Dinner Paaaaarty!

Last night was an unexpected and pleasant blast.

I arrived home from work to find Steve, our neighbor that lives in the apartment below us, sitting on our stoop. He was enjoying the shade and breeze while reading. Even though it was warm, it was a perfect evening to be sitting outside. Shortly after Steve and I began chatting, Mallory arrived and we began throwing around some dinner ideas.

We invited Steve for dinner and the three of us moved our party inside to begin cooking. Well, Mal began cooking. After I started "helping" her, she quickly decided there was one too many chefs in the kitchen (that would be me) and said, "You can cook. The kitchen is too small and you seem to want to, so you can make dinner."

So, I did.

Mal had this chicken kit that she shared. Y'all, those kits are great! And so easy. They are made by Campbells and include all the ingredients (besides the meat) needed to make a scrumptious meal. So, last night I made lemon chicken with herb rice. On the side we had green beans and crescent rolls.

While dinner was cooking, Mal, Steve, and I chatted. Drew called and said he'd be home for dinner and had invited one of his coworkers over to assist him with some work. Knowing that we had plenty of food, I quickly realized that this would be the first dinner party we've had in our house! Yay for new friends.

Steve went downstairs and reemerged with a bottle of cabernet and champagne. We set the table and Drew and Marie arrived just as the food was finishing. Perfect. Drew picked up a Shiraz on his way home. We toasted first with Steve's cabernet.

Conversation flowed freely and we had lots of laughs. And the food rocked!!! Phew.

Drew is travelling with us down to NC this weekend because he is interviewing for a scholarship to study abroad in Africa next year. He asked the four of us to do a mock panel interview (which is what he'll be faced with Saturday morn) with him, which we all gladly did. He's gonna do great!

After Drew's "interview", Mal made brownie "cupcakes" for us and we indulged in chocolate and more red wine. Marie stayed until about 11:30 and Steve stayed until about 3!

We had a beautiful storm here last night, er, early early this morning. I was thankful to be awake and awed by it.

It was an incredibly fun evening and it's great to be making friends! I love spur of the moment dinner parties. How fun!