all that glitters is gold

On Sunday evening I hosted a party in honor of my best friend, Kristi, moving to Tacoma!  It was actually exactly a month from the day she officially moved to Tacoma, and in that month she's gotten jobs at two of my most favorite local businesses and moved into the most pin-worthy, cutest apartment ever.  She's an introvert like me, so I wanted to create an opportunity for her to meet our Tacoma friends and hopefully make some new connections in her new city.  She's been loving Tacoma (yay!), and I'm so excited to be able to share one of my favorite places with one of my favorite people.  I decided that a gold theme would go nicely, as I was inspired by this old rhyme:

Make new friends, but keep the old; Those are silver, these are gold. New-made friendships, like new wine, Age will mellow and refine. Friendships that have stood the test- Time and change-are surely best; Brow may wrinkle, hair grow gray; Friendship never knows decay. For 'mid old friends, tried and true, Once more we our youth renew. But old friends, alas! may die; New friends must their place supply. Cherish friendship in your breast- New is good, but old is best; Make new friends, but keep the old; Those are silver, these are gold.

Plus, we enjoyed lots of delicious

Sofia wine from Francis Ford Coppola Winery

, to encourage "new-made friendships."  Kristi and I are certainly golden friends. It's been over a decade of being best friends.  We haven't lived in the same town since high school, so it's been a nice change to actually get to hang out, rather than just text and Facebook one another.  I hope that perhaps some new "silver" friendships were formed at the party, too.  It's hard moving to a totally new place, but it's a bit easier knowing someone with an established friend base.  When I moved to Tacoma, I met all of Dan's friends, so it wasn't quite as difficult as moving to a new place knowing no one.  Since I was the one who encouraged Kristi to move to Tacoma, I wanted to facilitate a meet-and-greet type of fun, casual party where she'd have a chance to meet some of my friends.  I'm still in the process of making friends, over two years after moving here, so I know how hard it can be!

Since we had lots of wine, plus some bubbly, I decided it'd be great to do a mimosa bar.  We had

cans of the bubbly

, so if people wanted

just

bubs they could grab a can.  The full bottles were set up next to the juice for mimosas, and we had guava, mango, and the standard OJ as options, plus some raspberries to toss in for good measure.  And, of course, cute straws and sparkly swizzle sticks.  The mimosa bar was a

huge

hit.  I mixed guava and mango juice for my mimosa.  I could probably drink a hundred of them, but I didn't.  Because responsibility.  The light wines were perfect for summer evening.  I think Sofia 

Ros

é

 is my new favorite summer wine, but I also love the crispness of the

Riesling

and

Chardonnay

.  On a hot day I almost want to chug a chilled wine, but that's not lady-like... it's just

so

refreshing!

I held the party in our backyard, and it was nice to finally make use of our backyard.  Plus, it was a great excuse to actually clean it up.  Our backyard is rather small, but it's the perfect size for a fun little party.  I have all our wedding decor still, since it was all DIY, and it's fun to pull it out from time to time for parties.  I still have the bunting up in my living room from our housewarming party in January!

We made all of the food, except for the cupcakes, which were from

Corina

(who did my wedding cake and cupcakes!).  The menu included a cheese plate with lots of yummy cheeses and fruits,

caprese quinoa stuffed mushrooms with balsamic reduction

,

strawberry honey brie crostinis

,

antipasto skewers

,

zucchini rolls

, and

macarons

!  It took quite a few hours to prep everything, and I sliced my hand so bad with the mandoline making the zucchini rolls that I almost had to go get stitches and I nearly passed out.  But, you know, no pain no gain.  Actually it ended up not being too bad of a cut, thank goodness!

Seriously though, you guys, if you're looking for a great party beverage these little

mini Sofia cans

are so much fun.  Even the most macho, bearded dudes thought they were fun.  Because they are.  So fun.  They come with little extend-o bendy straws.  I can't believe no one else makes these because it's brilliant.  I think they'd be perfect for a Bachelorette party, ladies night/sleepover, blogger meet-up, bridal shower... okay really I think they're perfect for most anything.

more after the jump!

The night concluded, rather epically, with witnessing.... slug sex.  Yes.  And it was one of the most incredible things I think I've ever seen.  I have a 18 minute long iPhone video to prove it, too.  Yes, we sat on the ground for 20 minutes watching slugs have sex.  But you would've too, because it was seriously unbelievably cool.  Voyeuristic, perhaps.  I like to think of it as National Geographic, Discovery Channel type stuff though.  If slug sex isn't on the Planet Earth series, it needs to be, because whoa.  Fascinating and oddly beautiful.  I hope you're all googling slug sex now.  Maybe I'll put up my video on YouTube.  The background commentary alone is probably rather amusing.  

*post sponsored and wine provided by Francis Ford Coppola Wines.  Thank you for supporting those companies who keep Delightfully Tacky alive and kicking!*