San Franidazzle - 2009

San Franidazzle 2009 was a smashing success. I know that I am biased, but it was the party of the year. In case you don't know what San Franidazzle is, here's the low-down:

• Mirrored after Mauri Earl's infamous Holidazzle party in D.C.
• The party in D.C. is a roommate only invite - last year we had our current roommates and invited some close friends. Due to the small size of our house, the invite list stays the same from year to year with only new roommates added to the guest list.
• Dates are required
• Cocktail attire
  
• Musical number is a must
• Reverse charades
• Christmas bingo
• Amazing meal

This year we added some fun twists - but we'll get to that in a second. I don't want to have complete photo overload, so here are the highlights:

The welcome activity was to decorate a gingerbread house.

And the finished product:

And here is the best glimpse of the kitchen decor. This year we went with a snowflake theme so we hung paper chains and store bought/homemade snowflakes from the ceiling. Kirsten brought the table decor and plates from her mom's house. Everything looked amazing. I wish that the photos did it justice.

And then there was the food. Oh my. The food. In case you didn't know, Andrea Pimentel is the best chef that I have ever met in real life. I am not kidding. Here are her descriptions of each course:

stacked pear salad with goat cheese, candied walnuts, and poppy seed dressing

braised globe artichoke with balsamic reduction

wild mushroom and prosciutto tortelloni
{sidenote that I don't like mushrooms and this may be the best thing I have ever put in my mouth}

lobster vol au vent - lobster in cream sauce in a homemade puff pastry shell

And for dessert, which we don't have a photo of, it was an eggnog cheesecake with gingersnap crust and pomegranate sauce.

In the middle of dinner, we had a surprise visit from Santa. I have to say that this addition to the party was my favorite thing ever. I had a friend who knew most of the party guests come in through our laundry room door and then up into the kitchen through Rita's bedroom.

And of course everyone wanted a photo with Santa.

Andrea & Marshall

Rachael & Dave

Tim & Me

Clay & Kirsten

Ryan & Kristine

Paul & Rita

What I didn't mention before is that Santa came bearing gifts. Kristine and I went to Goodwill and found the best 12 things we could find for under $30. Then Santa handed them out and then over dinner we had a white elephant gift exchange. Just looking at the photos of that cracks me up. We had such a good time laughing at the gifts that everyone got. Here are photos of some of my favorites:

It took some begging and pleading to get Dave & Rachael to do the musical number, but it was great. They played "We Three Kings" and everyone tried to sing along. I personally think they should go on tour.

Bingo!

The only photo I have from reverse charades is of Tim. Can you guess what he is acting out?

And of course our group photo at the end of the night.

And of the girls. Apparently I'm the only one who got the memo to shimmy in the photo.

Towards the end of the night, most of us girls were laying on the couch talking. It was so great having Kirsten back with us for a night and I couldn't help but think what wonderful friends I have. I could say more, but you girls should all know that I love you lots. Seriously. Here's to many more San Franidazzles to come - and to more permanent dates. :)
If you want to see the rest of the photos, click here.