A Big One

This Saturday I worked on the grandest birthday party I've done so far -- only a few hundred guests, but a grand space with a lot of build-out, beautiful food, special wines, dozens of waitstaff and a slew of custom flatware, linens, trays, etc....so I started with powering up on Korean buffet at Woorijip -- always reliable for a quick, cheap, yummy stop.

Then on to the setup!  The first crew had started the night before, but by the time I came there were 7 hours to go.  

The staff all had their hair, makeup, nails and wardrobe done -- including me!  

Rachael organized all of the suits, overcoats, ties, dresses, stockings, sparkly flats and pretty, pink jeweled headbands.

When we posed with this huge bottle of wine the sommeliers reminded us not to knock over the pricey bottles behind it.

There were towers of plateau de fruits de mer, a.k.a. lobster tails, shrimp and oysters on the half shell.

And plenty of lovely Champagne.

Including a few jeroboams (that's 5 liters!)

It was great to see the client's happy face as rang in his 70th year dancing the night away with his friends and family.  Sunday was recovery day with a breakfast of Lauren Chattman's Sticky Toffee Banana Pudding from the new issue of Bon Appétit, yum...seriously, make this now, it was incredibly easy and so delicious.

And the recharge continued with a California burger with bacon, sprouts, avocado and swiss.  This is the 2nd time I've been to this restaurant and the person who sat down next to me ordered the same thing.  It definitely required a nice, long walk afterwards but it was a pretty nice, sort of warm day for a change.

Phew...busy weekend, but I have a day off today, so time to relax.

Create Dreams Be You

Saw this at Forever 21 and thought for a little shirt, it spoke volumes...Create: your life is waiting, Dreams: make them come true, Be: who you are, You: can make a difference. 

That paired with my horoscope today and I think I'm finally getting it: If you're struggling with the question of where to go from here, you may feel you're at a turning point, and that some big decision is necessary.  You've tried different ideas for getting ahead, but you may still be perplexed about what direction to take.  You won't have to make that choice, Leo, because the meaning of your life is becoming clearer.  No matter how much you wrestle with your choices, you'll find that a choice is being made for you.  Soon, you'll clearly see where to go next.  Good fortune is unfolding, and you'll be directed toward it if you don't get too caught up in finding an alternate route.

And lastly, a recent fortune cookie: There are times when silence speaks the loudest.

All very contradictory perhaps, but to me it makes sense.  And today I'm working at definitely one of the grandest birthday parties ever and will get to meet the incredible cake genius Sylvia Weinstock!  So, I'm ready: bring it.

Now finalllly to the winner of the 100th post giveaway: Ashley from Domestic Fashionista!  I love her posts about all the beautiful things she makes, cookes and bakes for her home and husband and she gives fabulous parties too!  She even hosted an online Valentine's Day Link Up Party so check out all the participants' awesome creations.  Thanks for entering, Ashley, you inspire me!

Now on to the birthday party...!

2nd Christmas, Late Valentine's and Other Celebrations

It was almost like 2nd Christmas yesterday as we celebrated 3 birthdays, an anniversary and I brought some late Valentine's Day gifts too.  And this after the start of the Olympics, President's Day, Chinese New Year and Mardi Gras!

I had to wrap up the heart soaps I made, so I made a few miniature gift bags from a Martha Stewart pattern. 

And I wanted to be purple for the day, so I wore this beaded tank from Forever 21

and some light purple jewelry: this beautiful beaded necklace from Cameo Sisters Designs and ring from a trip to Chicago

My Dad had bought my Mom some little purple glasses

and I brought purple wine (and yea, my grandfather likes the box stuff )

And of course there were presents!

I got this gorgeous lilac Le Creuset casserole dish for my Aunt Liz.

[from Yummery]

On the Yummery site, Erin from Erin Cooks explains that this color was only recently made available in the US and right now Sur La Table has the exclusive on the lilac and the darker purple cassis colors, fab!

The other day I mentioned a gift that made me think of pink, pearl and ribbon and that was this Lion Brand knit flapper cloche for my grandfathers wife, Ruth.

Instead of the Landscapes Yarn in the pattern a very helpful woman in the shop recommended the yarn on sale this month: Wool-Ease Thick and Quick.  It's a lamb' s wool/acrylic blend, also a Super Bulky weight and surprisingly soft: it knit up in about 5 hours, so yes (relatively), quickly!  

I say pearl because at some point the shape reminded me of Pearl, the pink octopus in Finding Nemo.  It was even able to stand up on its own!  Let's compare:

[from freewebs.com]

Actually, this would probably make a pretty good amigurumi.  Eventually I got to the end of the knitting part and was all proud, until I realized that I hadn't joined the round.  Oops...

It was sewn up quickly, just ironic since I was already using circular needles, so why didn't I think of that before?  But it turned out fine and then I added this cool 2-tone pink/blue ribbon from Paper Presentation.

It was a good, relaxing day.  And I love that my Mom always has flowers around the house.  Maybe someday i'll learn how to keep a plant alive.