We started with a simple Shabbat family dinner on Friday night for 70 guests.  Special thanks to Yes Catering who did a fabulous job with their varied and delicious menus, and gorgeous presentation.  Shabbat dinner featured a soup and salad bar, several salads (the antipasti salad was delicious!), brisket and turkey carving station, and pumpkin bread pudding for dessert.

On Saturday, 350 guests joined in celebration at the Kiddush Luncheon.  The happy bat mitzvah young woman is a big basketball fan, but likes things to look really pretty, too!  What do you think of our pink basketball centerpieces?  The basketballs were donated after the service to the Boys and Girls Club of Oakland.

And then, the Party!  Guests were greeted at the Hiller Highlands Country Club with sushi, dim sum, tea house noodles, salad and salmon skewers (ridiculously good!), a chocolate river and ice cream bar.  Andrea Muchin of Floribunda continued the theme of glowing, beautiful floral design throughout the venue.  Kids of all ages enjoyed the basketball hoops game, and the outdoor photo booth.  And DJ Daryl Grace brought it all home for a fabulous night of dancing and celebrating.  Mazel Tov!

We set one long table for this gathering of 18 ladies. The table had a beautiful green and cream patterned linen, and we added cream provencal dinnerware, etched glassware, and ornate sterling silver.  The place cards were cream linen boxes containing a chocolate truffle, with a name tag tied onto each gift box.  Gorgeous spring blooms completed the setting.

Lunch began with champagne along with mini grilled cheese sandwiches and melon balls wrapped in prosciutto.  Guests then sat down and enjoyed a mixed seafood salad on baby greens.  Dessert was a decadent individual molten chocolate cake – a wonderful birthday celebration!

Local landscape designer and floral artiste, Andrea Muchin of Floribunda, has been creating beautiful floral centerpieces for as long as I have known her (which is a long time!).   I highly recommend calling her the next time you need that something special for your dinner table, birthday party, engagement shower, you name it.  She is also amazing when you need a quick “spruce up your front yard,” or can give you a totally new landscape look.  Check out Andrea at https://www.facebook.com/floribunda.net/info.

Her floral arrangements for this evening were the perfect accompaniment to a simple table setting and a fresh springtime dinner.

We designed the following dinner menu and wanted to make sure it was based on the freshest and most seasonal ingredients available this time of year.

Spring Time Dinner Menu for Twelve

Appetizers

Seared Ahi Tuna with Dijon/Wasabi Mustard - Goat Cheese & Artichoke Tartlette

First Course

Fresh Asparagus Soup with creme fraiche

Main Course

Cornmeal-crusted Sole with Mushroom & Caper Sauce

Potato & Turnip Puree

Roasted Seasonal Baby Vegetables

Market Hall Brazilian Cheese Rolls

Dessert

Lemon Tart with Homemade Whipped Cream

Have a wonderful Spring!

A Brooklyn-born folk singer/songwriter now residing in Western Mass, Delmhorst was accompanied by the delightful Charlie Rose (no, not that Charlie Rose) on slide guitar, acoustic guitar, and if that wasn’t enough, banjo. She has a rich, versatile voice perfectly suited for folk music, and a modern sensibility and humor that stretches her appeal. A woman who followed up her introspective 2008 solo album, Shotgun Singer, with an album of acoustic covers of Cars songs (Cars, 2011,) Delmhorst isn’t afraid of a little experimentation.

Some photos to give you a sense of how totally cool a house concert can be!

Setting the stage

Lighting the walkway

Banjo in waiting

Pedal Slide

Seating for 55

It’s a Party!

Kris Delmhorst & Charlie Rose

Martini Bar

Great friends, Kris and Charlie rocked the house, another night to remember!

We had a blast planning this event, from beginning to end…here are a few photos to remember that great night!

Guests enjoyed an open bar

We designed romantic, woodsy centerpieces

Era Art Bar & Lounge in Oakland

Gorgeous copper bar before the guests arrive

Ready to entertain!

Touches of red and orange for romance

The upstairs lounge

Modern take on the guest book

Crowd was buzzing!

Catering by Alta Cuisine

Key lime tarts, cheesecake…

…creme brulee, and chocolate mousse!

Pacific Standard Time rocked the house!

The happy couple!

Hoping your day is sweet and filled with love!

Cheers,

Tiffany

You will want to keep this in the “family gathering” category of parties.  If the honoree wants to keep things on the small side, a brunch, afternoon tea, or small dinner party may be more to their liking.   Keep things casual, and focus on the guest of honor’s “favorite things.”  Flower arrangements should be kept simple and monochromatic – use all roses, all tulips, or all hydrangeas to make a beautiful setting but nothing overpowering.   And even though you’re not going overboard, you can still bring out the china – just mix it with more casual linens and colorful glassware.

We recently celebrated a family member’s 70th birthday.  He did not want anything “fancy,” so it was shrimp cocktail, dungeness crab sandwiches, potato chips, and red velvet cupcakes for lunch – all of his favorite things.  The table was set with festive colors, and the tulips added the note that this was a special occasion, “simple” or not.

No need to have “You’re 70!” signs all over the room – just keep things focused on the special interests and life of the guest of honor.    One of my favorite things to have at a party is a theme-designed calendar.  In this case, prepare a wall calendar where every month features a photo – the birthday person in their youth, and in their prime, with friends, with family, involved in their life’s interests – and then ask guests to find their birthday, and write a message to the honoree.  It’s a wonderful gift and memory of the day. 

If the honored birthday person loves a party, then by all means, include the friends and family for this party.  If you want to pull out the stops, and it’s okay with the honoree, here are a few ideas:

Gatsby Themed Cocktail Party – Elegant floral arrangements; lots of candles; a bar with mixed drinks, champagne and wine; passed hors d’oeuvres and dessert bar, with a birthday cake as the centerpiece.  A jazz trio would be the icing on the cake.

Indian Food Truck/Mexican Food Truck/BBQ – The birthday person’s favorite kind of food would dictate the choice of food truck and the decor.  This makes for a very casual setting and is ideal for the summer and fall.  Have tables and chairs set up inside and out for a free flow feel.   Make sure the music is light and festive.

My Favorite Things – The honoree’s favorite food, flower, color, place, and music.  Create a night of favorites.

Wishing you and your loved ones a very Happy Birthday!

Save your wine corks:  Use any medium to large, round or square, vase you have lying around (depends on how many wine corks you have saved).  Place a candle inside a smaller vase that can fit within the first vase, but have room for the corks (I also have just placed a tall pillar candle inside the main vase, and it was fine).  Place the corks in a haphazard or symmetrical pattern all the way to the top of the vase (check out my “Parties – Decorating Ideas” on Pinterest for another picture of this easy decoration).  Very pretty for an easygoing dinner party with wine tasting.  The more you can create the better the impact, too!

Mix and Match:  You should be pulling the silver, china, and crystal out of the cabinet several times a year.  It makes every dinner – from fried chicken to  filet mignon – taste even better, and feel more special.   Take stock of your grandmother’s silver, your wedding china and your Aunt’s antique silver serving platters.  Add in any flea market finds, and simple burlap linens, and you have a charming dinner table fit for any menu.  And don’t be afraid to use chairs of all types – just alternate them around the table – your only pattern is the mismatch of everything.  You’ve changed things up, and used everything you already had!

Mason Jars:  Don’t forget those mason jars – use them for everything – water glasses, small vases, candle holders, you name it!

May your parties in 2013 be delightful!

We planned a holiday party for a San Francisco law firm this month.  They wanted a day time event and a long lunch seemed perfect for the beginning of the holiday season.

Co-workers arrived at Hands On Gourmet in the Dogpatch Neighborhood of San Francisco on a gorgeous Friday afternoon.  Greeted with gourmet cheeses and wine selections chosen by Rosecrest Special Events, these guests enjoyed mingling in the state of the art kitchen.  Soon, the chefs were engaging everyone, assigning teams and they got to work!

Lunch was a Moroccan theme – various groups made lamb kebabs with a Persian yoghurt sauce for appetizers, chicken tagine for the main course, and a chocolate torte from scratch with creme anglaise for dessert.  Somehow, the various teams also made chicken phyllo cones with saffron, ginger, cilantro, toasted almonds and cinnamon, and a Fattoush Salad, complete with fried pita chips – yum!  The food was excellent (thanks, in no small part, to the kind and watchful eyes of the resident chefs).

After creating the dishes, everyone was invited to sit down and enjoy!  A long, lingering lunch was enjoyed.  This would be a great party for a special birthday, engagement celebration, or corporate team building event.

Merry Christmas Everyone!