Less than 24 hours after Tony got home from shooting a movie in Texas for the past three weeks (the last week of which were all night shoots), our nearest and dearest piled into the hills for our annual Snowchella holiday party. I love getting dressed up, packing my house with my favorite people and stuffing them full of homemade food and booze, so this night is one of my favorite evenings of the year. For every prior Snowchella, I’ve made everything – appetizers, cocktails, entrees, treats, the whole shebang. But, every year in the past, I’ve also been in curlers with five minutes left until guests arrive, sweating and barking at Tony and our friend Justin (who used to live with us and always comes an hour early to take some of the heat off Tony), to “Please assemble the f*&%ing fried chicken sandwiches!” That, coupled with the fact that Tony would be just barely getting home in time for the party, prompted us to make a few changes this time around. We settled on the compromise that we’d buy appetizers from Trader Joe’s, hire a taco cart and I’d make cocktails and treats. In my humble opinion, it was our best party yet (and not just because Justin didn’t have to kick it off covered in honey and chicken biscuits. Thanks again, Justin.)

The tacos were insanely delicious and so were the spicy jalapeno margaritas. The fudge I forced Tony to make at 1am after he got home from the airport was a hit, and nearly all the sea salt chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter nutella cookies, pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting were eaten. Best of all, though, was the company. Tony and I asked everyone to bring old towels and blankets in lieu of booze or gifts so we can donate them to local animal shelters to keep all the dogs I can’t adopt warm this winter; now, you can’t even walk into our guest bedroom, it’s so jam-packed with towels and blankets.

Even though the party was on a school night, the last guest didn’t leave until 2:15am. We spent the night laughing and stuffing our faces, and I can’t think of a better way say goodbye to 2015. And just when I was feeling fabulously Hollywood and glamorous in my Reformation dress, making myself a 2am taco to celebrate a successful shindig, Tony and I discovered all three of the dogs had barfed on two different rugs and all over our bed (I wasn’t the only one eating tacos at 2am). So, we stayed up past 3am cleaning up puppy puke… As gross as that is, I couldn’t help but feel really lucky that at the end of the night when everyone had gone home and the party was over, Tony was what I was left with. Because there is no one else I’d rather scrape dog barf up in a gown with than that man. Here are a few pictures from the party – I’m so grateful we got to have this happy night with friends.

{Napkins my dad got for me. They’re pretty appropriate.}

{The one appetizer I did make – homemade curry dip}

{TACOS!!!!!!!!!}

{Beautiul wedding gift from a friend}

{Our first guests to arrive, including the youngest Snowchella guest, Sally Beth!}

HAPPY WEEKEND! I intend to Netflix and chill. (Literally. I’m so tired from this crazy week, I’m planning to stay in the same pair of sweatpants and only get off the sofa for food.) What are you grateful for this week?