Throw Your Own: "You've Got Mail" Party

"Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies."

Almost two months ago--hi, internet, what's up--I invited my work girlfriends over to celebrate the glory of Nora Ephron and the height of fall with a homespun "You've Got Mail" themed party. My pal Jorie of The Midwest Maven summarized it beautifully on her blog, but I'm reliving it here so you can easily throw your own.

Decor 

You'll need: Construction paper, staples, yarn or twine, glue or rubber cement, access to a printer, a picture frame, lipstick, a ton of pencils, a pencil sharpener, a string of twinkle lights, a bell hung on a string, daisies. 
Bonus points if you already have: A typewriter, a dog

First things first: I hung a bell on the inside of my decked-out door

Honor the AOL chat room that sparked Kathleen and Joe's love with a festive garland. Staple your envelopes and AOL mascot (handily traced onto construction paper from a silhouette I printed from the internet) onto your string or twine and hang as you please.

You could see more clearly in real life that these were "Property of Fox Books" 

A significant vignette: daisies ("don't you think daisies are the friendliest flower?"), autumnal gourds, and a portrait of Franco -- more on him below.

Franco (now with more freshly-sharpened pencils in the picture), complete with a lipstick smooch from my very own mouth. As you and IMDB may recall:
Frank Navasky: [about Birdie] She fell in love with Generalissimo Franco! 
Kathleen Kelly: No, don't say that. Really. We don't know that for sure. 
Frank Navasky: Well, who else could it have been? It was probably around 1960. 
Kathleen Kelly: Do you want some popcorn? 
Frank Navasky: I can't believe this! I mean, it's not like he was something normal, like a socialist or an anarchist or something. 
Kathleen Kelly: It happened in Spain. People do really stupid things in foreign countries. 
Frank Navasky: Absolutely. They buy leather jackets for much more than they're worth. But they don't fall in love with fascist dictators!

Do you have a typewriter? You might be Frank Navasky. Quick, go check your driver's license.

There were pencils everywhere. "I would send you a bouquet of freshly-sharpened pencils, if only I knew your name and address."

"Meanwhile, I am going to put up more twinkle lights." 

Last but not least, my dog got into the spirit by cordoning off her bowls as "Property of Brinkley."

Dress Code

I told everyone to wear their best "Meg Ryan-esque neutrals" -- surely you've noticed Kathleen Kelly wears no bright colors -- as modeled below.

Photo courtesy of Jorie

Food and Drink 

Because I threw my party during the leaf-crunchiest week of the year--and don't you love New York in the fall?--I skewed my treats toward autumnal flavors, such as this tangy beer punch from Martha Stewart (I added dashes of ginger oil and grenadine), as well as spiced chocolate crescents from Jill and Jorie's chocolate chip pumpkin bars.

Have any leftover garland envelopes? Use them as coasters! (Photo courtesy of Jorie)

The spread, before the pizza came out of the oven. (Photo courtesy of Jorie)

I also threw in some YGM-specific foods:

"This caviar is [NOT] a garnish!"  And by "caviar" I meant capers and green peppercorns.

"[Brinkley] likes to eat bites of pizza and bagels off the sidewalk, while I prefer to buy them."

Tunes and Ambiance

I queued up songs from Harry Nilsson, Bobby Day, Bobby Darin, and other artists from the glorious movie soundtrack, as well as bouncy songs from my personal playlist/tonic for the soul titled "Nora Ephron to the Rescue" (it's real, oh, it's real), such as "Once In Love with Amy" by Ray Bolger. See what you have on hand, or plumb the depths of the internet -- play it by ear. If it's both peppy and earnest, it's probably just right.

Skip to 1:00, and then try telling me you aren't completely charmed. 

After we filled our plates and hit our gossip quota for the evening, we turned our attentions and affections to "You've Got Mail" itself, and ended the evening clutching our hearts and sighing.

Those sighs were 70% romance-induced and 30% snack-induced, I think.  Whatever it was, we liked it. I hope you like your party, too!