Since the Summer Solstice.

From the moment we first moved into apartment 9A on June 21st, my roommates and I knew we wanted to host a house-warming party. It was never a question of "if" we would, just "when" we would. We shared the sentiment that an apartment possessing as much charm as ours did should be shared with all.

Fast forward a month later. July, in all of its steaming glory, had descended upon New York, and my roommates and I were frantically preparing for a Saturday evening house-warming party. After countless trips to Ikea, numerous consultations with measuring tapes and extension cords, and several fury-provoking encounters with a hammer, we were ready to open our apartment to the general public.

Our excursion, early Saturday morning, to the grocery store, the flower shop, and the liquor store, was a mathematical expedition of sorts to host the perfect party:

-2 candles for $4.99 each (to arrange for the essential mood lighting)
-1 large blue tub for $5.99 (to hold drinks, and ice)
-3 large bouquets of flowers for $25.00 (to add to the ambiance)
-5 bags of tortilla chips for $10.99 (snacking, of course)
-ingredients for homemade salsa, ingredients for homemade sangria, M&Ms, more M&Ms, peanuts, cashews, more tortilla chips, and guacamole all for just over $100 (for more snacking)
-frozen Mexican finger foods for $20.00 (see above)
-1 new party skirt from Anthrolpologie for$xx.xx (just believe me, it was worth it)
- 3 cases of beer, 2 bottle of soda water for under $50.00 (drinks to accompany all those snacks)
-1 ipod playlist (free! imagine that)

Our ingredients (food, music, lighting, etc.) were nothing without our fabulous 50 guests who stopped by. And, in between entertaining and snacking and laughing with friends, we managed to get a photo of the four hostesses: those intrepid women who pulled together the cutest little summer shindig the Upper West Side has ever seen.

Lindsay Ann, Hannah, Jamie, and Yours Truly