Fighting February blues by getting fancy

How a dinner party gets me through the hardest month

Even though I generally love winter, by February, I’m often feeling pretty down. The excitement of snow and the holidays has past, and Spring feels a long way away especially here in Minnesota. This year has been particularly hard with no snow on the ground (until a few days ago) and the weight of my graphic novel deadline looming. And while I love the watercolor process of graphic novel-making, the momentous task of watercoloring 240 pages by the end of April is weighing on me.

I find that when I’m going through a hard time, having something on the calendar to look forward to and plan can make a huge difference. So for the last three years, I like to combat these February blues by hosting something I call “Fancy Dinner Party.”

We invite a bunch of friends over and ask them to dress up, making it clear this isn’t a typical dinner party. We break out the crystal glasses and linens we rarely use, cook a “fancy” menu, light a ton of candles, and enjoy a feast together. The night itself is always wonderful and full of laughter and connection, but I think the lead up is just as important—having that to look forward to.

Here’s my diary comic after the event:

Something creative

I always try to incorporate sort of simple creative act into it too, beyond cooking and entertaining. This year, I took the sheets of watercolor paper I use to test colors on, and cut them into hearts which I scattered across the table. I also watercolored individual place card settings. I’m not trying to be Martha Stewart here, but I am just trying to elevate the dinner party from normal to something a little special.

I cut the watercolor test sheets on the left into hearts on the right which I scattered across the dining room table

Our menu

Even though the goal is to be “fancy,” this meal really wasn’t too difficult, but we did plate it and serve it in courses which helped to elevate the experience. All these dishes were new to us, and slam-dunks, so I wanted to share the recipes:

Kale Salad with Pecan Vinaigrette

Miso Butternut Squash Soup (everyone there asked for this recipe).

Roasted Salmon with Citrus Salsa Verde which we served with forbidden black rice.

Question for you:

Do you put events on the calendar to help pull you through challenging times? If so, I’d love to hear what sorts of things you do!

Leif Love

Thanks everyone for their kind notes about Leif and my scary experience a few weeks ago on the partially frozen Mississippi river. He’s doing well and enjoying the recent snowfall we had!