Cocktail Party for 2

My parents had lots of dinner parties when I was little. I loved mingling with all the guests and playing hostess. When it came time for me to go to bed, I insisted that every single guest come into my bedroom (all one at a time, of course) to bid me good night. Even if I didn't know their name. I'd tell my mom to send in the lady wearing the red high heels. Anything to stay up just a bit later. I never wanted to miss out on any of the fun.

My parents taught me two things about hosting that I try to apply to everything I do. 1) You should always have more food than you need; and 2) Presentation is everything. When I ate breakfast as a child, milk was served in a small pitcher next to my cereal bowl and syrup was served in a small pitcher next to my waffles, rather than the jugs they came from. My mom has a rule that no commercial containers should ever be on the table. This used to annoy me (we ran back and forth to the kitchen ten times for ketchup during family barbecues; one ramekin isn't enough for me, let alone eight of us) but now I see the point. It's something that takes little effort and time but instantly upgrades the setting and elevates the atmosphere.

It's many years later and my quarters are far smaller than that beautiful home on the sunny Coral Gables block, but I still really love to play hostess. As long as I'm living in The Shoebox, however, I can really only entertain one person at a time. So I decided to invite my gal pal BHB over for wine and appetizers to satiate my hunger for party planning.




I wrote this out initially so that I'd know what to buy at the market, but this sparked an idea that perhaps I'd like a mini chalkboard easel to display a menu for future home hosted happy hours.




The spread. I mixed and matched but I think the monograms and the pops of color made it ultimately Teddi.




I converted my personalized cutting board into a makeshift cheese platter. It worked out quite nicely, but I certainly need a new knife. The top cheese was some sort of fig and honey blend and it was really interesting.




My dad got me those gorgeous flowers at a hidden gem of a florist in the East Village. I live for big, beautiful blooms in a very simple vase. I always love a good excuse to use my monogrammed wine chiller.




These monogrammed wine glasses were a Hanukkah gift from AEG!




I surprised BHB with Baked by Melissa cupcakes for dessert!



We sat and ate and gabbed for hours and just had the best time. I have tons of leftovers! Who's coming over next?