party Archives - Life with Dee

What I’m Into (July 2015 edition)

August 2, 2015 By Deanna Piercy 4 Comments

I haven’t done one of these in ages. Seems like a good time to get back in the habit. Since it’s been so long, I’m going to include a bit from the last of June, too.

Celebrations

July, for our family, always begins with our daughter’s birthday. Isn’t she gorgeous?

We celebrated the 4th of July at the home of our niece, Leslie, and her boyfriend, Will.

Chris hosted a going away party for his friend, Eli, who is moving to Baton Rouge to attend LSU. We had about 25-30 people here for a campout, music and karoke.

The last weekend of June we attended a wedding in Tulsa then spent the weekend there celebrating our 34th wedding anniversary which was the weekend before.

Around My Home

We’ve been busy but still made time for several nights of stargazing. Last night we took the telescope outside and looked at the blue moon. Shiloh likes to join us for these quiet evenings under the stars.

Reading

The House on First Street: My New Orleans Story by Julia Reed

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo

Watching – Movies and T.V.

T.V. –

I bought the first two seasons of The Donna Reed Show for a little old-fashioned entertainment for myself but it turns out that David loves the show, too. Just so long as he doesn’t expect me to start wearing heels and pearls around the house!

We are also enjoying The Astronaut Wives Club. The history is interesting, of course, but I’m also loving the fashions and home decor.

Movies –

The kids took David to see the new Terminator movie to celebrate Father’s Day. Absolutely not my thing so I watched Magic Mike XXL instead.

Last night we watched My Old Lady on Netflix. We both really enjoyed it.

Listening – Music and Podcasts

Our city has been hosting “Music in the Park” several Sunday evenings throughout the summer. I was asked to schedule the musicians. So far we’ve been able to attend two of these and really enjoyed them.

Food – Recipes, Restaurants and Grocery Hauls

While in Tulsa we looked for a sports bar where we could watch Women’s World Cup. We found Fat Daddy’s where I also had one of the best Reuben sandwiches I’ve ever had, as well as delicious onion rings.

I don’t have any recipes or grocery hauls to share this time but I will next month. Promise!

Out and About – Trips and Events

While in Tulsa we enjoyed a show by Let’s Zeppelin, a tribute band.

We saw Our Mother’s Martyr perform in OKC:

We took a Trip to Idaho to visit David’s mother.

Featured Blog Posts

Special Moments

I had the honor of meeting this Choctaw man:

Karoke in my backyard:

I think that about wraps things up for July. If you write “What I’m Into” posts I’d love for you to leave me a link in the comments so I can read yours. I’m linking up with What I’m Into on Leigh Kramer’s site.

I’M GOING TO PARIS!!!

September 3, 2014 By Deanna Piercy 4 Comments

This past Friday night was one of the best nights of my life. I’m hesitant to even blog about it because there is no way I can do it justice. However, I’m going to give it a whirl.

First we went out to dinner with these beautiful people:

David and Joy Winchester

Then we went to my birthday party. David had rented out the upstairs of Vintage 22 (local wine and dessert bar) and several people worked very hard to decorate it in Pinterest-worthy style. I know if I try to name everyone I’ll forget someone but Lisa and our niece, Leslie, organized the efforts and many dear friends pitched in to make it a night I’ll never forget.

We had a great turnout and even my parents came (I’m not sure they’ve ever been in a bar!). There were cheese platters, freshly-baked bread from Papa Gjorgjo’s, and several bottles of wine. Erin West made macarons (one of the flavors was Earl Grey!), Karah Thompson baked the gorgeous cake, and Lisa made caramel whiskey chocolate cupcakes. All of which were beyond delicious!

There were fun decorations with a Paris theme. Lindsay Oliver did the French calligraphy on various signs and cards while Erin made the Eiffel Tower centerpieces:

They decorated with some of the lights we use at Happyland Music Fest (which I still haven’t blogged about yet):

And had a place set up for photos:

There was a beautiful (HUGE) coffee table book which Leslie bought and had set up as a guest book:

Huge coffee table book bought by my niece, Leslie, and used as a guest book at my party. Can't wait to read it all! #dpbirthday

A guitar handmade by Lee and Emily of Pandamonium and signed by our HMA friends:

This gorgeous flower arrangement designed by and gifted to me by my friend and favorite floral designer, Lori Bell who works at Ada Forget-Me-Not Floral:

Gorgeous birthday flowers designed and gifted by Lori Bell #dpbirthday

And there was wonderful music provided by Rowdy Folk:

The only picture I managed to get of @RowdyFolk at my birthday party #dpbirthday

There were around 40 guests who are very dear to me. I mean it. These people are family in the truest sense of the word. The love I felt from each of them absolutely blew me away.

After perhaps an hour of mingling David called everyone to attention and gave me his gift:

video by Jamie Pittman

That’s right. That wonderful man is taking me to Paris! I’ve wanted to go ever since I was a little girl and it’s actually going to happen. We are going for a week the end of October. David already has plane and hotel reservations. Now we just need to get passports. That is, as soon as David can get a certified copy of his birth certificate.

Now I just need to start brushing up on my French. Parlez-vous Français?

A Perfect Party

June 6, 2013 By Deanna Piercy Leave a Comment

Yesterday was David’s birthday and we had such a fun party. A total of 22 of us gathered our chairs in a circle around the fire pit to tell stories, laugh and sing. A few of our favorite local musicians brought their instruments and serenaded us under a starry sky.

Here is a picture of the birthday boy with the ladies. As you can tell, he was just hating this.

I made homemade brownies and two cherry pies to serve along with ice cream. One of the guests brought tortilla chips and guacamole. But the main thing was hanging out around the campfire:

Shiloh was thrilled to have some of his Happyland friends back to visit him:

One of David’s brothers called to wish him a happy birthday:

A highlight of the evening was the piñata which April brought for David. Instead of hitting it with a stick he used his pirate sword. Naturally. Hilarity ensued. Naturally.

Here is a “morning after” picture.:

Several people brought their own chairs but we’ve amassed a pretty fair collection ourselves. It seems at least a couple of people leave chairs behind each Happyland Music Festival. In fact, if you recognize one of yours in this picture you are welcome to come get it. Otherwise we’ll just put them all back in the garage until the next party.

Last night as I sat in the circle enjoying the company (and music!) of our kids and dear friends, I was struck once again by how very blessed we are. All of these people took time out of their lives in the middle of the week to celebrate David’s birthday. A huge thank you to all for making my sweetheart feel loved! So when’s the next party?

The Big Easy…in miniature

June 5, 2013 By Deanna Piercy Leave a Comment

Today is David’s birthday and we’ve got a bunch of friends coming over in a little over an hour. We still have to eat dinner and I need to get the cherry pies in the oven (I’ve already got the pie crusts made). That means this is a good day to share this video I’ve been saving just for such an occasion. Enjoy!

Just because

March 2, 2013 By Deanna Piercy Leave a Comment

I haven’t shared a picture of Shiloh in awhile. Here he is wearing his Grateful Dead bandana and playing with his Mr. Bill doll.

This afternoon we are having friends over for games and pizza. Shiloh LOVES company – so many more people to pet him. It’s going to be a good day.

Adventures in Austin

March 1, 2013 By Deanna Piercy Leave a Comment

Have you ever had one of those weekends that was almost too fun to talk about rationally? Well, our trip to Austin last weekend was one of those. Train travel, a nice hotel, live music, great friends and a beard competition – what could be better?

I think I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking.

We arrived Saturday evening and we all went out for Mexican food. Everyone had had long days of traveling so we called it a night around 10:30. On Friday we all did some shopping and browsing in vintage shops. David and I didn’t buy anything but this hat was tempting:

Little Alex was quite the trooper:

David and I hit the record shops and added to our collection:

Marcus, the birthday boy, found himself a vintage suit and rocked it:

The place we tried to see live music Friday night was sold out so we went to The Continental Club and lucked into what pretty much amounted to a gospel revival in a bar. These guys are from Louisiana and absolutely awesome.

Friday night was beyond amazing. So much fun! On Saturday we did a little more shopping, ate lunch at the food trucks, went back to get ready and then met up for the main event, the Mohawk’s Beard and Mustache Competition. The line was down the street but fortunately we had all bought tickets in advance.

Larry and David tried to look as intimidating as the bear but it didn’t last long:

I had no idea what to expect at a beard competition but it was highly entertaining. We will definitely do it again sometime. Here’s our view from the outdoor balcony down toward the stage:

Marcus and David with Captain America:

Our whole crew plus one of the contestants:

These were the finalists. Can you guess who won?:

Part of our crew:

Can you tell we were having a great time?

After the competition was over we all decided we needed breakfast so we headed to the 24 Diner. The food was spectacular. I had chicken and waffles, a couple had the eggs benedict special, a couple more had sweet potato hash…everyone’s food was really, really good. And the service was outstanding. If you ever find yourself in Austin needing food in the middle of the night, I highly recommend this place.

But all good things must come to an end so at about 3:30 a.m. we went back to hotel so we could catch at least a little sleep before our train left Sunday morning at 9:30. We both did a lot of yawning and maybe a little snoring on the train home but it was all worth it. One of our group referred to this trip as “the best family vacation ever”. We might not be related but I’m happy to claim them all as family.

Today I decided we should have a little reunion so we are having the group over this Saturday for games and pizza. One of my goals for this year is to entertain more often even if it means putting aside my perfectionist tendencies regarding a spotless house and serving a home-cooked meal. I still enjoy those types of parties but I know we’ll have more gatherings if I don’t set the bar quite that high every time. This will be my inaugural “easy party” event. I’ll vacuum up the Shiloh hair and make sure there’s toilet paper in the bathroom but otherwise I refuse to work myself into a state of exhaustion before the party. I’ll let you know how it goes.

*The first few pictures are mine and the last four were taken by Lindsay Shane.

Since we couldn’t be in New Orleans…

February 13, 2013 By Deanna Piercy Leave a Comment

I had to work really hard to keep my envy at bay while all my NOLA friends were posting pictures of the fun they were having during Carnival season and on Mardi Gras. One of these days I absolutely MUST experience it for myself.

But since this wasn’t the year for it I decided to host a Mardi Gras party. Since Mardi Gras is on a Tuesday and Oklahoma doesn’t give people time off to celebrate properly, we partied on Saturday. And it was a darn good thing because the last people didn’t leave until close to 3 a.m.!

I wasn’t ready to take down our Christmas tree after the holidays so I removed the Christmas decorations, put a purple bow from our library decorations on top and draped it in Mardi Gras beads. I didn’t think to take a picture at night with the lights on, but here it was the following morning:

Lisa and I had gone shopping the Thursday before and I had picked up one of these:

Oh, my goodness! It was absolutely delicious. I wish I had bought two of them.

I made two big pots of gumbo and rice, and had bought French bread at Whole Foods to go with it. I failed to take any pictures during the party because we were all having such a fabulously fun time that it didn’t even cross my mind. There were a total of 15 of us and the highlight of the night was the game we played, Cards Against Humanity:

Without knowing much at all about the game, I had purchased it as our family Christmas game (I buy a game for our family each year). It’s like a VERY adult version of Apples to Apples and truly the most hilarious game I’ve ever played. You wouldn’t want to play it with children or anyone who is uptight but with the right folks I promise you will never laugh so hard in your life.

While I totally screwed up on the picture taking during the party, I did snap a couple afterwards when I took a look at my kitchen. David had set out a ridiculous array of liquor but nearly everyone ended up drinking wine or beer. Towards the end of the night David opened some champagne but despite the way this looks we were a rather sober group. Ha!

I should have taken more pictures but just imagine all the counters looking about like this:

Ordinarily I clean up after parties so I’m not faced with a mess the next morning but by 3 a.m. I was exhausted and just left it. Here’s the family room Sunday morning:

And this was the saddest sight ever. Not a single bite of King Cake left for breakfast:

The saddest sight - an empty King Cake box

So, even though we couldn’t be in New Orleans we made the best of it with good food, terrific friends and lots of laughs.

Laissez le bon temps rouler!

Just not ready…

January 9, 2013 By Deanna Piercy 2 Comments

I decided that I’m just not quite ready to un-decorate my house. I said this to David last night and he said, “It’s our house; we can do what we want.” So I decided that at least for now I’m not taking down the tree. Instead, I’m going to decorate it for Mardi Gras. I’ll take the ornaments off and pack them away. And then I’ll redecorate it with Mardi Gras beads and whatever else I come up with. I’ve got a hair appointment in just a bit so it will have to wait until tomorrow. However, I did this:

And then remembered I had some purple lights so I added them:

I figure that during the cold, dreary winter we need all the cheer we can muster. And what is cheerier than a pirate wearing a Mardi Gras mask? Besides, I am planning to host a Mardi Gras party this year so that’s my excuse. As if I need one. 😉

We all survived…I think

May 28, 2012 By Deanna Piercy 1 Comment

The fifth annual Happyland Music Fest was a rousing success. There will be pictures and stories to come but we still have a LOT of cleanup to do today. And there will most definitely be a nap on the agenda. We slept about 6 hours total on Friday and Saturday nights. We *might* be just a little too old for that. On second thought…nah. Party on!

Happy Memorial Day!

The Saints Win the Super Bowl!

February 8, 2010 By Deanna Piercy 1 Comment

I’ll have more to say about the Saints and what this win means for New Orleans in a later post but for now, how about a few pictures from our Super Bowl party? At one point there were 21 of us here eating jambalaya and watching the game. Laissez le bon temps rouler!

My Mardi Gras/NOLA/Saints/Pirate display

Mardi Gras is next Tuesday, February 16th. I’m ready!

My favorite Saints fan

Friends helping in the kitchen

Starting to put the food out:

(I made jambalaya, red beans and rice, potato salad and
bread pudding. David went out and bought
a bunch of chips, dips and beer;
Chris put together a cheese and veggie tray;
friends brought lots of other goodies.)

Good friends

Toasting with cups from the Tropical Isle in New Orleans

(some had already left by the time we decided to take this shot)

Happy birthday, Ed!

Malory, our party animal, asleep in Melissa’s lap

Good friends, good food, good game. Doesn’t get much better than that. Who Dat!

a2a_linkname=”Tea With Dee”;a2a_linkurl=”http://teawithdee.blogspot.com/”;