Birthday Pizza Party

So my birthday was um....weeks ago, and I've just been dragging my feet getting the pictures off my camera. I don't know about most newlyweds, but I will say there is one big drawback to getting married in October, which is that by the time life has settled down after the wedding, it's time for the holidays. I feel like we've been going, going, going since the plane from San Francisco landed, so I apologize for not keeping the blog up as much as I might have.

Anyways, apologies aside, my birthday was pretty awesome this year. In the past I've worked myself into a mini-pity party frenzy, fretting that no one would want to celebrate with me or that it's too much to ask for people to join me for fancy dinners or fun weekends. This year, I decided I wanted my birthday to feel like it did at the parties we had in 7th grade: pizza, ice cream cake and board games.

We purchased the pre-made pizza dough balls from Trader Joe's and set up a toppings selection so people could make their own pizzas that we then cooked on our pizza stone. The toppings included: fire-roasted red and yellow peppers, apple slices, tomato slices, sausage crumbles, pepperoni, fresh mozzarella, gorgonzola, four shredded cheeses, fresh basil and pecorino romano.

For a quick centerpiece, I put three candles with my initials (a gift from my friend Miranda) on top of a cake stand from Crate and Barrel, with flowers from Trader Joe's. The pitcher is from Sisters Unique, a fabulous interior store in Newport News.

Our cheese selection, in acacia bowls that were wedding gifts.

Pecorino romano, in the Century gravy boat from Crate and Barrel.

We had fixings for two signature cocktails: Dark and Stormy and a Southern Peach Tea. A dark and stormy is made with ginger beer and Gosling's Black Seal rum. The Southern Peach Tea is a recipe I swiped from a bar we visited at the Landsdowne Resort in northern Virginia; it's made with Firefly sweet tea vodka, peach schnapps and lemonade. It is my new favorite thing.

A picture of my pizza before it went in the oven: four cheeses, fresh mozzarella, pepperoni and fire-roasted vegetables. I brushed the edges with olive oil and sprinkled garlic powder on top.

Mine and Ashleigh's pizzas, ready to eat! Don't they look fabulous?

We spent the night playing Trivial Pursuit, Scattergories and Taboo, with breaks for ice cream cake. My lovely friends know how I love balloons, so I was happy to receive some. It was a lovely birthday.