everything revolved around how to celebrate with covid literally in the air. LOL
we decided to keep our guests to the people we hung out with at christmas – family. unfortunately my parents didn’t come over because it was too cold and too much for them but that’s ok!
for new year’s we like to make heavy apps and have yummy drinks! i created a photo booth, like i do every year and try to make it festive inside. i also love making little favor boxes for the kids! i usually fill them with candy, chocolates, glow sticks, poppers, noise makers, and hats. sometimes they get crackers too!
my sister kim made a delicious shrimp and dip and chicken buffalo dip. thuy made two yummy quiches. i made brie and cranberry tarts, a charcuterie board, and jalapeño poppers. i didn’t think we would have enough food and we had more than enough! we were stuffed and it was alllllll soooooo delicious!
we usually have everyone over late, since ringing in the new year feels like an eternity away and we try not to fall asleep by midnight! LOL the strange part about this year was how we made it to midnight. every year, we can barely make it to new york’s ball drop. it’s hard. but this year, we were more energized than usual and the kids stayed up wayyyyy past midnight. we all rang in the real {time} new year’s together and that was awesome!
there were less people this year and it was very relaxing…plus after the year we had…we were so ready to say hello to 2021!
new year’s eve cocktails i wrote recipes for drinks on our bar papernew year’s eve bartable centerpiece new year’s eve barcake by strictly sugar thuy and reaganbrie and cranberry tarts thuy and kimmy quick charcuterie boardphoto booth spot playing downstairs in the playroom he’s so sweet to her!our best family photo!ma seoursopening their favor boxes new year’s eve crackers wearing the crown from her cracker happy new year! they made it to midnight!new year’s day!
well, gosh…at the rate i posted this nye post, it might as well be 2021! i legit forgot that i had this waiting in queue. LOL!!!!!!
per usual, we always do too much. between christmas eve and new year’s day, we hosted 4 events. yes, f o u r. as gwen said, ‘b a n a n a s’.
this new year’s eve was a bit more quiet as the 5 usual suspects that typically celebrate with us, did not celebrate with us this time around but we had two new comers!!! huy and tashina stayed in town and they were able to ring in the new year with us!! such a gift to have and we were so excited to celebrate with them!
we decided to do heavy apps and drinks…i am 100% ok with that, as i love grazing. my parents came over and they were legit like, “what?…there’s no real food?” LOL so we ordered chinese food for them to eat, in which everyone else ended up eating it too! hahaha!
kim made a burrata and buffalo chicken dip, we had flaky apps, onion dip, shrimp cocktail, charcuterie board, and a few other dishes i can’t remember! we ate to our belly’s content, imbibed delicious beverages, and fire placed our way to midnight. or more so, 11 o’clock as we always ring in the new year on new york city time! but this year, we celebrated at 11 pm and everyone ended up staying until midnight {helloooo, we have kids!} and we truly rung in the new year in accurate fashion!
there were streamers and confetti everywhere…as a good new year’s party should have! now, everyone did trickle out and hc and i started to clean up. yes, we are too type a…we love to wake up to a clean house and just chillllllllll.
the next day, hc let me sleep in as i was beat down from the holiday season {i ended up having walking pneumonia, bronchitis, and a sinus infection that was formulating the whole week after christmas and did a smack down on me on new year’s day…ugh!} he did an amazing job prepping everything for us…honestly, he doesn’t get enough credit. this man works so hard to make us happy and it fills my heart with joy. he did a little extra cleaning, he started a fire in the fireplace, he got both girls ready, fed, and set for the morning and letting me sleep in was the best gift of all!
he then prepped breakfast and we enjoyed the entire day in front of the fireplace while the girls occupied themselves with toys and make believe.
it was a perfect evening and day to start 2020 with. i am so blessed and i could not have asked for a better way or people to ring in the new year. may God bless us all!
[table centerpiece]
[a little sugar sprinkles for the champagne]
[disco balls, fresh garland, and noise makers]
[ellie and uncle huy]
[favors for the kids, popper, crackers, candy, glow sticks, and streamer!]
hc was at work and i was at home with the kiddos. i had done a lot of my prep work the days prior – grabbing drinks, food, accessories, ordering balloons, buying decor, etc. i knew i had to get it done before monday because i knew monday was going to be jam packed full of nothing! haha!
our day started out slow. we woke up late and hit up the grocery store for some last minute items. the girls were too adorable shopping with me. ellie insisted on sitting in the cart and olive wanted to grab the mini red shopping cart and help me shop! it then ended up with ellie wanting down and helping olive push the cart around the store and filling it with goodies! it was sooooooo cute!
once we got home…it was already early afternoon! i started prepping some things but before i knew it, it was ellie’s nap time. i put the, getting sick, little babe down, right then thuy was knocking on the door. she wanted to come over early and bake cupcakes at the house for the kids. olive was quite excited to help thuy bake! she loves to help in the kitchen. she helped mix and decorate them and she definitely had a fun time!
hc came home early and was surprised i hadn’t finished decorating! ha! like i said, it was a slow morning and afternoon. i started my hustle and got everything dunzo by 5pm, got myself ready, and continued to do the final touches in the house – lighting candles, turning on mood lighting, hc started a fire, and then i started to put together my cheese plate.
i also created a champagne bar! i collected veuve cliquot, moët et chandon, la marca prosecco to make fun cocktails! i had raspberry sorbet, sugar cubes, mint, limes, lemons, berries, bitters, and rock candy sticks for an endless combo of tasty beverages!
everyone slowly trickled in around 6/7pm and kim started cooking her dinner for the night. she decided to make a shrimp diavolo, arugula salad, and pull apart garlic bread. yuuuuummmmmmm. dinner was ready by 8:30pm, which was perfect for new year’s eve! eating late, serving dessert late, and then counting down the new york’s new year is how we roll!
this year was just family and it was perfect! although we were missing our usual suspects – you know who you are! our evening consisted of eating well, drinking delicious libations, and cheered to the new year together!
2019 – don’t disappoint us, you’ve got some heavy competition!
[olive helping thuy make cupcakes for dessert]
[thuy’s diy cupcake toppers]
[so proud of her work!]
[kids table]
[boxes of goodies – hats, poppers, candies, glow sticks, and noise makers]
we hosted a small get together for our friends and family on new year’s eve!
our family debated on whether or not we wanted to go out to dinner {something we’ve done many, many times on new year’s], so we decided to have a party at our place instead! just the sisters and the bro and a few friends. people who we typically celebrate with every year.
we were in debate on what we were going to cook {not me! ha!], we just had beef tenderloin for christmas eve, we had a spiral ham and prime rib for christmas, so we went with a pork tenderloin for new year’s eve! every one pitched in with the menu and when that happens, it makes the night so much more fun and easy!
i ran around decorating like a crazy person. rummaging through my decor box and creating something fun for new year’s! i had no clue what i wanted to do for the tables, the photo booth, the dessert table…but thank goodness everything turned out sparkly and festive!
we ate, and cooked, and ate, and cooked, and ate some more and then ate more food. then ate dessert and then ate more leftover food. bahahahaha! we were s t u f f e d. the food was all sooooo delicious and perfectly made.
once dinner was over {we ate late on purpose}, we cleaned up a bit, and chilled; waiting for the new york countdown, since we have kids and we are ‘old’ and we didn’t want to be up all night…ohmergawd. we’re duds. haaaaaaahaha!
anyhoo, once we counted down, everyone pretty much ran out to go home! no problem…we were tired! i really think it’s because it’s the last of the holidaze and by then, we are just spent!
overall it was a wonderful, relaxing evening! i hope this year brings everyone love, joy, health, prosperity, and many great adventures!
[nye photo booth]
[she wouldn’t put on a more festive outfit, insisted on wearing this crown, and lately, this has been her cheese face…]
[the boys]
[she looooooved sitting on the chair!]
[i was stumped…i wasn’t sure what i wanted to do for the centerpieces!]
[me and hc]
[chalkboard calligraphy]
[kids table]
[party favors]
[cheese plate]
[everything is good with macarons]
[kim and terry]
[sip sip hooray!]
[party cake]
[the girls]
[party table]
[i love our fireplace…so cozy!]
[dance party!]
[rich and agata]
[pete and dan]
[triplets]
[interpretive dance]
[plaid in the usa]
[hey olive, smile! hahaha]
[lan, avery, and pete]
[agata, olive, and dan]
[isn’t she so sweet??]
[oh these kids…it’s so hard to wrangle them in for a good pic!]
it was a fun, fabulous, over indulgent evening indeed! we got all jazzed up and went out for the evening. we were excited for our reservations at maple and ash. kim and terry have eaten there before but we have not but heard such excellent reviews on this restaurant. we arrived there in no time. we valet’d the car and walked inside, it was so pretty! i loved the decor and the ambience of the restaurant already. we walked our way in, coat checked, and took the elevator up. once the doors opened, we were greeted with sooooo many balloons! how fun and festive! i loved the vibe it gave the space…it screamed new year’s eve!
we were seated and immediately, small bites and drinks arrived at our table before we could even pick our seats! that was amaze. mini martini’s and appetizers were already flowing. we mingled and connected with a few people who worked at the restaurant. kim and terry were already bff’s with with the maitre d’, mason. the sommelier, frankie, and the wine director, belinda.
the atmosphere was lively, the decor was fun, and the mood was just right. we were having a blast taking pics, being silly, and enjoying our night out. we had to get serious and order our food but we really couldn’t decide. after perusing the menu for a few minutes and everyone discussing what they wanted or might order, we all agreed that we were going in for the ‘i don’t give a f*ck’ on the menu. yup. we just didn’t care to choose what we wanted to eat, so we just let the chef do his thing and boy, it was AWEsome. the food didn’t stop coming to the table. there.was.so.much.food. it was ahhhhhhmazing. we ate and we ate and we ate. i couldn’t stop eating…it was all soooooo good.
one entree after another was being put on the table and it was all so very delicious. i had to try a bit of food off of every plate, everything was so savory and tasty i couldn’t resist! i was besides myself – my slim pants were slim no more with my bourgeoning waistline. then the dessert came…holy cow! a sundae bar! yum, yum, yum. are you freakin’ kidding me right now? it was sooooo fun to create your own sundae with all the fun accruements they offered. that was it. i was dunzo. roll me outta of the restaurant please.
the service was superb, the food was beyond decadent, and the atmosphere was killer. it was an awesome place to be for new year’s eve! we had such a fabulous time!
but wait! that’s not all! scroll down for more entertainment…
[delicious apps at maple and ash]
[sisters forever]
[the doan family]
[sorry pete, i didn’t realize your eyes were half closed until i posted this. you still look handsome!]
[french 75]
[so chic]
[sea food platter]
[delicious wedge salad]
[sisters]
[soooooooo much food]
[cheers!]
[sundae bar]
[sundae toppings]
[the crew]
our second part/y of the night was back at our place. we gathered together to ring in the new year with the kids but things went awry. my parents were spent from watching the kids and decided to go home, my sister kim didn’t feel so well and only stay for a bit before heading out with terry, reagan, and bennett. my dear, old friend bex, her husband james, and their two sweet girl ruby and wren stayed along with thuy and we all rang in the new year together!
it ended being an awesome night albeit the deficit of family. the sweetest part of the evening? watching the girls play together. they were sooooooo sweet and so darn cute!!! they made the night magical. they actually stayed up until midnight and we rang in the new year in style…pj’s, noise makers, and streamer poppers!
it was an amazing new year’s eve. i am so thankful for what 2016 gave us – ellie. it was an amazing year full of fabulous memories, olive gaining a sister, sweet moments with friends and family, life was super good. we are blessed.
i hope, want, wish for this year to be full of health, prosperity, and lots of kindness. i pray for my parent’s health, our family’s health, and my siblings health. i am curious on what wonderful moments await us and hope darkness passes us by. the new year is always exciting, refreshing, and exhilarating; and i hope that everyone has a happy, wonderful, captivating new year!!!
