A party of ten surrounded the birthday girl with love, stories and food well into the night. Her brother flew in from California and a good friend from South Carolina joined us too.
Since this is a group that doesn’t have the opportunity to get together often, we thought this would be the perfect way to celebrate – where we didn’t have to talk over a crowd or be rushed out as soon as our last bite was eaten.
Rather than digging my extra leaf out of the attic and chairs from the basement storage room, we planned for the littles to eat in the kitchen.
Our first wave of truly cold weather made it the perfect evening for the first fire of the season.
These two, JuJu’s only grandchildren, donned their Beaufort Bonnet Company Baylor Bow Ties for the evening. (They will be sporting them again on Thanksgiving and then to meet Santa in a few weeks…. squeal!!!)
On the menu we had herbed focaccia from Whole Foods, salad, spaghetti with bolognese sauce, butternut squash ravioli with browned butter and pumpkin seeds, and a flourless chocolate cassis cake. Everything was just sensational.
We ended our evening with a sparkling birthday cake for one remarkable lady and the matriarch of our family.
I want to offer my sincerest THANK YOU to bestie P and blonde AW for selflessly offering their talents to JuJu’s celebration. Bestie P and I spent a lovely lunch hour doing the gorgeous flower arrangements. She has an amazing eye and I always love having her pieces in my home. I couldn’t have done this dinner without blonde AW, and her handsome other half, who made the entire menu possible. They eagerly gave up an entire night to cook their hearts out while I essentially drank copious amounts of wine and talked them to death. I can’t imagine what kind of mountains we could move if we all joined forces for something bigger :-)
With that, I want to wish JuJu the happiest of birthdays yet!! As the boys would say, eat more chicken!
xoxo
PS. Lest you think this entire thing went off easy-peasy-living-breezy, you should know that John started throwing up just after everyone arrived. He ate candy ALL.DAY.LONG. He would moan and groan “my stomach hurts” and then pop another snicker in. This commenced at 7:30AM and culminated in a night of vomiting – natural consequences at their best. We beg, plead and warned him to no avail. We talked to him about donating his candy to the troops, or leaving it out for the “switch witch”, but he shot down every idea that would put a dent in his haul. It really was hard not to feel sorry for him – he was so pathetic – but I bet he’ll do the same thing again in 365 days :-)
What a beautiful celebration! That ravioli looks amazing and the flowers and table setting are so elegant. Sorry to hear about the upset stomach…kids never learn when it comes to candy. We've been making all kind of threats over here but they are obsessed. I think I deprive them too much the rest of the year…
Shelley
Sucha beautiful tablescape ane the menu sounds devine. Your mother-in-law is gorgeous. Happy Birthday to her and many more.
Those boys and their bow ties. Adorable. Who doesn't love a man in a bow tie?????? Everything looks amazing, and yes, the ravioli has my mouth watering.
Happy, Happy 70th to Juju! What a wonderful celebration for her with her family. The boys are darling even if John was pukey. lol It looks like you had a wonderful night- xo Diana
Happy Birthday to your sweet mother-in-law! What a beautiful dinner honoring her, she's a lucky woman. Your boys are too cute in their bow ties & I'm sorry about the timing of the candy overload & hope he's feeling better today. My sister & daughter are both All Saint's Day babies. We spent the day celebrating too. On a unrelated note, did you see the landscaping of the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train caught on fire last night at Disney World? Thankfully, no one was hurt & they reopened the ride. They said it was ash from the fireworks that caused it. Have a wonderful week!
I did see that!! I have fast passes for our next trip and was glad to see it's back up and running and nobody was hurt!!
IMPECCABLE!
Jane ~ San Diego
Glad to see the party turned out beautifully (minus john's candy binge).
Johnny, oh John
What on earth did you do?
You were dressed up so dapper
Then Snickers you chewed
Instead of the pasta and great bolognese
You snuck off to eat blue Gummies for days
Why didn't you stop and listen to Whit
Before all of the Smarties made you so sick?
Next year, dear one, do as Mom & Dad said
And don't let the sugar make you lose your head!
With hugs,
Jane ~ San Diego
A very lovely celebration for a beautiful lady! Your friends are ace for helping out so much. I hope John is feeling better!
xo
Pat
Happy Birthday to JuJu. Wonderful party and darling guys! Love the sparkler toppers. I like to use these too, but they are difficult to find.
What a fun celebration!! Poor John…my son did the same thing one year after eating all his Easter Basket candy in one sitting.lol…It is now a family story that embarasses him greatly!
What a fun occasion to celebrate – happy birthday to JuJu!
Looks like a wonderful party in honor of a beautiful lady. The little boys are so adorable in their cute outfits!
Those boys are just the cutest! And poor John. I do remember not being able to stop myself from eating all my candy when I was his age. We call it "sour belly" in my family. Do tell more about the "switch witch". Thats one I haven't heard and may come in handy. My 3 year old doesn't eat candy yet but I'm sure by next Halloween I'll be in need of the "switch witch". Details???
Beautiful celebration! I love family at home celebrations–dressy or casual–so much more fun that out with a crowd!! The boys are adorable and the bow
ties just add to the adorableness!!!