Last week I hosted a small Open House at my apartment, in part to celebrate the recent completion of a home-decor overhaul, and mostly to gather friends together to sip on yummy summer cocktails and talk about how quickly the summer is flying by.

More to come in the following days - online resources for the inexpensive party favors and suppplies, easy appetizers that don't require plates or utensils, and helpful set-up/clean-up tips to make the not-as-fun part go by more quickly.

But for now, two funny videos to give you a sneak peek at some of the action, shot and narrated by Real Simple's very own Sharon Tanenbaum. (Thanks Sharon - I was running around the party far too much to have done this myself!)

Here, Carlos demonstrates how to make an easy (and strong) Lemon Drop Martini.

Here, a brief moment of panic when I realized I forgot to put the spinach dip in the oven before the party, as I had planned.

Crisis averted, it was still ready in time to serve mid-party, and we ate every last bite.

Have you ever forgotten that one final step while entertaining, only to remember it in the middle of the party or later?