No matter how busy you are: have the party

I’m writing to you after a very successful celebration for my parents’ combined 60th birthday. They’re big hosts and Leah and I spent months planning a celebration where they could enjoy the party as much as possible. That meant hiring help and getting creative and I’m so happy with how it all turned out. They hosted a party for their 50th back in 2016 and I was not very involved as I had just returned from a year living in Guatemala. It felt good to play a bigger role this time, with lots more event planning under my belt. We sent out the invites right before we left for Italy and guests left promising to see each other at Leah’s wedding, which is in less than two months. It’s a big year for the family.

The entertainment for the evening was trivia my parents came up with called,
The Quiz of Our Lives”. Categories spanned birth and early childhood all the way through college to modern traditions and Megan was the only one to correctly answer the final jeopardy. The winner was Auntie Mitu, my mom’s college roommate, my grandma got second, and Tanta Susan and Lizzi tied for third. It was really lovely to have everyone together from so many moments of their lives, including both grandmother. People came from near and far and it was a joy to celebrate them and lean into the theme of this celebration year, or year of simchot.

On Friday, we’ll

Now, let’s dive in.

We had a crafting session for the party, creating a Jeopardy style board for the trivia. Erika lent her handwriting and I used washi tape and poster board leftover from my vision board workshop earlier this year. To fuel this creative work, we ordered mushroom pizza from Williamsburg Pizza and made a salad with celery, romaine, cabbage, almonds, pecorino and a balsamic vinaigrette. Sometimes takeout pizza + homemade salad is cooking.

We had no clue what to have for dinner one night and luckily we had pesto in the freezer from my mom, who freezes batches when she has an abundance of basil. That plus some Brami curly mac, nutritional yeast, lemon zest & juice, red pepper flakes and pecorino made for a great dinner. I added some swiss chard to mine because it was on the verge of wilting and extra greens are always a good idea.

With CSA veggies burning a hole in the fridge, Jared made a big stirfry with rice cooked with corn, CSA onions, and cabbage, broccoli, tofu and kale. The CSA onions are something I never expected to enjoy so much—I always look past onions at the farmers market but the young red and white onions are really special, with thin skin and a more delicate flavor.

We snacks on CSA goodies all weekend: cantaloupe with yogurt and granola on Saturday morning with espressos and tomato toast with dill butter for a Sunday lunch.

On Sunday night, we gathered for a post party debrief. Dad made a peak August pasta with clams, farmers market tomatoes, corn, and crispy kale. It was so nice to be together even though we were all tired and share stories from the party along with leftover cake.

After our indecision dinner, Jared and I walked to The Screen Door for ice cream and I redeemed my punch card. Now, to see if I can fill up another one before they close for the season in November. I believe in myself

Tilden, Margaret and I hung out on Thursday and none of us were in the mood to cook or make decisions (a theme of last week, party prep was in high gear and work was busy). After limited back and forth, we settled on takeout from Medusa the Greek in Park Slope. They had something labeled a vegetarian feast and it solved all of our problems. For $70, we got a true feast of grape leaves, greek salad, a dip (we did crazy feta), 6 pita, lentil falafel, zucchini chips, which were the clear favorite, and lemon potatoes. We added on halloumi and it was enough for at least 8 meals. I love when a restaurant helps you get exactly what you want.

Grandma came to Brooklyn to meet her great grandkitties, which was a thrill. We got a family dinner at Have & Meyer which has a vibes based natural Italian wine list—you tell them the color you want and your mood and they go from there. I had pesto pasta and we had a lovely anchovy strachiatella toast to start. Sitting outside was decent for a group volume wise, but the chairs are notably uncomfortable. It is so hard to find spots for group dinner with both good food, comfortable seats, and a noise level where you can chat. I have some go tos but am always open to recs

Now, the party recap! We had it catered by Poppy’s, which is also a cafe in Cobble Hill— Joanna Goddard is a fan, which was a big endorsement. In addition to the food, they provided a team, ice, and dishes. You can also add on glassware rentals. The food is seasonal and was very good, we got multiple compliments. We had way too much food, probably because people eat less standing than at a seated dinner. They set out bags to encourage guests to take leftovers, which I liked, and our collective regret is not eating more. I love the figs and grapes on the cheese board, the lentil sliders, and the falafel. Having caterers made everything a million times easier. We had a lovely bartender pouring up wines my dad selected along with Spindrift, beer from Talea, lemonade, iced tea, and lemon water. He found a nook in the kitchen that we hadn’t used for that purpose previously and it flowed very well.

For the cake, we took inspiration from my parents 1990 wedding cake, which was exactly what you would picture. Sam from Pistachio Milk Matcha made two cakes, one for each parent, with flavors they’d each love. My mom’s was chocolate with a coffee soak and my dad’s was an olive oil cake with a berry compote. Each cake had illustrations of them and things they loved (former pets, books, wine, tacos, beaches, etc.) along the side. Sam kept the tops blank so we could add their original wedding cake toppers, which are bunny rabbits in wedding formal, and candles. It was also Bob’s 70th Birthday on the day of the party so my mom made him a banana bread—the turbinado sugar crust makes it extra special. We had 3 lovely birthday folks making wishes and the caterers served everyone a sample of each cake.

When you’re hosting an event, you don’t always eat enough, so I was very glad Leah and I stopped at Masani Pizza on our way back from picking up the cake. We grew up going to Lillian’s Pizza after our gymnastics classes and I’m glad the space lives on as a pizzeria. The slice was very good, with a thin and crispy crust and a flavorful tomato sauce. I’m excited to go back and try more things.

Ayana Gabrielle Lage has written so movingly on her experience with postpartum psychosis, which is heavy on people’s mind. Her memoir goes deeper.

A cheese for every occasion, including a bad day, a first date, and a promotion by Phoebe Fry

Breanna Stewart’s Grub Street Diet. Go Liberty!

Fascinating by this story of an influencer who started dating with a very public engagement timeline. Things didn’t go according to plan.

Becca Freeman introduced me to Map Tap, a daily geography game. My dad and I have been playing and texting each other our scores and I would love more friends to join.

Loved this piece on NYC’s SWANA restaurant scene. I’ve been more mindful of where I’ve eaten in the past few years and love Huda, which has become such a community gathering space.

Extreme frisson warning: the original cast of Rent reunited at a Broadway festival and the videos are incredible. I meant to do dishes and instead spent 20 minutes watching and tearing up.

I loved my party dress, which I got on TheRealReal a few months ago. It was a final sale risk that paid off from Rhode, which has a ton of fun stuff on the site at very good prices and in a lot of sizes. The brand shut down in early 2025 so secondhand is the way to go.

In my Nuuly this month, I rented running shorts from FP Movement that are inspired by a tennis skirt. They’ve been fun to wear to physical therapy and for neighborhood walks and I’m planning on buying them post rental.

On Friday, I wrote about my frustrating yet necessary experience with physical therapy and wound up swapping PT stories with Frida and Noah at the party. PT comes for us all at some point.

I just DNFed a very popular book, life is too short to read things you don’t like.

My current white ribbed tank top is looking a little dingy so I will be getting this one as a replacement as it’s under $20. I am always aiming to do more secondhand shopping as evidenced above and swapping for clothes but white t-shirts and tank tops are the exception.

One of my favorite newsletters is Hung Up by Hunter Harris and her latest on Eric Adams taking a thirst trap with vegetables had me cackling. None of those words are in the bible.

On quitting botox: My annual beauty bill went down almost $10,000. And then there was the really great part.

I’ve used my food processor maybe twice in the past 9 years but I am inspired to dust it off and try to make peanut butter this fall thanks to Kara Haupt’s video. Or I’ll use my Vitamix. She says the homemade version doesn’t separate!

Have a great week and don’t miss an excuse to celebrate something, big or small.

xo, Abigail