Chez Skay. . .bon apetite

All Nate asked for for his birthday was a nice evening with his friends. What he got was a French-four course dinner for 13 of our friends and family complete with handmade truffles, five types of cheese and a visit from our local Sommelier (wine specialist Lauren from the Secret Cellar.)

Ohkay so I tend to go a little overboard in the creativity department, the fact of the matter is I love to entertain and I love my husband.

With the failed attempt to sell our home, we've put any events hosted at our home on hold for the last several months. We wanted to make up for lost time, so we had a very special evening, at my parents home. (Ironic I know, but we don't have the space for everyone!) Plus, I've discovered the real purpose behind formal dinning rooms. Seperate from the kitchen means the view of all the dirty dishes is obstructed. I've also discovered that a chorus of Mmmm's is one of my favorite sounds on the planet, so is laughter heard with the clinking of glasses. My favorite comment of the night came from Paul Smith who looked stunned after trying my homemade Tapenade (olive etc spread) "Wow, I like that, and I don't like olives!" Who could ask for more?

It was an incredibly lovely evening, two weeks worth of pouring over French cookbooks (thank you Sarah Herman-the Barefoot Contessa is a great guru!) Several days worth of wrangling Truffles (thank you Erin for saving the day and my brother for eating spectacular failures until you had a sugar coma!) My mother for letting me use ALL your china, for letting me take over your kitchen, and reminding me when we weren't going to have enough pots for my master plan!) Anytime I got overwhelmed, I would remember that it was all for Nate, and then somehow it all seemed manageable and purposeful. Thank you everyone who came, ate, and toasted Nate. It was such a thrill serving our dear friends and especially making a big fuss over my special husband!