Welch Whirl

Lemon & Lime Party

Yes, indeed, the celebration has begun and will continue for weeks to come. What could cause such happiness and jubilee. Oh, you know, just the little thing of the hubby graduating ... for the third time. So what if it's the third time? Third time's a charm, right. (I only wish I'd known he was planning so many graduations so I could have given him regalia for a wedding present and saved us the cost of the 3 rentals.) Anyway, as part of the celebration, we decided to host a graduation party for Ben and some of his law-school friends (pictured below).


The theme for the party was "Lemon & Limes" -- just a theme, mind you, not a reference to Ben or any of his friends, all of whom are planning to become lawyers.


Why "Lemon & Lime," you ask? I don't know. Like all inspiration, it just came to me while I was picking out invitations. In any case, we did EVERYTHING in yellow and green with accents of red. We even bottled our own drinks: Passion Fruit, Mango Twist, and Pina Colada -- each of which had it's own label. The drink glasses had colored sugar rims and matching straws.

I know this sort of obsessive-compulsive party planning borders on ridiculousness. But I had a month to plan the party, and I couldn't help myself -- isn't there an expression about idle hands and a backlog of Martha Stewart Living's are the devil's playthings?

The appetizer was bruschetta with five different toppings: feta, mozzarella, parmesan, bacon, and avocado. Yummy. (See Martha Stewart Living, "Bruschetta 101," May 2010, page 72).

Of course we had a children's table. (Yes, after that much school, every student is bound to have two or more kids.) So we had to provide kid-meal happiness as well.


The kid's cuisine included homemade lemon pudding inspired by many years of growing up eating banana pudding filled with Nilla wafers. I still love it -- thanks, Dad.

We also had three salads -- a leaf, pasta, and fruit -- provided by the guests, which I somehow managed not to photograph, as well as delicious ribeye steaks, which Ben cooked on the grill. I somehow managed to not take a picture of them, only the stuff I did. Go figure. (I'd like to say it was a minor oversight, or that they didn't fit the "Lemon & Lime" theme, but the real reason is probably my party-planning ego -- which is a delicate flower.)


Here are some water bottles I made with custom "Lemon & Lime" labels. Yes, I know -- this is way over the top. Again, the lesson here is not to give me too much time to plan a party. For dessert, we had New York cheesecake with a hint of lemon. (The recipe can be found at the SmittenKitchen.com.)


We also had yellow cake pops, which were inspired from Bakerella.com


I forgot to take pictures of the table settings and the centerpieces/tablecloths and the Martha Stewart-inspired pom-poms hanging in the tree. (For me, this is as egregious as not taking pictures of a newborn child.) I also forgot to take pictures of the kids' tables. I did get a profile of my belly, though. Wow -- my belly is the only part of the gala not inspired by lemons or limes but rather a Green River watermelon. If someone were to touch me, I think I might pop.

Despite my initial embarrassment for doing everything in the "Lemon & Lime" theme, the party was a hit. Time to start planning my next party ... maybe for my husband's fourth graduation. You never know, right?

P.S. Special thanks to my sister Keri for helping out with the party. I couldn't have done it without her.