winning friends

The weekend before last Aaron and I hosted our first party. Originally it was intended to simply return the favor to a co-worker who hosted us young people at my job for dinner at his place. So Aaron and I decided we would tempt them down to Dorchester with wine and cheese. We thought a dinner party would be too expensive and complicated for a larger group, and a nibbling party would be a bit more social.

Well a trip to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods later, we learned that wine and cheese is in fact very expensive indeed. But the party was definitely coming together. I invited all my co-workers and Aaron invited a few of his. We had about 10 guests and I think they had a great time. I forgot to take pictures (eek) but we had quite the spread of nuts, meats, 5 cheeses (so good!) fruit and four wines. We had way too much and are still eating cheese over a week later.

We realized that just about everyone we know in Boston, save two, were in our apartment. Kinda sad. I was happy that we were being social, and could have a party two and a half months after relocating. But our circle is still pretty small. I have been making friends at work, but I miss real friends who you can actually relax with. 

I went to Chicago over the weekend to attend Caitlin's bridal shower. It was so great to see her and it reminded be how much I'm missing. Most of my friends have left Chicago and the few who remain have plans to leave. I suppose nothing can prevent this post-college shift away from that network. I just feel like I need a friend action plan. How does one meet people and make friends? I usually don't warm up quickly with people anyways, so starting from scratch is a challenge. Any helpful hints?

maybe more parties...