A Midsummer’s Night

There’s nothing I love more than being surrounded by good people, exceptional food and sweet white wine. So naturally this summer, a few weeks before I moved out of the little white house and onto a new chapter in my life, I threw a dinner party.

We poured sparkling lemonade and chilled white wine into thrift store mason jars. We ate creamy risotto, balsamic and honey chicken skewers mixed with crisp red peppers and sweet onions. There was prosciutto wrapped asparagus and black bean quinoa salad mixed with earthy cilantro and a tangy vinaigrette. For dessert we filled our bowls with velvety mint ice cream and tart red cherries drizzled in hot fudge that threatened to spill over.

Mixing new friends with old, our carefree conversations talked of celebrity crushes and spirit animals. Music from Iron and Wine softly drifted into the lulls of conversation, mingled with random bursts of laughter. As the evening progressed I was left with a strange sense of belonging and nostalgia- a sadness for what has already happened, and what I was moving on from after graduation, but at the same time hopeful, imagining hundreds of more dinner parties just like that July night. Infinite more evenings filled with good music, tasty treats and even better company.