Mom-garitaville- (not-so-many scenes from a soiree)

After a month of having fun with my kiddos,  they have been off to camp for a few weeks.  I haven't exactly made the most of my empty-nest.  I planned to accomplish so, so much more.  I did have time to squeeze in a sweet little soiree.

I invited all my ladies out for "mom-garitas" on the patio.  It was meant to be a casual time to catch up with friends sans kids.  I actually thought maybe 5 people would come, but 22 RSVP'ed!  In one day's time I was able to throw together quite the little party.   It helps when you are a party supply hoarder--it looked like I had planned for weeks.  You will have to trust me because I have no pictures of the set-up.  Whump, whump.  I do have some blurry  pictures of some of my menu items.  They were so delicious and I thought I would share!

We started with these amazing kebabs:

The cute picks are from my Smarty Had a Party.  Thank goodness they are local to me and I could grab on a day's notice!  I simply cube a watermelon and some feta cheese and then skewered them.  I drizzled a vinaigrette that I  made with sriracha, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar and a little EVOO.  I topped it all off with a basil chiffonade  straight from my garden.

Speaking of my garden, I grabbed cucumbers to make these amazeballs Cucumber Margaritas from Tastes Lovey.  I also made Ina Garten's Pineapple Margs, which were sooo yummy.  The whole bar was set up in the most precious way (again, you'll have to trust me :))

We also had a Taco Cart (because it is Taco Tuesday somewhere).  In addition to the usual goodies, I made a huge vat of Shrimp and Avocado Ceviche (it uses cooked shrimp, so not really authentic ceviche).  The recipe can be found here.  Here it is as I was making it, just before adding the avocado:

Finally, I topped off the evening with trays of mini key lime pies:

Maybe one day I will remember to take a picture of all the cute stuff, but really the best part was just chilling with my friends!