I took a breath as I crossed the threshold of the coffee shop, scanning the room for the face I had only seen in a photograph. When my eyes finally landed on his, it was comical that we were dressed the same. I in my short-sleeved chambray dress, and he in an almost identical denim button-up. You would have thought we were perfect pair by our matching appearance if you were peering through the window at our table for two. Though there was no happily ever after for us together, it was kind of exhilarating to go on a blind date! Have you ever been set up on a blind date? Funny date stories are my favorite so I wanna hear about it & I’ll share more of mine too! Though blind dates can be unpredictable, I have a feeling this one will end well for you!
A Blind Date With A Book
Shortly before I moved from Texas to Tennessee, I had the privilege of attending some friends’ event called “A Blind Date With A Book”. They had paper wrapped books & fun beverages for all the attendees. Each book had the genre listed for all to choose to take home. I adored this concept & knew I’d be copying it to create a post here for you!
So here we are, a year later & I needed a Galentines gathering idea. I thought back to this event & how my new gal pals would enjoy this along with a spread of charcuterie snacks.
Funny story: we originally planned this for Sunday the 13th (which is actually Galentine’s Day, of course) but once the text invite was sent, we were kindly reminded (or in my case, flat-out informed lol) that there was something called the Super Bowl happening at the same time…🤪 So alas, we moved our Galantine’s party to the 15th!
We provided the snacks & asked our gals to bring wrapped books to exchange “White Elephant” style. Jamie #blessed us with homemade cinnamon & Nutella butter macarons plus Joanna Gaines’ “Silo” cookies. (If you’re a TN local, check out @thebrowneyedbakertn for all the sweet baked treats you need…and want!) Brianna brought an amazing addition too! Three words: honey goat cheese. Yuuummm!
The Charcuterie Spread:
*Charcuterie Paper – aka my new obsession! This cutie roll was gifted to me via a stocking stuffer & I’ve just been itching to use it! (I believe it came from Dillard’s)
*Rye & Butter Crackers
*Salami & Pepperoni
*Cheddar, Muenster, & Pepper Jack Cheese
*Heart & Lip-Shaped Sugared Gummies & Jelly Beans
*Heart-Shaped Dark Chocolate Shortbread Cookies (from Trader Joe’s)
*Freeze-Dried Strawberries & Raspberries
*Olives
*Mixed Nuts
*Joanna Gaines’ (she popular among this crowd haha) White Bean Hummus (an excellent vegan option & made an appearance at a past Galentine’s gathering!)
*Carrots & Radishes (you know, veggies for health)
I also got cute themed napkins because you’ve met me, right? And this was another chance to pull out my favorite glass plates that are perfectly versatile for any occasion. Cheese knives made serving simple & heart cookie cutters made the salami more festive & helped with the layout of the food by adding some protected barriers. 😉
Callie’s understandably proud moment was pink sugar-rimmed glasses for perfectly pink lemonade! Her tip is to take a lemon wedge, swirl it around the rim’s edge, then dip in the sugar because the lemon juice is a better adhesive than water.
I’m trying to figure out why lemonade isn’t always served with a sugared rim! It’s the move.
For the book exchange, we each drew a number & took turns either choosing a new or in my case, stealing, our newest read. I think everyone ended up sharing a book from their personal collection so it was fun to hear a piece of everyone’s story behind why they chose the book to bring.
Tell me, what’s your type? Your book type that is. 😉 Happy Galentine’s Day, party people!
Confetti Reign 