every year, it’s been our thing to go to the city to celebrate nye {or the fact that we were living in the city}. for the past {over} six years we have been together and seven new year’s eves together, we have always had dinner in the city. for almost two decades, my sister and her hubs have done the same. celebrating nye in the city was a no brainer for us, always.

but this year was different. this year olive joined the party {being the older and wiser gal}, this year we bought a house {in the burbs!}, and this year we were slightly not feeling it. it was a whirlwind holiday season and before we knew it, new years was creeping up on us very fast. we weren’t sure where we wanted to celebrate it…what restaurant? what time? oh, all the decision making was overwhelming or rather, not interesting.

so, we thought, why not have it at our house? it’s close to everyone, we love having people over, we love hosting, and it would be a lot more fun and relaxing! we all wanted to dress up and cook a delicious dinner! how perfect!

anndd at our house it was, hc and i got up super early {or rather, olive got us up} and we started preparing for the party. we cleaned, set up all the tables, decorated, and bought any last minute supplies {ice, flowers, etc.}. our place was starting to come together!

right after 5 pm, people started to trickle in. we set up appetizers, served up drinks, and slowly started to cook up our lovely dinner. it was great to just chill, relax, and move at our pace.

the kids were having a blast hanging out {down in the basement or screaming upstairs}. us adults mingled and nibbled on apps. our friend, lan {owner of the krispie bakery}, brought over the most awesome kettle corn that she had made. it was soooo stinkin’ yummy, i couldn’t stop eating it.

[dapper dudes]

[beverage area]

[the addicting kettle corn lan made]

[yummy cheese plate by kim]

in between the apps and cooking, we went a little nutso with our ‘photo booth’. warning: there are A LOT of pictures coming your way! hold onto to your screen!

[me, thuy, lan, and kim]

[b, r, avery, and grace]

[the cuties]

[magritte]

[this is my favorite photo of the night]

on the menu for our nye dinner was a caprese salad, arugula salad with a lemon vinaigrette, sautéed green beans with sliced almonds, mushroom ravioli sautéed in a brown butter sauce, and a savory seasoned pork tenderloin. mmmm mmmm.

we all sat down for dinner and i toasted to our fabulous evening! it was such a wonderful event to have everyone gather around for. everyone looked so pretty in their festive attire and the kids were able to scream and play together with ease. a perfect combo for a perfect evening.

[new year’s eve tablescape]

after we ate dinner, i cleaned up and i placed out cookies and coffee for dessert. i purchased the tasty little morsels from whole foods! i love their cookie/dessert section at the store. once desserts were out for the adults, i got crackin’ on the kids sweet tooth’s. i first made them little sundaes and then they got super excited at the idea of a root beer float! so i made mini root beer floats for them too! yum!

[cream and sugar set from anthropologie]

[mini root beer floats]

the kids were sooooo impatient. they wanted to count down every hour and we kept telling them, no…not yet! they were itchin’ to use the poppers, the noise makers, and the clappers. so, we decided that we would do the count down with new york city!

[getting ready for the countdown!]

[midnight kiss!]

[the sweet babes leaning in for another kiss]

[we celebrated nyc’s nye but miss olive stayed up to bring in the new year chicago style!]

overall, it was such a wonderful, wonderful night. we had the best time socializing, drinking, nibbling on apps, and making dinner together. it was a total team effort…we all had a great time together and it was perfect way to bring in the new year!

xoxo