Magic Shindig!

The May Shindig was hosted by some friends who had an in with a local magician: T-Magic. They pulled some strings and were able to have him come and be the entertainment for the evening.

It was a really fun show! He was really funny and did some awesome things. But, by far, his best trick of the evening was making a dove appear out of napkins.

First, he and his volunteer assistant stuck napkins in their mouths:

Then, they pulled them out..

T-Magics kept on going and going...

Then, suddenly, there was a dove!

you can just see the wing on the far left of the pic

I also caught a little bit of video of one of his other tricks:

That couple really knows how to throw a great party!!

Nifty Nerdy Humor

So, we decided to have an UnAmerican dinner party; nothing scandalous or even remotely political, just a good excuse to cook something other than American cuisine.

We emailed up some friendly folks and invited them to bring a pillow to sit upon their favorite foreign dish/snack/sweet:

To set the scene, and to further step away from the standard seating set-up, we put out low tables with colorful coverings:

But, amid all the planning and prepping that inevitably goes into putting together a party, just a couple days before the big day, I was still trying to figure out what to make!

Should I make Chinese Gioza? Mini Greek Pizzas?
Mexican Tinga?
German Pancakes? Dutch Mansaka?

Then, I remembered the Polish Pierogies that were so yummy. And later, an amazingly awesome person suggested Australian Anzac.. and so, tickled by the appetizing alliteration, it was definitively decided!

and a delicious decision it was!

Yumm!

In the two-block walk from the El to my house, I pass three Mexican restaurants. Yet, believe it or not, Mexican food isn't something that we frequently have in our house. Still, there's just something about beans and tacos that always hits the spot.

Normally, when I get a taste for Mexican, I statisfy it at lunch (rather than dinner at home). But recently I've been having a hankering for some tasty 7-Layer Dip and that's always best when home-made. Happily, we're going over to a friend's house this weekend for a potluck so I had the perfect cause to make some. Tasty 7-Layer Dip, here we come!

January Picnic

I know this winter hasn't been especially long (yet) nor especially cold (so far)... but, all the same, I recently found myself wanting to do something to brighten things up.

As I was brainstorming things to do that could help shake up the doldrums, I remembered that way back, when I was in college out in Boulder, some of my roommates and I implemented a yearly BBQ.. on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. It brought back such fond memories that I decided to resurrect this idea in my here and now.

So, I invited people over and we fired up the grill out back, threw out a blanket on the living room rug and had ourselves a veritable picnic in January. Then, as a little extra reminder of Spring, I got a few flowers to put around the room:


It was really fun.. We'll have to do this more often!