Real Party: A Mexican Fiesta - Dairy Foods

My good friend Libby turned 30 last weekend and her boyfriend Biffer (yes, it's a nickname), Kristin and I co-hosted a Mexicana Fiesta at my house. Though lots of planning and good intentions went into the party, it didn't exactly go as planned. So my lesson learned is that you can't always predict party success and things don't always go perfectly.

Let's focus on the postive, shall we? We had a good five hours of party greatness and overall the heart of the party was present. The decor was lovely, many good friends and family came, and there was lots of great food as well as an amazing signature drink, Sangria.

Check out the delicious menu:

Barbacoa (this turned out amazing and I wish I would have snapped more pictures, the meat was super tender, just the right amout of heat and had an awesome deep flavor.)

Shredded chicken

Ground beef

Black beans

Guacomole

Mexican rice

Salsa verde

Habanero salsa

Green peppers and onions

Sangria (recipe from Cookinglight.com)

The birthday gal is not a big cake person so we had an ice cream sundae bar instead.

Here are some pics from the day.

These gorgeous flowers are from the Mpls Farmer's Market and the bold colors reminded me of Mexico.
Custom menu

I've been saving mason jars for months now and tied colorful ribbon around the top and filled with long-burning votives.

Kristin brought over lots of great decor.

Biffer dressed up for the party. It was a big hit.

These colorful lanterns were my favorite part of the decor. At night they just glowed and created a cool ambiance.

What is a Mexican Fiesta without a pinata? My favorite part was after Libby broke it open about 10 neighborhood kids appeared and we had them join in and collect all the candy.

The buffet, thank goodness for crockpots.

The gorgeous lanterns at night.

The Mason jars lit with candles.

Click here to check out the inspiration board I put together for this party.