We had hired someone to help us with our ambitious “Lotsaversary Gathering” — with 92 attending of 200 invited, but he had to cancel due to not feeling well.
We were going to have him barback, not bartend, but as it turned out our friend Fadia comfortably slipped behind the bar and actually took on bartending of her own volition!
Midway into the evening I was checking in with her, and she told me she was having so much fun, asking people drinking highballs if they wanted singles or doubles, and many took her up on doubles.
It was then that I noticed that the jigger she was using was actually for a double, so she’d really been pouring doubles and “quadruples” — and into 10 oz. cups, no less!” We have little doubt that that greatly contributed to the success of the party!
Our thank-you note to her:
Thank-you card to FadiaThank-you sentiments to Fadia
Back in March of 2024, two lots behind our house went on the market, and we nabbed them! And since January of this year, we’ve been planning a 5/31/25 party to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the closing on that property.
At the beginning of May, we got the notion to replace our outdoor standalone deck bar and decided to have one built into the deck instead of getting another standalone one. Roman, our builder, finished it 2 days before the event!
We did a test set-up to think about where to put the alcohol, mixers, sodas, and ice to accommodate the best flow as people got drinks.
Mixers & sodas in the foreground; champagne bar in the background
Alcohol in the front, mixers and soft drinks on the side
Hello bourbon my old friend…
The straight, bourbon, blended, and scotch whiskey offerings
Alcohol set-up test run
The champagne bar
We invited 200 of our closest friends, and 92 of them attended the party. The weather was precarious, with it raining within 30 minutes of the 6 p.m. start time, but then it cleared up and ended up being perfect outdoor party weather the rest of the evening.
We had mostly catered food, all finger foods to preclude needing utensils. We loved “breaking in” our new bar and the flow of people moving about our backyard and into the lots behind it, and in which Bob has done a tremendous amount of work “cleaning up” over the year we’ve owned them.
The food tent in the woods
Festive deck activity
Guests milling about on our back lots
Guests milling about on our back lots
Guests milling about on our back lots
Guests milling about on our back lots
Guests milling about on our back lots
Guests milling about on our back lots
Henry & Suzanne
Bob & John
Bob & Michelle
John & Michelle
Clint & John
Bob, Laurel, & Pat
Laurel & John
Amy, Mary, & Claire
John with Roman, who built our bar, and his wife Kim
Getting excited about our new deck bar! The guy who’s building it gave us this rendering today, and it’s going to look great picking up the design of our grilling station at the other end of the deck.
Grilling station in the foreground.
Artist rendering of the bar to be built at the other end to replace that standalone one.
We had dinner with our friends Sherry and Fred at Baby Kay’s Cajun Kitchen in Mesa, AZ. John and Sherry met on an ambassadorial trip in October of 2008 to Beijing, Guilin, and Shanghai. We don’t see each other #IRL often, but like this time, it’s always a great visit.
My husband’s brother, Tommy, celebrated his 75th birthday, and we flew in to attend a surprise party for him. His brother Jimmy and his wife Cindy hosted the gala, and I met a nephew for the first time who also flew in for the occasion. Bob made the birthday cake.
We met grade-school friends of my husband for lunch one day. I was Facebook friends with one of them, so it was great to meet her in person. Bob and I enjoyed a bruschetta board, which was fantastic — second only to the company we enjoyed dining al fresco at Postino’s.
