Virginia Woolf as inspiration?
Allow me to get literary for a minute, OK?
Whenever I get ready to throw a party, I can't help but think of Virgina Woolf's famous first line: "Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself." She was a privileged woman, after all, but she insists on no servants, thank you, and no ride to the flower shop. She was throwing a party that night, and more than anything, SHE wanted to go walk through the streets of London to pick up the flowers herself.
En route, she falls in madly love with every aspect of her city. "The swing, tramp, and trudge, the bellow and the uproar, the carriages and the motor cars, vans, sandwich men shuffling and swinging, and the high singing of some aeroplane overhead was what she loved: life, London, this moment in June."
With our Ghetto Gourmet this weekend, I've been taking care of a lot of party-type details the past few days. Stopping at the World Market in Woodbury after work, or driving down University to Goodwill on my day off isn't quite as thrilling as the street life in London on a beautiful June day. But still, I finally realized why Mrs. Dalloway needed to buy the flowers herself! She is grateful. She feels privileged that life is charming--she eats well, lives well, and has good friends to join her. And because of all that, picking up the flowers becomes an homage to her happy life.
I guess my thoughts about this all come down to the fact that most things in life are more fun when you do them with someone else. In that case, why not do them with 20 guests?! We're cooking for around 20 people this weekend, and I'm sure everything will be lovely. But most importantly, I'm just happy to be a part of everything, and to have wonderful friends to share it all with.
Whenever I get ready to throw a party, I can't help but think of Virgina Woolf's famous first line: "Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself." She was a privileged woman, after all, but she insists on no servants, thank you, and no ride to the flower shop. She was throwing a party that night, and more than anything, SHE wanted to go walk through the streets of London to pick up the flowers herself.
En route, she falls in madly love with every aspect of her city. "The swing, tramp, and trudge, the bellow and the uproar, the carriages and the motor cars, vans, sandwich men shuffling and swinging, and the high singing of some aeroplane overhead was what she loved: life, London, this moment in June."
With our Ghetto Gourmet this weekend, I've been taking care of a lot of party-type details the past few days. Stopping at the World Market in Woodbury after work, or driving down University to Goodwill on my day off isn't quite as thrilling as the street life in London on a beautiful June day. But still, I finally realized why Mrs. Dalloway needed to buy the flowers herself! She is grateful. She feels privileged that life is charming--she eats well, lives well, and has good friends to join her. And because of all that, picking up the flowers becomes an homage to her happy life.
I guess my thoughts about this all come down to the fact that most things in life are more fun when you do them with someone else. In that case, why not do them with 20 guests?! We're cooking for around 20 people this weekend, and I'm sure everything will be lovely. But most importantly, I'm just happy to be a part of everything, and to have wonderful friends to share it all with.
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