The love of parties for those of us who not only enjoy attending them - but also love hosting them - can be like an addiction.Are you like me; one of those people?
Growing up, I loved going to my Aunt Rose's house. Every holiday I spent at her house was like a party, although it was actually nothing more than a bunch of family members convening to celebrate something.
But, I bet some of you can relate to what I'm saying. Many of you have an Aunt Rose. Well, maybe you have an "Aunt Rose"... if you're lucky.
Unlike at my house, where there seldom was any type of celebration, Aunt Rose's house was a bit chaotic and extremely warm and inviting, smelling of either her famous homemade clover leaf rolls (which was actually brioche) lingering throughout the air or her super-sized chocolate chip cookies she'd make especially for me.
And, I remember the first time I saw where she worked; in East Lansing, at the Michigan State University frat house, Zeta Beta Tau. They loved her. And, they especially loved her food.
Secretly, I vowed that someday I'd own kitchen equipment like that. A big stainless steel stand-up mixer with a bowl so large that I could ball up and fit into it. There was stainless everything - everywhere I looked. I just loved it. I'm going to have a kitchen like that, but at my house, I remember thinking. And, I still dream of owning two walk-in's; a refrigerator and a freezer. But, in a home I'll own - one day. Imagine that.
Easier said than done. First, I had to grow up. Then, I had to go through the growing pains of figuring out what my "calling" was. But, it turned out that while I was young - aspiring to have this type of a wonderful kitchen - I had to figure out that most kitchens of this type were "commercial" kitchens. Yet, while keeping that idea spoke to my "party side", catering kitchens became a part of my hardwired catering DNA.
Then in my late twenties, I became best friends with a rather "loony", sometimes obnoxious, guy named Lee Horst (who I loved and am grateful for, because he taught me a lot about taste, style, decor, and the meaning of friendship) who helped me and my two roommates throw a holiday party extraordinaire. Lee soon had me at the helm of the party, shopping for four (4) twenty-something pound turkeys and buying double-stick tape to hold down a gazillion votive candles that he placed allover our rented home. That holiday party is still being talked about today - some umpteen years later.
Lee introduced me to a new way of thinking about parties, like no one else could: His ideas were wonderful, but also thrifty, and never too busy looking. His concepts captured a type of je ne sais quoi that some talented, artistic people do so well - executed with a quality that makes merely "okay" into something really special.
Lee and I have have lost touch, but unbeknown to him - he taught me this, real talent that brings about beauty is usually flawed. Back then, every cigarette he smoked went hand-in-hand with a bottle of Coca-Cola. Those two addictions were his flaws. Lee
I want to share so many things with you; you, who love parties like I do.
Anyone who produces parties even relatively often knows, none of them are actually perfect. So, I'll likely focus on the perfection of imperfection of parties in future posts. And now you know, if you were looking for "flawless" and you're the kind of person who needs every damn thing to be in it's place - that's not what Aunt Rose and Lee showed me. And, it's not what I'll show you.
I'm too nuts to begin to try!
But, I'll have plenty to offer people who are like me; wishing for "lovely" in catering and event planning party disorder, even if we don't have it "together" to obtain it.
Keep tuning in, all of you beautifully flawed and party addicted human specimens of gorgeousness.
I love you guys.
Image source: Carlo At Your Service Productions
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