Happy New Year!

It's almost 8pm New Year's Eve and my date just fell asleep. My husband is at work ensuring drunken cheer when it turns midnight in Washington, DC so here I am sitting on the couch with the dog and the cat. This was the first year that my kid was old enough to continue a tradition from my childhood so that was my highlight. Every New Years' Eve as a kid my parents went out and left my brother and me at home with a babysitter. We were allowed to go and pick out large amounts of our favorite candies to fill our own big bowls, grab our sleeping bags, and watch tv all night in the family room til the ball dropped in Times Square. Which reflecting right now was kind of slick on their part since we were in Kansas (an hour behind New York). HEY! I don't think we ever made it, if anyone did it would have been my little brother, he has always been the night owl. I didn't have candy until my brother came along 4 years later and loosened up my parents. Until then they told me raisins were candy. Clint came and all the rules went out the window (he also saw a rated R movie -Pretty Woman- waaaaaay before me). So this was a REALLY big deal for me to have mounds and mounds of junk food on New Year's Eve.

So tonight my kid and I had our first New Year's Party for 2 and I stepped it up a notch from my early days.

With a quick run to the party store to grab a $5 backdrop of Times Square, an $8 ball pinata, and some party hats and noise makers we were ready to go!



Yes, he was very excited to use a bat indoors



Goodbye 2010!





So after the ball dropped and broke open we were ready for our feast

Tonight my kid had his first pixie stick and his first ring pop and loved every minute. We watched "Happy New Year, Charlie Brown" and "Rudolph's Shiny New Year" and he then asked if he could go to bed.

So here I am. The rest of the candy is hidden, Times Square is down and put away, and I about to type up the first blog menu of 2011 for Arubula's Kitchen while enjoying some peace, quiet, and champagne.

Happy 2011!