Welcome To Party Time

Summer is in full swing and what's the best way to celebrate than with a party. Yesterday my roommate and I threw a party to celebrate all things summer. It was my first major party that I was hosting (or at least helping with the hosting) since college. It was a lot of fun and I look forward to next one.

Throwing parties now is very similar to parties I threw in College. Major differences include more food, better drinks and the number of people to help clean up (there were seven people in a house on campus as oppose to an apartment with just me and my roommate).

For anyone wanting to throw a party and need a little advice, below are some pieces I picked up from my roommate and lodgemates.

1) Pick a simple theme and is seasonally appropriate (also that isn't offensive to another culture). This is helpful because decorations will likely be easy to find and might be on sale. If you decide to not have a theme that's okay too.

2) Make your apartment / house look clean. I don't mean do a full scrub down before the party, just a quick rub down so that people aren't questioning the green stuff growing in your sink (just kidding). Parties tend to be messy and you have to clean up after them anyway. Why put in all of the effort to make you apartment spotless before hand only to have to clean up all over again the next day?

3) Recruit people to help out with set up and clean up. You will need the help. I don't know how many times I've woken up after a party, looked around and wished I wasn't the one who needed to clean up. It's a little less daunting with a few extra hands.

4) The type of food to have. This is tricky because I feel it depends on the type of part. If you are throwing a dinner party or back yard BBQ it's kind of a given that there will be a lot of food and enough to cover at least one meal. If it's neither of those than I would suggest some finger foods. Things that are easy to put together and clean up after. Chips and dip are good bases for these parties, but not usually enough. Small sandwiches, meats and cheeses with crackers, and plenty of desserts keep people filled up.

5) Have people bring something (drinks are the best recommendation). When I was in college, my lodgemates and I threw a party within the first few days of moving in. We had a supply of drinks and some chips when we started the party. The next morning we didn't have any more chips, but about three times as many drinks as we had started with. Yesterday we asked everyone to ether bring a drink or a snack. We currently have a cooler full of drinks and no more tuna sliders.

Of course these are suggestions. All parties are different. Heck there have been many parties where it's just a group of friends who order pizza. Clean up, though, still sucks.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post or it really pissed you off, please like, share or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me. Now I just need to be ready for work tomorrow. Joys.

Welcome To Fall

It's The Best Season

It's officially the greatest season: Fall. It is the prettiest season. It is the most comfortable weather wise. Everything also seems to smell better in the fall. And don't forget the food, which is the most important.

Winter is way too cold, Spring is allergy hell and Summer is too hot. Ergo Fall wins. I especially love the flavors and decorations. I've seen some pretty cool Halloween decorations in stores (anyone for a wreath of skulls).

Since I've seen those lists on buzzfeed/facebook/insert social media here, I've wanted to do my own list. So here are my top 13 about fall. Why top 13, because I like prime numbers and have watched Nostalgia Critic.

1) Taking a walk - pretty simple and not too demanding. I like to leisurely take in the decorations and scenery. When I lived in Williamsburg, this was also the optimal time to go to the colonial area and get a mug of hot cider.

Speaking of hot apple cider...

2) Getting a mug of hot apple cider - I don't get it as often any more. Though I do still go out any buy the cold stuff and then heat it up. Hot apple cider is like having fall in a mug (pumpkin spice lattes are a close second).

3) Apples - Sure I can buy apples any time of year, but there's something special about fall apples. There always seems to be more variety of apples in the fall. Yumm.

But we can't forget about...

4) Pumpkin, pumpkin everywhere - Fall is pumpkin season, no questions asked. I love my pumpkin spice latte as much as the next girl (though I love pumpkin flavored coffee way more). I also just finished making pumpkin spice bread.

5) Novelty coffee - Specifically Target brand fall novelty coffee (no I'm not being paid by Target to advertise). Last year they had a really cool flavor called candy-corn. I was almost too afraid to try it. It was my favorite, totally beat pumpkin pie flavor.

6) Creepy kids' movies - I'm currently listening to Coraline in the background while writing this. I recommend both seeing the movie and reading the book (one of my favorite reads). I don't know what it is about scaring little kids using movies, but it's a lot more fun now that I'm an adult. Any Tim Berton claymation movie or some nostalgic Disney Channel original movie (Halloweentown anyone?) are a must see at this time of year.

7) Scary Old Movies - I'm not a big fan of slasher films. I prefer the creepy atmostphere of the original 13 Ghosts, Haunted House on Haunted Hill (not the 90s version), and Night of the Living Dead to today's blood fest. Well I do enjoy some older blood fest. There is just something more compelling with the older films.

8) Long drives - I grew up near the Shenandoah. I don't think I need to explain any further.

9) Cheap gas prices - Yeah, this is the time of year gas prices start to fall. I think it's a combination of it being the off travel season and the need to get rid of summer supply before the fall. Whatever the reason, gas prices fall and I am happy.

10) Sweater / Jean Jacket weather - Whether it's being warm and fuzzy or fashionable, sweaters and jean jackets are great at this time of year.

11) Barbeque - Now most people think BBQ is a summer food. I would like to disagree. Barbeque is best during the crisper months. You can really savor that smoked flavor when the air is less heavy and you really crave something to warm you up.

12) Corn mazes - Want to go on a date and see how well you both do when hopelessly lost? Hoping to see some cute animals? Love farm fresh food? Corm mazes are the place to go. Usually on some farm (they're the ones who grow the corn so obviously you go to a farm AJ) somewhere, corn mazes often have other attractions along with the maze. A few you can even do at night. They are well worth the number of hours you spend looking for the exit.

And Finally....

13) Celebrating Halloween - Arguably the best holiday, Halloween allows for even the oldest adults to dress up and feel like a kid again. When else is it appropriate to dress up, scare a few friends, and party all night long (fine anime/comic conventions don't count in this case). Halloween is awesome. And don't forget to remember All Saint's Day the day after. Halloween is the day that the spirits of our dearly departed loved ones get to cross over and spend some ghoulish time with us.

And that's my top 13 favorite things about fall. Let me know what you guys think is the best thing about fall in either my facebook comment section or the blog posts. Until next week!

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, comment or share it with friends, family or your worst enemies. I'll keep blazing through Wonderland while you guys sit back and read as the adventure unfolds.