My House Is Warm!

Our housewarming party on Saturday was a huge success. We had lots of friends – new and old – who filled our house with lots of love and warm, gooey, goodness. I was a little worried because we invited people from all different groups of friends and so I wasn’t sure how everyone would mesh, but I think the meshing was good. Chris worked the grill like a pro, and I served Martha Stewart’s homemade lime wine spritzers like it was my job.

And I have to say that there were so many compliments on the house (but what else would people say at a housewarming party??). Everything they commented on was something Chris and I had fought about.

“This paint job is fabulous!” – Why, thank you. My husband almost kicked me out of the house when I refused to use a drop cloth.

“I love the color of your living room!” – Why, thank you. I made Chris sleep on the couch for a week until he would compromise on the color.

“Your yard looks fantastic!” – Why, thank you. I was searching the Yellow Pages for a divorce lawyer while Chris laid the mulch.

And every time a comment was made, Chris and I would just laugh and laugh until the guest moved on and then one of us would mutter, “I freaking told you so…”

I do need to give credit where credit is due though. Our house really did look fantastic. And the yard was all the rage. I thought Chris’ head would just pop off right there next to the grill if one more person said how great it looked. He did good, that husband of mine, and in the end I’m glad we didn’t divorce over something silly like mulch or honeysuckle vines. Especially because there are much bigger things out there for us to argue about…like laundry.

After the crowds left, we had a small group of our closest friends who came up from New York stay the weekend. This is the group of people who have been in our lives since we were in high school. They were Chris’ best friends since childhood and in the past 4 or 5 years, they have become some of my closest friends as well. We’ve experienced just about every major life change with them. They were there when Chris and I first started dating, and when we broke up, and when we got back together, and when we broke up, and when we got back together. They stood next to us on our wedding day. They were there when we graduated. They were there the day we closed on our new house. We’ve been through break ups, marriages, funerals, bad haircuts, depressions, incredible successes, and just about everything in between together. To say they are more than friends is really an understatement. They are as close as family, and – like so many events in our lives – the weekend would not have been complete without them. I know that in the next few years there are many changes coming – maybe some weddings, maybe some babies, maybe some new jobs, maybe some moves. And it makes me smile inside to know that these people will be there for it all.

So, it was a good weekend. New friends and old friends. Beer cans and hamburger buns. Questionable croquet games and cornhole tournaments. It was just the kind of celebration that you want to kick off a whole new chapter in your life.

What can I say? A house just isn’t a home until your friends litter it with beer bottles.