Birthday Waffles!

Come to my birthday party!!

On Saturday 10 February I threw a birthday waffle party - for myself.

The original was 4 years ago when I received a heart waffle iron from my mother for my birthday. It was a Wednesday night at BYU and my friend stopped by between 7 and 9 to eat waffles. My friend Natalie brought her mother's kitchen aid and buttermilk waffle recipe and we had some extra waffle irons - it was very memorable and I had thought about doing it again.

I decided 2007 is my year and it was time to do it again - but I decided to go big or go home. I bought 25 lbs of flour from Costco, five dozen eggs, and had 4 waffle irons cooking. We decorated the dining room with purple, red, and yellow streamers and the living room was full of 20 bright balloons. (ask me later about the balloons... there's a great story there.) I invited way too many people, but in the end they all fit in our house fine:

Some of my friends hijacked the kitchen so that I could mingle. They set up a pretty streamlined machine. Jes (not pictured), Jenna, and Tanya were major producers. (Note: the heart shaped waffle iron in the middle is mine):
Brad was also a big deal in the kitchen. He brought a retro/antique heart waffle iron that works on the stove (lessened risk of blowing a fuse) AND (like the balloons) it has a great story. He also issued special edition waffles by signing the paper plates (Note: that is my pink apron):

We had a plethora of toppings available: strawberries, bananas, nutella, jam, peanut butter, whipped cream, and, of course, gallons of maple syrup.

Even the guest list was big: my best friend from BYU Dave flew in from Arizona. My cousin Steve flew in from Seattle, and I timed it so that one of my best friends from DC Jocelyn would be there. My cousin Steve even volunteered to be the party photographer, which is why these pictures are so incredibly awesome. You can see the full set here.

The beautiful part of the party was not the waffles (although, as you can see, they were very beautiful):
But it was that I could see so many of my friends come together. I particularly enjoyed introducing them to each other. My family also came and I was delighted that they could meet so many of my friends.

Here are three people I love: my dad, my older sister Laura (beautiful at 6 months pregnant), and Dave. As you can see from their faces, waffles really do make the world a better place!
I wish you all could have been there!