Summer is Nigh

And the dinner party is back.

Please, please, please by Sabrina Carpenter
Sexy to Someone by Clairo
Complaining about late burn-off June Gloom
Habitually buying sub-par peonies
Closely monitoring the progress of tomatoes
Wondering if it’s weird that I’m not in Europe right now
How is everyone in Europe right now
Dutch door open, dutch door closed, googling ‘excessive fly solutions’
The part when you start thinking about wearing shorts

Dinner party. I need to throw a dinner party. Why haven’t I thrown a dinner party in so long?

Send the group text
Finally find the date

All the recipes you have been saving for this exact moment…
Gone.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
But with every recipe you’ve ever seen
Pull out the cookbooks
Must evoke summer
Must be gluten free
Must not simply be chicken and salad
Must be impressive
Must wow your friends of 25 years who could not care less about being wowed
Did she get over the dairy thing?
Or is that still a thing?
How bad could it possibly be?
I’ll do chicken and salad.

The big grocery shop
How badly do I really need a teaspoon of Aleppo pepper for an $11 jar
Skip the Aleppo pepper
Buy the gluten free flour
The peaches are perfect

Big cook
Good playlist
A dishwasher. A countertop. Air conditioning. A garbage disposal. Fridge space.
I could cry. I’m so grateful.
How do you say convey insane gratitude without sounding absolutely intolerable?
How do I carry Saturday at 3pm gratitude into a Wednesday afternoon at 10am?
Every Night by Paul McCartney
Stirring pastry cream is healing and vanilla beans are chic
Must save this creamy spinach recipe for Christmas eve
I feel like myself
I feel inspired

Guests are here
Wine is poured
Cheese labels and gooseberries
Dating apps, birthday parties, wedding recap, baby update
Life is so hard and funny and sad and exciting and normal and we say it all while trying to smoothy pull cherry pits out of our mouths
Old friends in a new space - coloring in another square to make this home

This needs Aleppo pepper
Dessert is perfect

Menu:

Charcuterie Board
Provided by beautiful, wonderful guest

Crème Fraîche Scallion and Olive Dip with Potato Chips
À Table, Rebekah Peppler

Butterhead Salad with Garlic Vinaigrette
Small Victories, Julia Turshen

Spinach and Tomato Gratin
The Farm Table, Julius Roberts

Easy Sheet Pan Chicken
The Farm Table, Julius Roberts

Lazy Trifle (Shortcake + Pastry Cream + Naked Peaches)
Sweet Enough, Alison Roman

Love You Bunches
Stolpman