We know how to jam-pack a day!

Last I wrote, Josh was negotiating a cheaper way to get my stuff out of storage (it was in Ohio. It's a really long story). Turns out it would cost less for it to be delivered than for us to go get it. Josh and the guy were trying to agree on the price, but nothing was ever confirmed, until Saturday morning when we got word they would be at our house at 2 p.m. that day!

We had plans to have some friends over for dinner and drinks and games at 6, so we knew we'd be rushing around. We ran some errands that day, important things* like Target, the grocery and liquor store (haha), and before we knew it, there was a tractor trailer in our street, blocking in the neighbors and giving everyone something to stare at. We were the last stop, so all my stuff was at the front of the trailer (or the back, depending on how you look at it).

The sweat spots on my pits really make that picture.  This was after about half of the stuff was out. Look at all those boxes! I've only had time to look through about three of them, seriously. I don't know how or when I will get the chance to really look at every single thing. We got everything out of the trailer and into the backyard - finding a way to fit it all in the garage would be the next challenge.

Our dear friends and neighbors (and eventual dinner guests) helped us get it all arranged in the garage, just as the rain started to fall. That pushed our dinner plans to 6:30 instead of 6. I had forgotten to get lemonade, Josh wanted to make sweet tea so we could try out his special wedding cocktail, and we desperately needed to wash the sweat off of us.

It was such a hectic time, it still hasn't sunk in that MY STUFF IS HERE. I did notice one thing was missing, a wooden chair, nothing big. And I don't recall seeing the box that my Kitchen Aid mixer is in, but I am hopeful that will surface eventually (it had better, we've been apart for 5 years!).

However, I threw myself into entertaining mode and whipped out my new tablecloth, some cloth napkins and napkin rings, and set the table:

I absolutely LOVE the tablecloth, as it has all the colors I am trying (hoping?) to incorporate into our living and dining rooms.

We had the sideboard/credenza set up, too, with various drinks and mixers. And fresh flowers, of course! I wish I had taken more pictures. This is the first time I've really gotten to have a sit-down dinner with guests and go all-out in this house. And it was also my first time doing so with Josh. He was like "Uh, I thought this was going to be casual and laid back, but you're pretty serious about entertaining." Yes, I am, thank you for noticing. I hope we get to do more of it as the house gets more put together.

The menu was simple. Just two dishes and dessert. Dessert was store bought mini-cupcakes (Whole Foods). Appetizers were crackers with cheese and fig preserves (hey, when we find something that works, we run it into the ground). The side dish was the broccoli with dill & lemon sauce I posted a few entries back (and the dill was from our garden, and so was some of the broccoli). For the main course I adapted one of Giada de Laurentiis' recipes, and it's one of my favorite things I've ever made!

First, I peeled and seeded a 2 lb butternut squash and cut it into cubes. Then, I diced about 2/3 of a medium sized vidalia onion. Tossed them with vegetable oil (it is what the recipe specified) and roasted it at 425 for about 45 minutes. I boiled a pound of penne and reserved about 2 cups of the pasta water once it was cooked and drained. Then I added (to the pasta) 8 oz of herbed goat cheese and some of the pasta water until it became a beautiful cheesy sauce. Then I added the roasted squash and onions, salt and pepper, and basil from the garden. One of our guests doesn't eat meat, so this was a perfect dish! However, I did buy a rotisserie chicken at Kroger and had that on the side so those of us who do like meat could add it to our pasta. It was delicious! This is the only photo I took and it was half-consumed at this point. The original recipe called for toasted walnuts, too, but that's just not my thing

Josh's drink (Lemonade, Sweet tea, and Jack Daniels) was a HIT! Many were consumed. It may already exist in a cocktail book somewhere, but Josh has named it "The Southern Swagger" and it will be a signature cocktail at our reception. Games were played, and the festivities ended around midnight.

*one of our 'important errands' Saturday was getting on the same phone plan to save money ... and I got my early birthday gift - AN IPHONE! So all the lovely pics posted on here from now on will be from my very own iphone, and not from the Bip's (he's been so gracious with indulging me with all his photo apps). I am having a great time finding new photo apps, and it just amazes me that a PHONE can take such great photos. Who needs a camera, seriously? The only thing I don't like about it, is I can't find a macro app, and I love taking super close-up pics of plants. I am sure one will show up eventually!

That's all for now... more posts coming soon... I'm sure I will find some treasures from long-ago when I go through my boxes. :) I've already found a lot of pictures from when I was hot and skinny. Talk about depressing!