Tag: parties

Deck The Balls, The West Coast Revivals

Posted on by Elise
Some of the hundreds (thousands?) of balls from Deck the Balls ’24.

A humble party I threw together in 2012 back in Washington DC has now turned into a mega-event in my LA backyard. In its original conception, Deck the Balls was an intimate ball-themed potluck/competition in which guests would bring ball-shaped foods to pair with the penis shaped gingerbread cookies my ex-husband Matty and I made each Christmas, as a couple. (I totally forgot about this cookie connection until I read the original Deck The Balls post, thank goodness for this blog). Prizes were awarded in three categories (best salty, best sweet, and most creative), and my friends all BROUGHT IT.

Fast forward to 2023, when I had moved to a new house in LA and had yet to throw a backyard bash in my backyard, which is actually an ideal backyard for parties. So just in time for the holidays, I brought back Deck the Balls! This time, the West Coast Edition. Deck the Balls turned into an epic 100 guest affair, complete with the original spherical food potluck competition (and instead of just me as judge, there was secret balloting among attendees), and the crucial addition of The Yarns, my go-to party band led by my friend Matt, my partner Rob, and featuring the saxophone skills of my dear friend Sam Sanders. The Yarns have played my Black Tie and/or Pajamas Birthday Party, and now, TWO Deck the Balls events, so they’re basically my house band. The best part of bringing back Deck the Balls was that original attendees from the DC edition, Matt Thomps and Bryan Tradup, DROVE DOWN from SF to attend! They are the only two guests who have attended every Deck the Balls that was ever tossed.

The Yarns featuring Sam Sanders at Deck the Balls ’23. Rob was seated and obscured bc he was still in an ankle boot from the “Parkour in a Bouncy House” injury of 2023.

Last year, the ball innovations included chicken pot pie, but as balls. Omusubi, but as balls. Spicy Numbing Mala Rice Balls won in the savory category, and Friend Tim’s Chocolate Bourbon Balls won in the sweet category. Bryan, who had cooked chicken meatballs from Costco just for funsies, actually WON in the “Balls I Just Like Licking” category, but was sleeping through the election results, somehow, right behind the band’s backdrop.

The vibes at these events are unmatched. The live music is electric and wonderful thanks to such talented musicians among my friends. This year I couldn’t squeeze in the party before leaving for two weeks in Taiwan, so Deck The Balls was thrown as a New Year’s Eve event. New Years involves ball dropping, so, why not! Amid a doggie emergency (our pup Oscar was operated on earlier in the day, more on that later), we were still committed to convening friends and loved ones. So glad we did. Jotting down a few special little moments from last night so I don’t forget:

  • Friend Shay squeezing melon-sized grapefruits (sent from McAllen, Texas by my friend Skyler), by hand, for our signature cocktail: Sparkling Paloma
  • Matt Thompson getting called up literally 30 seconds before having to swing Twist and Shout, learning the key, and totally crushing it. Or as the kids say, he ATE IT UP!
  • Lindsay showing me a photo of the painting that Friend Alex painted of her and instantly tearing up, so moved was I about this art and how clearly Alex saw Lindsay
  • Rob showing his sons the food laid out on the tables and then reading, of one of the snacks: “Corn Puff Crack. [Pause]. Don’t do crack.”
  • My high school graduation tea co-host Chrissy’s little brother, who I had never met, showing up to the party and suddenly recognizing it was him after lingering on his face for a moment and seeing his sister’s features in his face
  • Ailsa and Blake’s exuberance and joy, dancing along to the live band
  • Matt and Lindsay singing along to Always Be My Baby, not just the main tracks but also how they knew EVERY backup track too, and harmonized
  • Hot Rob and Sam making music together to “You Never Can Tell,” and Sam and Misty on At Last was magical
  • Losing my voice earlier in the day and persuading the doctor to give me steroids so I could make it through the party.

I’m sure more will come to me later, but I’m just so full of joy after hosting friends and hopefully, helping connect people to each other. Happy 2025 and let’s hug one another tight through whatever is to come.

Christina, me, Jon and Shay. (Jon and I share dislocating our shoulders a lot, in common)

40: This Is How We Do It

Posted on by Elise

I did it! I made it to 40! I feel so feted. As many of you probably know, I love a good theme party. In Austin I used to host a Weenie Roast (get your mind out of the gutter, we just grilled hot dogs and sausages), and in DC my most memorable Christmas party was “Deck the Balls,” a pot luck in which everyone had to bring ball-shaped foods. For my milestone birthday I thought, we have to do a costume party, because I believe every party should be a costume party, but how about one that’s reminiscent of the glory days …. the first formative parties of my youth — MIDDLE SCHOOL MIXERS.

Admiring the backpack on Lindsey.

This past weekend, to mark the 4-0, two dozen friends flew in from seven different cities to join my LA homies for totally rad bash, HU40: The Sixth Grade Mixer. (That is, my sixth grade year, so 1994-1995). The period-specific details that friends worked into their costumes absolutely bowled me over: Puka shell bracelets, yin yang chokers, backwards hats, beanies, leather backpack purses, bucket hats, brown lipstick, heavy eyeliner, scrunchies, Doc Martens, a “They Might Be Giants” t-shirt, a Nirvana t-shirt, a Rage Against the Machine t-shirt, a DARE hat, a sunflower dress, the list goes on. I wore a cropped argyle sweater vest with a plaid skirt, knee high socks and Mary Janes, but the real piece de resistance was the wide headband that I used to make that hair bump in the front.

We. Had. So. Much. Fun.

The DJ played all the hits. Wilson Phillips. UB40’s Red Red Wine. A lot of Ace of Base. Rump Shaker. And then my unstoppable, ridiculously talented friend and work spouse for life, Matt Thompson, worked it out with the DJ to break out a serenade-turned-group-sing of “Hold My Hand,” by Hootie and the Blowfish. Yes, yes, it happened. He put his whole heart into it.

Hold. My. Hand.

How long it had been since all of us have been together, and then to be able to sing together, too? It felt like a dream. Then, just as the party was wrapping up, the lights went out in the bar and on the entire block of Abbott Kinney (Venice’s storied and most famous street). Partygoers paid their final tabs by handwriting credit card numbers on Sharpie-drawn forms. What luck though, that the lights went out just as the party was ending instead of the other way around.

Later in the weekend the out of towners joined in for K-town KBBQ (divine), we did “squad fitness” with a hike in Brentwood followed by a trip to the Goop store (an unconventional stop on an LA tour). We have been eating and imbibing and catching up nonstop. No fights broke out, no one got injured, no one got stopped and questioned at the airport (which happened in Costa Rica after my 30th). A success all around.

I am full of gratitude and love and the deepest affection. My squad is the best squad. I’ve added a few photos from photographer Callie Biggerstaff but will update when more are edited and ready.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

White House Correspondents Dinner Weekend: Jokes About A Town That Is One

Posted on by Elise

“How do you write jokes about a town that already is one?”

-Kevin Spacey, as his House of Cards character Frank Underwood, in the spoof video produced for the dinner

I’ve never covered Hollywood, so the White House Correspondents Dinner is the only place I’ve seen so many celebrities in one room. Granted, the dining room at the Washington Hilton holds 3,000 so it’s a large pool from which to find bold-faced names. The dinner — and the weekend of partying that grew up around it — is quintessentially “Washington,” for better or for worse. (Much like SXSW, apparently the event has gone from a well-meaning celebration of one idea to a marketing-laden orgy of totally different priorities.) A glutton for new experiences and an avid reader of celeb-blog The Superficial, I am game to witness the absurdity.

The whole event is sensory overload. You can’t turn your head without seeing someone famous or familiar-for-some-reason-you-can’t-quite-place. The long hallway shoot of pre-dinner receptions and a few post-dinner parties is in a basement, probably the only time Michael Douglas or Nicole Kidman hang out in a basement. After going through security with Don Draper’s wife Megan (actress Jessica Pare) to get in the ballroom, the likes of Kevin Spacey, Steven Spielberg and Claire Danes get gawked at near the stage. Packed in that giant ballroom, it was easy to walk right into and nearly run over a tiny Hayden Panettiere. Last year, I found myself reapplying lip gloss next to Kate Upton* and Anna Paquin. Ron Kirk snapped iPhone photos of people wanting pics with his friend Eric Holder. Tony Romo and his wife told me details about the birth of their baby, since we Texans just instantly bond that way, I guess. This year the Romo’s showed up again.

“Y’all are becoming real White House Correspondents Dinner regulars,” I said to him.

“It’s her. She loves to put on a dress,” Romo said jokingly, of his wife.

Saturday, Friend Matt decided to offer me his dinner ticket with only 90 minutes to spare. It took an incredible amount of perfect timing and logistical savvy for us to drive across town and do the pass off in time. (And to shower and get ready in 10 minutes.)

What I learned last year was that it’s actually the parties preceding and following the meal, the ones sponsored by real power — Fortune 500 companies and VC-backed startups — that are actually “fun”, if you want to call it that. (Fun in the weird Washington way.) Loved seeing old friends** and meeting new ones. Frankly, it was all so much better than when I attended while pregnant last year because this time I could drink through it. (!)

My memories of the weekend exist in single frames: A Swavorski crystal toilet at a late night house party. Asking Kevin Spacey about House of Cards spoilers (“I don’t know anything,” he said). Making new friends while in a super long bathroom line at The Atlantic’s Friday night confab. Seeing Gayle King and Joaquin Castro at every hoppin’ spot in town. Getting momentarily spooked when Gus Fring (the Breaking Bad villain who got half his face blown off) walked past my dinner table and looked me right in the eye WITH HIS WHOLE FACE. The AC dropping to temps in the 50s so a room of 3,000 wouldn’t wind up sweating. Conan really yelling into that mic. My gal pal Judy. Piano renditions of Coldplay at the Turkish Ambassador’s house. Delicious dolmas. Lots of red carpets and velvet ropes but way more gawkers than celebs. Celebrating a startup incubator in an unexpected place. Signature drinks named AT&Tini’s. Gorgeous views at the Sunday brunch. Corporate sponsor after corporate sponsor after corporate sponsor. Big brands. Medium brands. Small brands. Business cards. Bacon. Introductions. Jewel tones. John Oliver!

*When Kate Upton first walked by our table at dinner, I thought to myself, that woman should be a model! Doh.

** Including a sorority sister I hadn’t seen in 13 years