There's me in my 50's add for potato chips! Err... I mean, setting up the appetizers... The weather was great all morning, and as the time for the party approached the clouds gathered and the temperatures dropped. Poo.
Not a big problem, though, we just shoved all the furniture we could onto the sun porch, which thankfully stayed warm enough for people to hang out on!
You like that ginormous magnetic blackboard I made? I pulled a 6 foot tall piece of plywood down from the rafters in the garage, sanded the heck out of it and piled on 4 coats of magnetic primer followed by three coats of chalkboard paint, and VOILA! An enormous, rather rough chalkboard! (Guess I should have sanded down the primer layer a little better.... oh well, it works!)
It kept track of who was betting on which horse! (Now it's living in the kitchen keeping track of my weekly menu.)
Having learned from years past, I mixed up a big batch of Mint Juleps...
and used the leftover blackboard paint to LABEL IT!
Beer went in a big ol' bucket right next to the bar, as easy to find as possible!
Mom and I even had time for a quick drink and a breather before the guests arrived (the fact that they were all about an hour late helped!)
There's my step-mom making out with Tembo- check out her hat, she made that from the top of an oatmeal box! Layered all those things right on top... impressive, huh?
Then the rest of the guests began arriving and the party got started!
Not sure why Hubby felt the need to ask people to pose outside in the rain...
How to greet when wearing huge brimmed hats: the air kiss!
Cat hunting.
Hang on a sec... just who is that beer for??
Lots of cute kids!
Fun out on the porch.
This poor little guy (my nephew) had cracked his head open that morning and spent most of the day at the Emergency room! Apparently he convinced his mom to come to the party, though, by waking up from his post-surgery nap calling my name!!
The ordeal didn't slow him down much as he still managed to strip all the pussies off my willow branches, and took one bite out of each and every item in my fruit bowl! (Doesn't his mom look seriously sick of eating apples?!)
As hat judging time drew near, Hubby got into the swing of things himself!
We had a tie this year! Thank goodness I had ordered extra mint julep cups! Not everyone knew eachother at the party, so some people described the hats on the voting slips instead.
This one was called "Big Bird", designed by my aunt, who also won last year's hat contest!
And this one was "Horse Poop"! Designed by my Mom- did you notice the flies hovering over that manure? Reminds me of that crazy guy in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.Despite the unfortunate weather, everyone seemed like they had a good time again! Now to start thinking about next year's hat!!
