Blog 1st Birthday Brunch Party

To celebrate 1 year of Aloha: Yinz Mangia's existence, I decided to throw a party.  Yes, it's a bit of overkill to throw a blog it's own birthday party, but I'm totally fine with that.  It crossed my mind that I might have some friends who read my blog and see all the things I make but have never actually graced their taste buds with my cooking!  So, instead of finding out which friend that may be, I invited them all over for a blog birthday brunch!

Taking photos was not very high on the priority list although I wish I'd taken more throughout the party. Overall, it was great.  I was a little (ok, a lot) frazzled at the beginning of the party but once people started eating and drinking I was able to take the spaz level down a few notches.  One of my concerns was that people didn't eat enough but my friends are so sweet that they didn't let me know, even if they were still starving!  There were more guests than expected.  Many friends meeting other friends, fabulous!  I am a lucky girl:  I took care of the food and my friends brought all the alcohol, plus I got a card, a bottle of wine, and a gift.  Lisette, bless her heart, even did dishes!  I have wonderful, wonderful friends -  that I'm sure of.  

This party assures me that I need a much bigger kitchen and a dishwasher, as if I wasn't already sure of that!  

We (Bryce and I) baked some of the items yesterday, including these mini strawberry muffins with a yummy crumbly topping (recipe from in Erika's Kitchen).  They're really very mini - made in the smallest tins.

These colorful fruit kebabs were the mandatory healthy item on the menu!  You'll see kiwi, grapes, pineapple, and lemon-lime yogurt dip.  The dip was very yummy, healthy, and so easy to make - just light lemon yogurt, lime juice, and lime zest.

We enjoyed these savory mini (regular mini!) quiches with peppered bacon, scallions, and shredded cheddar cheese.  I wanted all of the food to be small, utensil-free, and delicious!

What ended up being the fan favorite were these waffle sandwiches!  I made waffles and friends could decide to fill the "sandwich" with sweet [nutella, strawberries, and banana] or savory [shredded cheddar cheese and peppered bacon] ingredients.  

The party also included quite the array of drinks.  Pineapple mimosas, bloody mary's, and coffee with Bailey's, all of which were not captured by photo!  

I thought it would be sweet to give everyone a party favor to thank them for coming, so I made mini cheesecakes.

Then, to make them even more fun, I topped them with red glitter icing and M&M's!



For a finishing touch, I made these cute tags and tied it all together (literally) with light blue and orange ribbons - to match the colors of the blog!



So friends, thank you so much for reading my blog, coming to my party, and being great friends!  I hope you enjoyed the party and the food.

For those of you who couldn't make it, thank you to for your support and friendship.  There's one of these in my fridge with YOUR name on it!