About a month ago my parents came to town for a special occasion, my mother’s birthday. Being that we are observant Jews, going to a restaurant to celebrate on a Friday night, the eve of her birthday was out of the question, so I took it upon myself to gather the troops and get everyone together for a big celebratory dinner. Think “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” and you’ll pretty much see our dinner right in front of your eyes.

I like to think of myself as a perfectionist when it comes to decorating; when I get a vision in my mind of how I want something to look, I will stop at nothing until I get it just so. I don’t have the biggest of apartments, Jonathan and I live in a cosy 900 square feet apartment in Greenwich Village, with a table big enough to entertain 8 people comfortably. I however, like to make believe that we can easily fit 20 people, with just a little bit of a tight of a squeeze. Yes, I do have to add a foldable table, extend my own table as long as it will go, and find four benches to seat everyone, but I WILL make it work. And yes, all of this preparation can be a little stressful but the truth is, I love it…

This is just me getting started by the way. Once I’ve organized the figuration of the tables and chairs I then proceed to spend a few days running around Manhattan, scouring for things to ‘make’ the dinner. In this case, as I had chosen a Vineyard theme, that meant anything giving off a fresh yet rustic vibe. I think I have enough burlap, rope, and mason jars for a lifetime. And yes, I may have been that crazy lady running around New York stealing branches off of your old christmas tree, but just see how pretty it looks on my table!