Last weekend we hosted our 2nd annual beer tasting party. It's kind of a big deal.

If you're new here, Nate and I are extreme introverts. We actually don't mind hosting parties. We like people in our home. Our home is great for entertaining. We like our friends. It's just that people suck all of our energy and it takes us an entire year to recover before we can host another party.

We actually did better this year than in the past. Maybe we can host something again in the Spring? Wait, let's not get crazy.

Beings that I am a really good blogger, I took approximately 6 photos from the evening and 4 of those are to blackmail my brother in the future. (What? He woke up our entire house full of guests at 5:30am on Sunday. That deserves some kind of payback.)

I really wanted to make a two sided chalkboard sign like my buddy, Kim's (NewlyWoodwards) but we ran out of time. Luckily, she is awesome and let me borrow it for the night. I wanted a way to let our guests know to come on in so I didn't have to man the door all night. It worked swimmingly!

We hosted a taco bar in the kitchen with various other snacks.

*insert picture of beautifully arranged taco bar that a good blogger would have taken*

We decided to spend most of the night out on the back patio. It was seriously the best weather one could hope for. It was a good excuse to use the outdoor patio table and vintage chairs. We also drug out the vintage washtub turned beverage cooler. We also brought down the deck furniture for extra seating.

My mom and brother supplied us with gourds and pumpkins from their gardens. I picked up the lantern on a trip to Ikea last week.

I picked up this little ladder at a garage sale in the Spring. It got a little Fall makeover.

We hung some cheap ol' lights from Target to add a little backyard ambiance.

My best buddy made the long journey from my hometown. She rode 4 hours in a car with my brother. That deserves some sort of medal. And then I put her to work.

I only did a smidgeon of decorating inside. I recently purchased this old can. I shoved some flowers in a Mason jar and then shoved the Mason jar in the can. Bam. I should make a pinnable image of that tough project. ;)

I did snap a couple of photos of the Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes I made. These aren't my pretty cupcakes (I'm really bad at managing my time) but they sure were tasty. Nate and I are both obsessed with this recipe. We like it in cake or cupcake form. We are not picky.

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
1 cup Guinness (or other stout beer)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin pan with liners. (Tip: I used 2 liners per cupcake. This allows 1 liner to look pretty and clean!)
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.
Melt butter. Add cocoa powder and whisk until smooth.
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, vegetable oil and eggs. Add cocoa-butter mixture. (Do not accidentally lick your fingers at this point. Cocoa butter is not good.) Whisk until well-incorporated.
Stir in half of the flour mixture, followed by the sour cream and Guinness. Stir in remaining flour mixture, stirring only until no streaks of dry ingredients remain.
Use an ice cream scoop to scoop batter into prepared muffin liners. (The scoop helps give you even size cupcakes.)
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Allow to cool completely then top with following frosting.

Chocolate Guinness Frosting

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3 tbsp cocoa powder
4 tbsp Guinness (or other stout beer)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2-3 cups confectioners’ sugar (Depending on desired consistency and sweetness. I used closer to 3.)

Beat all ingredients together until well combined. (Add more confectioners’ sugar if necessary to thicken frosting to a smooth, spreadable consistency).

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend! We are headed to a flea market and then we plan on being super duper lazy!