I planned the menu with a few elements in mind. Because Erin is a foodie, I wanted to have really good eats and lots of them. She has a masters degree in Food Science and I wanted her to feel like the menu for her party was really something special. I also knew that I wanted to serve several courses but not spend the entire evening in the kitchen.

Here’s what we ended up with for our six courses:

une
Salty Pear Martinis and Lemonade
Pomme Frites with Red White and Bleu Dipping Sauces
including
Ketchup
Bleu Cheese, Walnut, & Bacon
and Garlic Aioli

The Salty Pear Martini was derived from a drink Erin & Tim both had at A Restaurant in Newport Beach. He taught me his secret recipe just for the party.

deux
Pear, Red Onion, and Candied Walnut Salad with Shaved Parmesan
Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing

The salad was uncomplicated and had just the right acidity with lemon instead of vinegar in Ina Garten’s Green Salad Vinaigrette from Barefoot in Paris. I served the salad with salt-crusted homemade bread.

trois
Asparagus, Mint, and Mascarpone Raviolis

I used Jamie Oliver’s recipe for Ravioli of Minted Asparagus with Potatoes and Mascarpone from The Return of the Naked Chef. Tim received a pasta maker attachment for our KitchenAid Mixer for his birthday. We used it to make these and have eaten all the homemade pasta we can make since. It is so easy to use that we can’t get enough.

Since we’re planning a family trip to Paris this summer, I thought a French theme for her party would be fun. The Eiffel Tower introduced the celebration on the casual handwritten invitations. We planned a French menu and tried to incorporate as many Parisienne touches as possible.

I was so excited to use several vintage pieces from Jeni Maus’ incredible collection at Found Vintage Rentals. Her farm table, chairs, trunk, and end tables really made this a special occasion in Erin’s honor. I’m so thankful for Jeni’s impeccable eye and style. The furniture was just the right touch for this outdoor 30th birthday party.

My pièce de résistance was a reproduction of a “La Vache Que Rit” (Laughing Cow) cheese vintage poster. It tied together the theme, the color scheme and even the menu for me. Check out the cow wearing earrings with a cow wearing earrings with a cow wearing earrings…

I also chose to include some bold red accents. I created striped pillows and red napkins just for the party. Red sweet peas and garden roses from my backyard and my sister’s front yard graced the tables along with bouquets of fresh parsley. Even though I initially planned to use more elaborate florals, these casual arrangements seemed just right for the special day.

We started the evening with cocktails as guests arrived. What a treat to have the talented Maxwell Garces set the tone with gypsy jazz guitar. The live music definitely added an unexpected flair to the party.

I wanted to create an opportunity for guests to share what they loved about Erin and special memories they have with her. I know that she doesn’t love to be the center of attention, however, so I created a little museum, the Musee d’Erin, using an antique hutch.

Everyone brought a photo of her or an object that reminded them about Erin. What fun it was to see each person’s perspective on my beautiful sister.

Thanks to my friend Sarah Maizland for taking the wonderful photos.

Don’t miss tomorrow’s post. I’ll share about our menu and the rest of the lovely evening.

I’d love to hear what you think. Please leave me a comment.

Jeni Maus (of Studio EMP and EMP Invites fame) is displaying her own collection of found objects these days with her newly opened vintage rental company: found. She scours flea markets, Craigslst, and her own secret sources to find fabulous pieces of vintage furniture and accessories. Her collection is now accessible to brides, party-throwers and anyone with a need for authentic, unique, and interesting objects. Whether for a photo shoot, wedding, or everyday event, her reupholstered chairs & couches, antique frames & objects, and unusual farm tables, folding chairs, tables, & accessories will give any event personality.

Jeni has impeccable style and lives for the “thrill of the hunt.” If she doesn’t already have what you need, she has resources to find it. She can chase down century-old church pews, mismatched centerpiece vessels, or create pillows from Hungarian grain sacks. She would be the first person I’d turn to if I wanted to find the hard-to-find.

I love her collection of vintage furniture and accessories so much, I might just have to throw a party to have an excuse to use some of her pieces. What do you think?

Along with the tea, I served a crudite platter with the Barefoot Contessa’s pan-fried onion dip, egg salad on crackers, and tomato basil mozzarella skewers (inspired by this shower).

For some sweet treats, I made chocolate mousse from Barefoot Contessa Family Style (I leave out the coffee and the liquor) and white chocolate citron tarts from Fran Bigelow’s Pure Chocolate (this time I used a shortbread crust recipe but her sugar crust is delicious).

Tim made a delicious raspberry lemonade for the party. Here is his recipe: Equal parts simple syrup and fresh-squeezed lemon juice. Dilute with water to taste (we use half water and half sugary lemon juice). Then we added a bag of frozen raspberries and let it sit overnight. Yum!

As I’ve mentioned before, I am a big fan of games. I knew I wanted to include a little activity during the shower that would be fun but also connected to the guest of honor. Tim created a little quiz about baby Edith. Guests had to guess if she will be more like her father or her mother based on activities and characteristics of her parents. It was fun to hear some stories and predict Edith’s future.

For favors, I wanted to give guests a remembrance of the celebration that they might actually use. I didn’t really want to give something edible or consumable. Instead, I thought a small piece of jewelry might be nice. Katie has started to make jewelry so I thought it would be an appropriate keepsake. After unsatisfactorily scouring Etsy and many other online sources, I decided to make my own memento.

After gathering supplies in downtown LA, I made simple beaded kite earrings. I’ll share a little how-to for these at some point soon. They turned out to be a great token that would remind guests to think about and pray for Katie and Edith in the coming weeks and months. I displayed them in an old soda crate that I use as an advent calendar. It was a perfect shadowbox to house the little packages.

I’m so grateful to have been able to celebrate with Katie and welcome the new babe she is carrying. Katie, I’m thankful for your friendship, beauty, and deep love. What a blessing it is to be part of your life.

Friendship is also about being able to call someone up at the last minute when you’re desperate to say “Help! I need you. I can’t finish this in time unless you come.” Erin, Lauren, and Laura responded to that call. It was much more enjoyable prepping for a shower with them by my side. I couldn’t have done it without them and I am so grateful.

I already shared about my diy kite invitations using leftover scraps of paper. That was the jumping off point for my baby shower extravaganza. I wanted the decor and tone of the shower to reflect the playful vibe of the introduction.

When I moved into my 102-year-old house, I wondered why there were seven hooks in my eleven-foot tall living room ceiling. There is no pattern to them; they’re scattered across the room. They don’t seem to have a particular purpose. They just are there. So, I used them.

I hung kites, lanterns, and tissue-paper pom-poms from these and many other hooks. Stringing fishing line from the center of th ceiling to the picture rail created depth and dimension to the display. Ribbons made them all more festive.

Most of the kites were simple diamond-shaped pieces of cardstock with a ribbon tail. For some, however, I reshaped coat hangers and wrapped them in paper. The two sizes and multiple colors concentrated in one section of the room created a focal point.

I also created a more elaborate kite using red dupioni silk. I’ll share about this project in an upcoming post.

I wanted to bring the color down to eye level as well. For this, I used brightly-hued seasonal flowers in bold groupings. I like to keep flowers in color blocks when I want them to have a lot of impact. Sticking with the primary tones of the shower, I used bright yellow China mums, orange tulips, purple anemones, red tulips, and green & white ornamental kale. These flowers made a textured statement on the coffee table in the center of the room.

I wanted the shower to feel warm, celebratory and cheerful. Katie is one of the most content people I know. She is easy-going, generous, and a delight to be around. I wanted the shower to reflect her beautiful and playful spirit. Kites and bright colors seemed to create just the right mood.

In tomorrow’s post, I’ll share more about the yummy shower menu and kite-themed favors.

It sounds like it was a smashing success. First of all, these ladies have really found a niche with their magazine targeting budget-savvy brides. Everyone wants to be featured in it these days. But besides their sheer popularity, they know how to throw a great party. People want to come to their events because they plan fun, innovative, and energized experiences.

This time around, their tabletop design contest created buzz and excitement even before the event took place. I LOVE make that SUPER LOVE contests! I enter any sweepstakes I come across. I try to dominate at baby shower games. I even pitted my friends against one another last year at my birthday party with a chocolate chip cookie contest. I was the sole judge of their baking skills… I also LOVE power.

Because of my competitive streak, I was so glad I got to take part in the tabletop smack down even though I couldn’t make it to the actual shindig. Christina from Simply Modern Weddings asked me to join her team with Fayth & Cat from Three Petals for a Modern Bollywood Table.

I’ll share pics of our creations as soon as the issue of Utterly Engaged is published (they are on the downlow until then). In the meantime, you can see images of the event by Luminaire Images and Shannon Lee Images.