Our 2015 Back to the Future Themed New Year's Eve Party

For years and years I've known that when 2015 finally hit, I wanted to celebrate by throwing a Back to the Future themed New Year's Eve party. 

Of course, as the actual date approached, I wasn't exactly in the best situation to host a party. We bought our house this year and we still haven't bought all the furniture we need or hung any or our art or even made curtains for all the windows. I don't know if you know this, but it turns out houses are a lot bigger than apartments. 

I knew that I had to pull it together because 2015 only comes once. Not even once in a lifetime, once. Ryan was a huge help, and together we got the house in order (enough), bought a sofa (we still need a dining room table, but hey, more room for guests to stand), and threw the party of my dreams. 

I made parmesan and herb flux capacitors, DeLorean cupcake toppers, and two themed cocktails, and we all rang in the new year with noise makers and a champagne toast. It was such a joy to host some of my favorite people on such a special day.

Yummy Recipe: Peanut Butter and Jelly Pie with Saltine Crust

I recently got this book, and I've been really inspired by all her ideas for creative pie flavors. Last week, I made this peanut butter and jelly pie for a family birthday dinner, and it was a big hit.

I only strayed from Allison Kaye's recipe in a couple places: using strawberry jam over her preferred grape and decorating the top of the pie with a drizzle of melted peanut butter instead of chopped peanuts. I think the drizzle looks really cute.

Ingredients:
about 30 saltine crackers
8 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
6 oz. cream cheese
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (plus another 1/4 cup for garnishing)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup strawberry jelly (or your preferred flavor)

Step 01. Preaheat the over to 350ºF. Grind the crackers to smooth crumbs in the food processor and mix with melted butter. Pat into the bottom of a pie pan. Chill for 10 minutes and then back for 10 minutes.
Step 02. Whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Set aside. Mix together cream cheese, peanut butter, and powdered sugar. Combine with whipped cream until fully blended.
Step 03. Spread peanut butter mixture over crust and chill.
Step 04. Melt jelly in a saucepan over medium-high heat until it is a consistent, liquidy texture throughout. Pour melted jelly over peanut butter mixture and continue to chill pie.
Step 05. Melt remaining 1/4 cup peanut butter until it is a consistent, liquidy texture throughout. Pour into a measuring cup on any vessel with a spout. Drizzle slowly over jelly-covered pie. Continue to chill pie until set. Serve chilled.

Easter Wish List

Clockwise from left: Wind and Weather, Etsy, Terrain, Terrain, Modcloth, Anthropologie

Like Halloween, Easter is one of those holidays that you can definitely still enjoy as an adult, sometimes even more than you did as a kid. Easter candy is the best seasonal candy – as far as I'm concerned Reece's Eggs could replace Reece's Cups year round – and it's always fun to get dressed up and fill your home with flowers.

Wedding Week: Food & Drink

It was important to us to have delicious food at our wedding, and our caterer, Eat Well, did a great job. We had wintery bride-and-groom cocktails, a pasta bar, a grill station, and a pretty dessert table. We also had champagne, of course, and one of my favorite moments of the night was when everyone gave their toasts.

Photos by Braun Photography

Wedding Week: Details & Decor

I had a lot of fun coming up with decor ideas and making things to decorate our space. I organized several craft days with friends and family in the time leading up to the wedding. Even though the decor was a lot of work, I think it really helped add a personal element to our wedding that was well worth the effort.

Thanks to everyone who helped create and set up the decor!

Photos by Braun Photography

Our Christmas Recap (in Photos)

On Christmas Eve, we went to the Fohl Christmas party with Ryan's extended family on his father's side. We did a white elephant gift exchange, played games, and even got a visit from Santa! Ryan spent most of the evening throwing Owen into the air and helping him rescue my Grumpy Cat from a Christmas tree. Oh, Grumpy! He just kept getting stuck in that tree.

When we got home that night, Ryan and I opened each other's gifts in bed. He gave me an amazing plush Vampy Cat that he'd commissioned his brother's girlfriend to make for me months ago. It was so unexpected and thoughtful and perfect! I knitted him some fingerless gloves. It was really hard to find the time to knit them in secret, but I managed to finish them just in time by getting up at 5:00 on Christmas Eve to knit for an hour before work as well as knitting all through my lunch break and rest breaks that day.

On Christmas Day, we visited my grandma in the morning, and then my immediate family came over to our apartment for presents and way too much food. My family gave me a bunch of books from my to-read list as well as a great tribal-print coat, and both seasons of Pushing Daisies on DVD, among other treasures. I felt incredibly spoiled. This was our second year hosting Christmas at our place, and I really enjoyed it. We're hoping that, by next year, we'll have a place big enough that we can host Ryan's family and mine all at once.

For those of you doing the math, yes, I did get two plush cats for Christmas. I also got a thermal hippo in the white elephant gift exchange. I'm pretty excited about it.

All photos by me except group shot. Photo credit: Eric Villegas