it's party time....

Things you need to know:

It all started one Christmas at Straddie. Not surprising I guess as many of our fondest family memories date back to the time spent together at Mum and Dad's beach house over at the Island.  It has now evolved into a yearly celebration.

"It's party time!!!" my Cousin (Ben) would bellow distinctively as he made his appearance, arms full with a mixed dozen (often red, but sometimes white), a gift for mum (he knows that the key to a good time is keeping mum onside) and not much else other than himself and his genuine love for life.  Oh, and if you ask the neighbours, his exceptionally loud voice.

The party that followed was always long lasting, full of laughter, interesting late night discussions, dancing in the rafters and above all else happy memories.     

And so, last weekend was 2011's installment of 'It's Party Time'.  The venue - Ben and Phoebe's beach house in northern NSW.

We ate Curries, inspired from the cookbook gifted to me by my brother for Christmas, and drank Pimms, wine, beer, margaritas - what else should one do when Jimmy Buffet starts doing his thing. 

Le Creuset pots were everywhere.  My brother and I actually gave one to Ben for his birthday (the white one).  They are such a perfect gift because they are something that you can use every day and something you will have for a lifetime. 

We cooked a lamb, a chicken and a prawn curry.  As you can see - the flat bread also made another appearance. 

Although the food was absolutely delicious, there aren't too many pictures of the end product as I haven't quite mastered the art of photographing curry just yet - the majority of the photos I took certainly weren't blog worthy.  Perhaps that was the curry's fault, perhaps it was the camera's or perhaps it was a by product of the couple too many margaritas.

Having now had the chance to reflect on the weekend with a clear head, 'It's Party Time 2011' was an absolute cracker!! We partook in the requisite late night (or early morning) conversations, table dancing (Ben's place doesn't have rafters - but like we often do, we improvised) and certainly shared what are now a whole heap of happy memories.  

Thanks guys for your fabulous hospitality - you have created a fantastic home down at South Golden Beach and we really enjoyed another great party.

Looking forward to the next one....

Happy eating!!!

Sam.