A photo board

In lieu of gifts, I asked the guests at my husband's birthday party to bring along a photo of him {Recent, vintage, group or otherwise}.  The results of this request were one of the highlights of the evening.  My talented friend, Jen, made a gorgeous board for me.  Painted with chalkboard paint, guests were able to write the year the photo was taken.   I had simple roles of washi tape on hand to tape the photos onto the board.  New friends were able to see pictures from Aaron's childhood and long time friends were able to share their favorite snapshots.  Everything from current day shots with our boys to prom photos, team pictures, a classic school photo, and the {now} infamous ski photo I used for the invitation. 

It turned out even better than I hoped it would.  He has snap shots with all the people he loves in one place.  Now we need to find a place for it in his office. 

 

A street food party

This was the year of parking a large truck in front of our house and calling it a party!  For Aaron's 40th birthday, we hired a food truck to feed us for 2 hours.  The prep for this party was dreamy.  I simply filled some beverage dispensers with lemonade, threw ice and beer in galvanized tubs, and put my make-up on.  All the food was left in the hands of Contigo Mondern Mexican.

 {the evening's menu}

We served the Gorditas on trays in the back yard as appetizers.  They were small pockets of yummy [fried] goodness.  For dinner, each guest was able to order four tacos of their choice.  Many mixed and matched to sample them all. 

I loved how our guests mingled in the driveway when waiting for their tacos.  There were ongoing discussions regrading which taco was the favorite.  I am not sure there was a consensus, but my personal favorite was the Beef Picadillo.  The onion jam made this taco sweet and spicy.

To end our meal, we served churros.  Who doesn't love a churro?  In my opinion, there is nothing better than fried crispy dough coated with cinnamon sugar.  I may have had more than one [and possibly one heated up the next morning for breakfast].

Contigo also brought along Habenero Lemonade.  It was curiously hot, sweet and spicy all at the same time.  There was vodka and tequila to mix in, as well as regular lemonade.  A signature cocktail that was simple and easy to serve. 

The meal, from start to finish, was divine!  The Contigo staff served delicious food and were breeze to work with.  I would highly recommend hiring a food truck for a special occasion.  As the hostess, you have absolutely no stress regarding the meal and your guests will love it.

[If you live in the Seattle area, I used Seattle Food Truck to find Contigo.  It was an amazing resource to find a truck to cater your event.  Plus, it lists all of the food trucks in the area and where they are serving up food during the week.]