that drink, or just luck, my day has been ok. some of our friends stayed overnight in our guest room and were less lucky. i think its also that doctor had me drink water before going to bed...  (reason #127 why i love him).