i want to be a party planner

I mentioned last week that we were going to see my best friend Alex for the weekend. She lives in Shreveport which is just a quick three hour trip up north. 

Friday night we didn't do much, just went to dinner and then over to her boyfriend's house to take advantage of his AMAZING back yard. It was cold out, but he had an outdoor heater, so that with some blankets made for an amazing night. 

And seriously, aren't they precious? Stephen is hands down the most perfect guy for her and I'm so happy that she's happy. 

Saturday night Alex co-hosted a party for Stephen's birthday at his co-workers house. Shreveport has an area called South Highlands and I just fell in love with it. They are all older homes (think plantation-esque) that have been restored. The party was in one of these homes, and I left wanting it. I wish I would have taken more photos of the house, but I had a lot of wine and somehow forgot. 

We're just not going to talk about how much I need a tan. And some whitestrips. And a haircut. 

The co-host, and homeowner, is above with the birthday guy. Brian went above and beyond on this party. Alex and I brought the appetizers and he was in charge of desserts. He made homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream and vanilla ice cream. All by himself! The mint ice cream was probably one of the best I've ever had - and I love me some ice cream. 

The first picture are chocolate truffles that Alex made. Do yourself a favor and make them now - recipe is on Pioneer Woman. 

The next two photos are making my mouth water out of control right now. They are casino cakes and they are the best thing I've ever put in my mouth. And I'm not a huge chocolate fan - they were just THAT good. I honestly didn't think much of them, and almost didn't have one. I'll be needing Alex to ship me some ASAP. 

And then, like most parties do, it got a little out of hand. As in, I didn't remember that last photo until I just loaded it into here. 

I also decided that I would like to just host dinner/cocktail parties every weekend for the rest of my life. It was so much fun! We made stuffed mushrooms, anti-pasto skewers on rosemary branches, caprese pops, bruscetta and bacon dip. Saturday afternoon was spent in Alex's cute little kitchen getting prepped for the night while listening to JT. I loved every second of it and am so glad that I got to spend some down time catching up with my best friend. We don't get much of it due to life getting in the way.