Partytime! Excellent.

Happy Halloween, y'all.

I have really enjoyed the costume thing this year.  And the party thing.  We've attended two costume parties, and it isn't even trick or treating time yet.  And that's awesome.  Tree Guy and I used to discuss how nice it would be to have parties and dinners to go to.  To have the kind of friends who host that stuff. His parents have a big group of friends who always have something going on, some event to look forward to.  Most of them met while raising their kids in the same neighborhood.  Now they are grandparents, and they're still friends.  They've moved out but not on.  

Times are different now.  Tree Guy and I wave to our neighbors (the nice ones, anyway) and help them catch their escapee minpins, but we don't socialize with them.  We don't have progressive dinners or block parties.  People are too busy.  We all have other friends.  And we have Netflix.

What I've learned is that to get invited to parties and dinners, you have to throw parties and dinners. There's a kind of esoteric party circuit in the 'burbs.  If you throw parties, you are added to the invisible list of potential invitees.  You become a "party person".  

I didn't have dinners and parties when we lived in our old house because it was too small for such gatherings.  At least in my mind.  The kitchen was TINY.  I admire folks with small homes who make them so comfy and welcoming that no one notices the lack of dining space or seating.  I aspire to be a gracious, relaxed hostess.  But the truth is, I am too neurotic to relax.  

Plus, in keeping with my general quirkiness, I have a "thing" about being crowded in the kitchen.  It drives me nuts.  Makes me feel claustrophobic.  The kitchen is my domain, and when I'm cleaning or cooking, I want to inhabit it solitaire.  Sometimes I get claustrophobic just having both dogs underfoot in the kitchen.  

And I really love my dogs.      

My nuttiness doesn't help in the hostess department, but I try to make up for it with my fantastic cakes and amazing rapping skills.  So far, so good.

I threw a monster party for Nature Boy and his friends a couple weeks ago.  Everyone had to come in costume.  Even Tree Guy dressed up, which was a departure from his personal goal to not appear goofy in any way.  As y'all know, he's totally into the fake warrior thing, so he dressed as a monster hunter. Sharpened stakes, actual holy water, and all the rest.  It was hot.

Anatomy of a Monster Hunter

Nature Boy wore a werewolf costume, then later turned into a zombie.

I was a disco zombie.  This talented young makeup artist did my makeup.

   
I concocted these refreshments.

Gooey Eyeball Cupcakes

Nasty Brews

And then invited over some seriously creepy kids to share brains with.

It was a monstrously good time!

Stay tuned for another costume-centric post.