In all my life I have never understood the phrase uttered by so many mothers (and grandmothers). What IS a "stomach ache" anyways!? Tonight I found out 
Michelle and Ben invited us over for the perfect holiday party complete with all of your favorite hors d’oeuvres, cookies, music, costumed dogs, and decor.
You know all of those "rules" that the women’s magazines impose?
- "Don’t mindlessly eat"
- "Sit down with a plate of food"
- "Stay away from nuts and high-fat foods"
- "Fill up on veggies so you stay away from desserts"
I say GUF to those rules. If you go to a fabulous holiday party every single weekend night between Thanksgiving and Christmas, then you might want to set some guidelines, but this was one of few parties in our season this year, and any form of restriction would have just left me unsatisfied. Michelle had so much wonderful food, and it all tasted so delicious!! If you want any of her recipes, please visit her blog! There are no "this is what I ate" photos because I ate it all 
My contribution to the party was a cheese platter of cheeses sent to me by Wisconsin Cheese Cupid, a site where you can pair wine + cheese and cheese + wine. The site is actually really well done and tells you which wines suit each cheese best and vice versa.
My board had:
Arla Foods Dofino Edam, Widmer’s Cheese Cellars’ Cheddar, Belgioioso Cheese Blue, and Roth Käse Gruyère.
I made a little card with each to tell which beverages were recommended
Michelle and I tasted
And approved!! The BLUE cheese was out of this world!!! I also really like the stinky Edam.
Coincidentally Michelle had some Riesling out and it was on all four serving cards. I have to agree with the recommendation!
Taste.
Bite.
Beg.
Cooper got a bone instead!
Diana + Dan’s Bailey and another dog (a Penny look-alike), Marley, also joined the party in costume!
After a few hours of grazing, the desserts really put me over the edge and I got the worst stomach ache!! My upper chamber was about to burst!! I think I even ate the centerpiece..
Thankfully my stomach settled and I feel better now. I have finally learned not to drink too much alcohol (it’s just natural now for me to stop after 1-2 drinks) but I still haven’t learned that eating too much will make me feel sick. All in good time.
Happy Holidays to all and to all a good night!
{ 58 comments… read them below or add one }
Looks like a fun party
Those ornament ball card holders are adorable!
food looks delish.. and that’s why i stay away from buffets!
Good for you for perspective on the whole night. I think that is a step forward in itself. When the food is there, it’s sooo hard to stop! I mean, where is the line between indulging and overeating?!
Unfotunately I think I have yet to master either
! Looks like a wonderful party with delicious food, glad you had a great time!
I went to holiday party tonight too and ate it ALL. Boy did I have a stomach aaaache!! It was way too good to pass. Even on seconds! My favorite photo from the night is the row of candles…beautiful!
I’m not sure if I feel sorrier for your tummy or those dogs. At least no one put reindeer antlers on them!
What are these? Are they some sort of meatball? I’ve never seen anything like them.
If I’m right, those are sausage balls! My m-i-l makes them for brunches and stuff, but they also go really well with dinner-like appetizers. Yummy! I hope she makes some this year!
They are sausage balls! I believe they are just Bisquick, cheese and sausage rolled into balls and baked. They were amazing!
I just want to say again how much I appreciate that you take the time to share your life in this way. Over the past week I’ve been food blogging, and OMG I never realized how much time and energy it takes! I can’t tell you how many times I thought, wow, how does Kath do it? So… I wanted to make sure I told you what an awesome job you do, and how cool it is that you give people this glimse… no, not a glimse, this privilege, to be a part of your life in this way.
You rock Kath.
PS Looks like a fab party. Those desserts and the cheese makes my mouth water.
Sheila
Awww thanks. It is hard work, but also very fun!
I love your attitude to food Kath – it’s very real and I relate to it – I never leave your blog thinking that you eat in a disordered way (unlike some of the other blogs I’ve seen). Thanks for the great example!
I agree with Leah! We are all human and none of us eat “perfect” all of the time. What fun would that be? I think you set an AMAZING example of balance in your life and in the foods you eat. Your blog is an inspiration to REAL HEALTHY WOMEN! I hope your tummy feels better today:)
How gorgeous! I’m talking about the food AND the house – amazing! I agree – if you only go to one fancy party during the holidays – why not go all out? Just eat sensibly the rest of the week.
THAT DOG LOOKS LIKE CHOOEY!!
i love the little doggie outfits! too, too cute. holiday parties are the best!
Looks like a wonderful party!
Glad to see you’re normal! Sometimes we eat more just because it tastes so good! Thanks for showing us that side of yourself…believe me, that goes a lot farther than ALWAYS being in control…makes the rest of us feel normal too!
Oh well, happens to the best of us
At least everything looks delicious! Looks like a fun party
Perfect party food! I agree in thanking you for showing us that side of yourself. Eating healthy and watching portion sizes are SO hard during the holidays. Especially when no one else is doing it.
What a great spread! And the doggies are too cute!
I had stomach aches! Hope you’re feeling 100% now.
Great photos!
Looks like a fun time! I wouldn’t even try to stay away from those desserts either!
What a wonderful night!!!
Throwing out the rules is good fun. It can be painful, but if the food is good it’s worth it
wow ;-D awesome party !!! so many good eats !
The food looks wonderful!
Looks like an awesome party!!
I totally agree with you– I HATE it when magazines tell you to “fill up on crudite and other veggies” at holiday parties. The holidays come once a year– why would I want to eat celery and baby carrots at the party? No thanks! I’d rather indulge on some of the stuff I never, ever get to have the rest of the year!
That first dog is soo cute.. Reminds me a lot of my own dog that we recently had to put to sleep. I am such a dog lover! I can’t wait until I get a big fenced in yard so I can have a zoo of animals =)
Everything looks fabulous!! I don’t think I would have been able to control myself either. I even spied some chex mix which is one of the those snack foods that I could just eat and eat….
The dog costumes were too cute. I love it!
food looks great! glad you had a fun night with friends
jenna
That looks like a great holiday party. It is hard not to overeat with such good food around!
Holiday parties are the best! There’s something about Christmas M&Ms that are just so happy to look at, too!
Looks like a great party!
It’s hard not to go a little overboard when there are so many delicious choices that you want to try. Glad to hear that you still enjoyed the evening!
I love your cheese platter contribution to the party. And what a creative idea to include the wine pairing notes. Love it!
Looks like an amazing menu! Michelle, you are so talented with the decor as well!
ALL of that food looks amazing. Love your cheese platter — I’m a cheese freak. haha Love the dog costumes! We couldn’t get my dog to wear anything in a million years. haha
Good for you Kath! I’m glad you enjoyed all the yummy food!
I have a hard time stopping at holiday parties, too. What can I say? I love food!
Very nice food display..yum!
Luv the pup’s!
Bee Happy!
I think anyone would have left that party with a tummy ache – everything looks delish!
I love the doggie costumes, too! Such a cute idea
Yum! All that food looks so good! I think it’s time for me to stop looking at food blogs and go make breakfast!
Yeah, it’s hard to stop when everything on the table is so tasty! It takes practice and tons of will power
All a learning process…
Thanks for the nice comments guys!
Haha, GUF. I love that. Good for you Kath – I really enjoy your sensible, reasonable. happy approach to enjoying food, sans stomach aches of course! Very refreshing
Looks like the party was awesome, and it’s really refreshing to see that someone else overindulges to the point of being stuffed from time to time. That was definitely me on Thanksgiving this year!
Reisling is my favorite wine!! As evidenced by last night.
Kath that looks like SUCH a fun spread! I agree with splurging if you’re only going to a few parties. I wish we had more this season but with so many of our friends having babies this year we haven’t had many holiday parties!
as always, i commend and admire your perspective, kath – your unabashed love of food, both healthy and not, and your ability to live a balanced and restriction-free lifestyle sets a wonderful example for all of us. amen to saying “guf” to the magazine advice!
My boss orders cheese from Wisconsin and it’s THE BEST cheese I’ve ever had!! It’s so full of flavor
Those sausage balls remind me of my mom 
She makes them every Thanksgiving! Looks like a very relaxing, fun holiday party!
Your pictures are great (per usual)! I’m sorry you got a ‘tummy ache’. Overeating fabulous food during the holidays happens to the best of us =)
all the food looks amazing, but i have to admit what catches my eye (and craving) is the holiday m and m’s!!!
Wow. Everything looks so gorgeous. What a beautiful Christmas celebration!
ha, love “GUF!” as well
crudites my @$$ =D it’s funny that i subscribe to so many of those magazines but i totally agree on your take on their advice!
in my (expert) opinion those oreo balls were 100% worth it. and it all evens out in the end! luckily as active people there is room for FUN in our diets! i know i wouldn’t enjoy life quite as much if not for these nights once in a while. food + friends + festivity = the best.
Ya know, I think it’s GOOD to overeat sometimes! One, we all need to splurge sometimes for the sake of our sanity. Two, it’s a helpful reminder to not do it next time
Not drinking too much really is key though. I’d take a cookie over a glass of wine any day 
:-\ Sorry about the stomach ache, but SO glad you ate everything and enjoyed yourself. Sometimes, it’s worth it!!
Looove your shirt!