it's my birthday and it should be about me, all about me

You know what I love about fall and the month of October and the number 17?! It's my birthday and it's all about me!! Hence my Twitter handle, LadyXVII, you know XVII=17 in Roman Numerals. Two weeks from today is the big day, and I won't let anybody forget it's coming. I will probably have a countdown, daily (it's 14 to go in case you've forgotten already).

This past weekend I was in New Jersey and I picked up a handful of integral items for my birthday party. Thank you Century 21 for being so cheap and so convenient when I go to NJ. I wish I could find something like you in DC!! For example, I scored hurricane vases for only $3 each. THREE DOLLARS! That's unheard of. I thought I would have to shell out like $15 at Pier 1. The other items included shot glasses (to properly measure signature cocktails, after all, I don't want guests sloshing around!) and tea light candles for a special centerpiece (more to come!).

And for those of you who are interested I'm having a cocktail party to celebrate my quarter-century birthday! It's actually a part 2 from my 20th. In college (I don't know anyone else that would do this, but I did) I had a double-bday party with my friend Morgan, a "Keep It Classy" cocktail party. The dress code was dresses for the ladies, and slacks for the guys. No jeans or t-shirts allowed. It was such a hit! So, I'm now having "Keep It Classy, Part Deux" for the big 2-5. I sort of relaxed the jeans rule - as long a you're dressy enough, I'm fine with it. Come on guys, you get it - jeans, dress shirt, blazer. Thank you very much.

I'm planning to put out a bunch of tasting items to nosh on during the party. I'm most looking forward to making Caramel Apple Bites. A favorite snack of mine, during the Fall, is apple with caramel and peanuts. This is a cocktail version of said snack. I was inspired via Pinterest, with the picture show below - however when I saw the recipe I did not have any interest in creating what they had prepared. Instead I plan to cut apples into bite size pieces, stick them with a toothpick, submerge in melted caramel, dip into chopped peanuts, and rest on wax paper to set. I think it will be a hit, hit, hit!

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Caramel-Apple-Bites