Ratay Holiday Party!

The holiday season is robust! It’s filled with a spirit of laughter and joy to which the word “merry” becomes a contagious action shown through everyone. Holiday parties with warm fires, cocktail toast and cashmere sweaters. I love having family and friends gather together every year for my Ratay Christmas party. Everyone comes together for an evening of great company, delightful drinks, my famous Italian meatballs and a gift exchange that keeps everyone laughing. With this being the fourth year hosting my party, I would consider it becoming a holiday traditions for Mike and I.

  

Wine and cocktails are served with appetizers of different Italian meats, cheeses and olives followed by an Italian dinner with my special meatballs (which I spend the weekend before making). They are always a hit. There usually are two types of pasta, this year it was Lasagna and pesto which were also delicious and paired perfectly with the Chianti wine. Mike, my husband, made a special shot this year called Cinnamon Crunch. He used the liquor Fireball with cinnamon whiskey and Caruva Horchata; oddly it tasted just like the cereal, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, the spice flavor of it was perfect for the holidays and those who enjoy doing shots, personally I can’t stand them!

It truly is great to see everyone interacting together for the holidays that “merry” spirit just takes over making the evening delightful!  My favorite part of the whole night is our white elephant gift exchange, every year I do a different theme, and this year was any head accessory (such as a hat or head band). Gifts range from beautiful beach hats to hilarious elf hats that danced and sung on your head, as well as a leopard printed hat that extended to the length of the persons arms. Luckily, I ended up with a beautiful white scarf with a little silver shimmer inside I was really excited for my gift because past years I end up with the weird ones or funny ones that I probably would never use.

After 11pm the “normal” party stops and the after party begins. We danced, drank and played an array of games; it was a blast! This year Mike added a disco ball for all the dancing that takes place which everyone actually enjoyed.  This is what the holidays are all about; letting go of all worries, spending time with family and friends enjoying the spirit of “merry” which flows through the air and counting our blessings in which we have received.

From the Ratay family to yours, wishing you a Merry Christmas!

Mike, Sherry, Savannah, Ashley and LeeMichael 

Atlanta Weekend!

All of us at Whiskey Blue Rooftop

This past weekend my friends and I took our biannual getaway weekend. Usually we have a girl’s weekend, but this time it involved more as we also celebrated my husband’s fortieth birthday on September 11 and our friend Andrew’s thirty-second birthday on September 9. It was exciting to get away from our day-to-day responsibilities and unwind.

As you can see Mike needs his gray blended!

Unlike our last getaway, for the food and wine festival in South Beach, Atlanta’s weather was different than what we’re used to. The weather was beautiful, cool and breezy; I was actually starting to believe fall was on its way. We stayed in the uptown area of Atlanta called Buckhead at the Intercontinental Hotel for three nights (this is the same hotel where Nene Leaks, from Atlanta Housewives hosted her wedding). The cuisine was wonderful, and we went to various restaurants throughout the weekend that I enjoyed. My favorite was at a chic restaurant built inside of an unused warehouse called Rathbun’s, which seems to be the new trend in Atlanta.  There I got the crispy duck beast which was very tender and moist; the flavor was a balance of sweet with a mild spicy flavor. I would highly recommend this restaurant!

My favorite restaurant: Rathbun's

I had a great time enjoying time with my friends around great food and wine. One thing that stood out to me was the quality time I spent alone with my husband, Mike. The best feeling was sleeping in each morning and waking up without the hustle and bustle of our crazy routine schedule. Additionally, I enjoyed having a day to myself with my American Express card ;) I went to two malls; the Lenox, and Phipps which was the upscale of the two. I went to Saks 5^th where a red and orange cargo Valentino bag caught my eye. I feel this bag is the image of this year’s fall trend. It reminded me of the crimson colors I saw people wearing in Atlanta, signaling the start of fall. Lastly, I wanted to recognize the convenience of our transportation of choice, Uber. It was as fast and easy as a click on your phone, and the SUV appeared in front of us within minutes, which fit our large party.

HELLO Valentino!!

I had an amazing time with my friends and husband during our venture to Atlanta. It is not often you have a group of friends that you can travel with leisurely regardless of the events that take place. I’m already looking forward to our next adventure to South Beach for the 2015 food and wine fest in February!