I've fallen about a week behind--but I've got each post up on a tab in my browser and close 'em off like a to-do list as I go. Once I catch up, I'm going to celebrate by making dinner for my roommates--to thank them for putting up with the constantly changing apartment this month :)

Fingers crossed, wish me luck, my first attempt at puff pastry!

Super Bowl party, actually! Fell on just the right weekend for a big shin-dig at our place!

Hosting a small fundraiser tonight for an organization that helps traumatized workers from int'l non-profits. Thanks, Apartment Therapy, for helping get the house ready! Www.peacefulones.blogspot.com

A fondue party is in order :) there's a great little place in Portland, OR we love to visit with friends. Rather than go to Portland we will invite close friends and some not-so-close friends and enjoy an evening of tasty offerings and good wine while getting to know each other. Thank you AT for helping me to get my house in order and enjoy the simple things, like flowers each week. Love it!!

Safeway is delivering the goodies for a quiet dinner tomorrow evening.

kstew - I love the "close tab when complete" method! But, just in case you lose track of an assignment , all the posts can also be found on this master list.

Thanks for the link to the master list. I'm also playing catch up.

Gatecrash release party! Fell on just the right weekend to have some friends over to draft a box.

My day off was Tuesday, so I threw my party then! I had a book swap party with seven guests, and it went really well! Having a small task every day to prepare for it definitely helped it be a lot less stressful on the day of. Everyone went home with four new books, and we all were able to get rid of some bookshelf clutter because the leftover books from the swap will be donated to Chicago Books for Women in Prison. Lots of fun, doing good, and kept the spirit of the January Cure going! :)

I've done the other stuff this month but the party is going to have to wait a month. :) I've still got heaps of things in the outbox waiting for the children's consignment sale I've registered for which is the first weekend in March. Hopefully in the extra month, I can tackle (and conquer) the big project which requires my husband's participation. And I've already got the party planned for March 2--my son's third birthday party!

We're having a Downton Abbey viewing party with six guests.

SUPERBOWL. Go Niners!!! We are grilling meats, veg and chilis and setting up a taco bar along with a margarita station.

I have planned a casual dinner with neighbours (and kids!) for the second weekend in February, but my husband invited a friend over for dinner tonight. He's doing the prep work, but I will be pleased to have our guest in a more organized home. Cleaning up (and maintaining!) the entry has been a huge relief.

We're celebrating with a wine and murder mystery dinner! We'll be having Marilyn Merlot and others over for an evening of fun. So nice to be able to welcome friends to our home. I've really enjoyed the flowers (a pot of heather from Trader Joe's) on the dining room table! Thanks for the Cure.

We all have flu. It's gonna me, the husband and children in our pjs, drinking honey and lemon on the sofa watching Cars on DVD.

I'm having a very intimate 4 course meal for my bday!

I've planned a brunch on Sunday morning. I've invited two close friends and their families. These two friends were instrumental in helping me get my house organized last year. One is a genius at making things flow and finding a place for everything. The other in in love with Feng Shui and helped me declutter and beautify! I have done the January Cure on my own so now that I feel I finally have some "graduated" in home organizing, I want to show them their help and advice has payed off and just thank them!

Having one friend over for some finger food & either a movie or games. Haven't really decided yet, but I'm not much of a planner... But I have local quark cheese, a cheddar-gruyere blend, & crackers, so I'm off to a good start.

Having a celebratory dinner with the fam next Saturday night...though maybe I should just have the first date night with hubs since our baby was born...thoughts?

Making crepes and having cider to celebrate chandeleur.

Making crepes and having cider to celebrate chandeleur.

Female colleagues over for afternoon tea. Needed to be Saturday so they could watch the Super Bowl!

We live in New Orleans on the Uptown Parade route so we are going to have our party the following weekend to coincide with our annual Mardi Gras Bacchus Parade party. It's a sort of a rollicking open house that pretty much runs all day and into the night. Friends, neighbors, family and everyone's friends who are along for the ride. (Parade Posse) will attend. I feel so much better organized and that finally the house we present will be comfortable, welcoming and closer to the vision of how we want to live.
Menu:
my Husband's beloved Red Beans & rice (both pork heavy and veggie versions)
crock pot veggie curry
mini muffalatas (from the Rouses grocery)
velveeta & rotel (cheese crack)
hot spinach artichoke dip
Chips crackers cheese and assorted snacky stuff

Bloody marys, beer and wine
King cake

Pepto!

Postponed the "drop&swap" until the summer and instead i'm doing a home spa thing (facials, steams, masks, painting toenails etc.) with 3 girlfriends and their daughters. I was inspired by a book i found during the Cure bookshelf clean-out, something i used in the late '70s: Jeanne Roses's Herbal Body Book.

Favorite recipe: The Honey Pat. After washing your face and letting it dry, dip your fingers in honey and apply to face in upward revolving motion. Now pat face as if typing a letter until it feels so tacky you can barely pull your fingers away. Stop typing. Rinse with tepid water or mineral water. honey is a natural rejuvenator and humectant and helps restore humidity in the skin. the Honey Pat also eliminates blemishes and blackheads, because the honey is acidic. And it smells good.

For food, I'm going to try the Kitchen's gruyere-kale tart with cornmeal-millet crust.

I'm hosting Brunch on Saturday!! So excited. I am hanging my dining room plate wall and doing yesterday's Spruce up tonight and grocery shopping tomorrow night after work. Thank you AT, my apartment looks amazing!

I'm having a nice sit-down, multi-course, multi-location (balcony for cocktails & appetizers, dining room for main course, living room for dessert & coffee, roof deck for sunset apperitif) celebratory dinner with my boyfriend the following weekend due to schedule conflicts. I can't wait to celebrate with him. He's been with me on this journey the entire month.

i'm making homemade indian and having some couples over for a game night/dinner party!

We're hosting first meeting of the year for our community garden on Friday night. There maybe snow on the ground here in Michigan, but we can plan for the coming spring! Making veggie bean and Texas meat chilis, others bringing snacks, corn muffins and cookies.

Not all the cleaning chores got done - but I did pull the nasty wet caulk out of shower and will put new in this afternoon. Thank you so much for January Cure - knowing the group was out there and the task assignments really helped me get over my fear of DIY.

@ Umi Sushi: Hope you and your entire clan feel better! I'm getting over bronchitis myself so the only entertaining I'm doing is the heat soup and eat it variety.

A brunch on sunday!
Thank you AT for the cure
Greetings from Berlin

Dinner party with 2 other couples.

That sounds fabulous -- the party and the menu! Have a great time!

I've got four friends coming over mid-afternoon on superbowl Sunday (so woefully out of touch that I didn't actually know the superbowl was this weekend!). I'm cooking and baking, but mostly it's just a chance to hang out with girlfriends I love in my newly fabulous and increasingly excellent apartment!

I know I've said it several times this month, but this January Cure has been amazing for me. I still can't believe the changes in my apartment, and I can't wait to keep moving forward on my projects. I'm going to finish my kitchen hutch tonight (cleaned it out on Tuesday and bought organizers last night). I've already hung the picture in my front hall, so finishing the hutch will mean I've completed both of the projects I chose for the month!

I have a lovely old sideboard I need to say goodbye to. It's been too big for every house I've lived in with it, and releasing it will enable me to set up my living room more comfortably. I'd like to sell it, but I don't know anything about having things appraised. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I'm hosting a Groundhog's Day brunch on Saturday for 8 - 12 friends.

We're doooonnneee! It feels amazing to have done it the whole way through and I definitely like our home more. I kind of wish there was a year-round cure...
Celebrating with a much-needed date!

http://shoes-off-please.com/2013/01/31/we-are-cured/

Ah, QueenDingo, I remember having the parade route house...many years ago. Have a wonderful Gras. Laissez les bons temps rouler.

It's a good thing that I did not plan anything for this weekend. This flu/cold/grunge is lasting the whole week. So I will be resting in my much improved domicile, and enjoy the blooming of the narcissus plants that I bought last week.

I love the pitcher/vase in the first picture. Anyone know where it's from??

Agree with everyone who has said how awesome this has been. I can't even believe how much I got done this month, and a lot of it was not even on my original list of projects. I got a bit sidetracked mid-month with getting ready to have the house appraised and also by getting sick, but I mostly caught up. Oh, and the appraisal came in quite higher than my broker had anticipated, so if all else goes well, I should be refinanced by the end of this month! Woo! Thanks everyone. It has been really fun reading all the posts and seeing pictures too. Until next time!

Come by if your in NOLA!

Game Night and Scrabble Tournament! One of my best friends and I alternate having game night at our homes. Shawn and I are both Scrabble lovers but not everyone else is, so this time we will have other games as well. I am making ham and swiss sliders and people are bring potluck appetizers. My house is the most clean and organized it has ever been since I moved in.

Family meal with board games!