This past weekend was my birthday and there were no shortages of celebrations. Friday night was The Cafe at The Ritz-Carlton Buckhead, Sunday night was pizza and beer on the porch, but Saturday was most special. My sweet bestie, John, cooked a fabulous meal for 12 of us – at my house, so I never had to leave. The party just came to me. Yay!
John decided on a La Dolce Vita theme, with all Italian cuisine. It was divine. The planning started weeks in advance, with John allowing me final say on the menu. I felt so pampered. The menu was as follows:
Aperitivo
Savory Caramelized Onion Cheese Cake with Apricot Glaze
Assorted Crackers
Red Grapes
Green Grapes
Pan Seared Polenta with
Creme Fraiche
Chives
Antipasti
Pesto Insalata with Three Cheese Tortillini
Piatto Principale
Lasagne with Baby Spinach and Portobello Mushrooms
I have been more than fortunate since I started the blog over a year and a half ago. Oh, the fab parties and the wonderful people I have met have filled my life. But one particular experience left me with more than I could ever imagine. It was the day my darling friend Tami over at Running With Tweezers , took me to Lumen, at The Ritz-Carlton downtown as her “plus one”. There I met Sandra Ryder, who so kindly brought me into her circle of fabulous PR Directors, who, in turn, so kindly invited me to write about their respective Ritz-Carlton hotels.
And to kick off my birthday weekend, Miss Sandra invited Eric and me to The Cafe, and The Wine Bar to sample the most lovely, fresh cocktails and fine cuisine at The Ritz-Carlton Buckhead.
Love love love is in the air. Jay and Valerie will be tripping up the altar in September, but beating them to the vows will be Byron and Michelle in April. Our delightful friends Stephanie & Reeves threw the most lovely party for our betrothed friends last weekend in their comfy, cozy home in our neighborhood. They even keep chickens – remember the eggs from the morning after Valentine’s Day? Their home is filled with cuddly furniture and whimsical treats – like the painting of Rod Stewart dressed as a Storm Trooper, or the wig on the horse mask which would become the center of the party later in the evening.
The sweet guests of honor
Stephanie went all out – there were boodles of shrimp, tons of brownies, yummy spinach dip and tasty bruschetta. Delicious!
Stephanie knows what she is doing!
Perfect strawberries for dipping.
The weather was terrific, too, so we were able to enjoy part of the evening on the deck, viewing the chickens and checking out their fab view of the Atlanta skyline.
I thought I would slip a bonus post (or two) in this weekend. If your mind is on Valentine’s Day today, here are some super easy and yummy cocktails to be made with Kahlua. Isn’t Kahlua yummy? All sweet and exotic – it’s great by itself or even poured over some ice cream. Easy ideas, both. But here are a couple more ideas from Chef Aaron Sanchez sent to me by our friend Jaclyn in New York.
Celebrity Chef and TV Personality, Aarón Sánchez’s favorite cocktails are easy to make in the comfort of your own home and are simply delicious! Each is made with Kahlúa, keeping close to his Mexican heritage.
Here are a few recipes below for you to try this Valentine’s Day…
Kahlúa Black Russian
Ingredients
1 part Kahlúa
1 part ABSOLUT® Vodka
Ice
How to mix it
Fill a rocks glass with ice, add Kahlúa and ABSOLUT VODKA and stir.
Kahlúa Espresso Martini
Ingredients
1.5 parts Kahlúa
1 part ABSOLUT VODKA
1 fresh brewed espresso
How to mix it
Fill a shaker with ice, add Kahlúa, ABSOLUT VODKA and a fresh brewed espresso. Shake vigorously, and strain into a chilled martini glass.
Kahlúa Sparkling Water
Ingredients
2 parts Kahlúa
4 parts soda water
Ice
Lime
How to mix it
Pour Kahlúa into a highball glass filled with ice. Add soda water. Top it with a lime and serve.
With Valentine’s Day right around the bend, I bet you are trying to decide how to impress your sweetheart, yes? I have a couple of ideas that will thrill couples or singles (after all, why not celebrate the friends that are always there for you?)
My fab friend Maura over at 365 Atlanta (however does she find such cool things for us every.single.day?) has the perfect idea for tonight – a Champagne Tasting…for $15 dollars!!!! Sign me up. Pack up all your favorites in the car and pop on up to Dunwoody to Alon’s for this evening of bubbly fun!
Ok, you have your bubbly all picked out – but why just pour a plain glass of champagne when you can glam it up? My sweet friend Jamie in NYC is shaking things up with Corzo Tequila and champagne – my buddies in the big city sure know how to do it right!! Here’s a special cocktail that is sure to make your valentine giddy! Oh, and don’t forget to save a bit of your Corzo Tequila for the exciting recipe after this one!
A blush drink for your blushing Valentine.
Corzo Amor
1 part of Corzo Silver Rose petals and Hibiscus infusion
3/4 part Elderflower liqueur (St. Germain)
Top with Champagne
Serve in a champagne glass and finish with a lemon twist.
Where to find Hibiscus flowers: Any Latin American market or health store.
Where to find Rose petals: Any Latin American market (Rosa de Castilla dry).
Aw, criminy, does the boss have you working late tonight and you can’t make the champagne tasting? Well, that’s okay, Sugar, I have an ultra cool idea you can do at home. I adore this idea and I am just unhappy I didn’t think of it first. It is so brilliant.
Gorgeous Naomi over at Bakers Royale is whipping up these insanely fab treats for her friend’s parties. Take a look.
They’re jello shooters, y’all!!! OMG, aren’t they the coolest things ever? Naomi has also fashioned shooters to look like lemon wedges and rock candy. She is today’s big blog crush.
Whoever you make these for is bound to feel very, very special indeed. Go ahead, impress your lovey!
What have you planned for Valentine’s Day?
xoxo, Patti
Today blogging to Frank Sinatra – My Funny Valentine
When two people have been madly in love for 13 years, it is certainly cause for celebration, don’t you think? Eric and I met that landmark last week and decided to mark the occasion with dinner at 4th and Swift. A decidedly good choice. My friend, Pedro over at Foodie Atlanta raves about this place, so that seemed like a pretty fair endorsement to me. Open Table provided the reservation (my points are really racking up over there. If you don’t use it, you might want to check it out. Especially if you are the person in your office responsible for making all the dinner and lunch reservations. You can earn dining dollars that translate to cash. And no, I do not work for Open Table.)
Ok, I’m all refreshed after taking the day after Super Bowl to tidy up and plan what I am going to do with the leftovers. I thought you might enjoy seeing how we celebrated. Join our party!
Whooo Hooo! It is Super Bowl Weekend! Second only to Christmas and the Academy Awards (Feb. 27, if you were wondering). The most fun time for everyone to get together, eat, drink and holler at the television.
Everyone is coming to our house this year and we have asked everyone to bring an appetizer to share and some booze. You need booze for a good Super Bowl party. Just ask Don Draper.
Or, you could ask our resident NYC party-girl-about-town, Esther, who is always coming up with the tastiest cocktails. This time they are hilariously named after players from both the Packers and the Steelers. Just in time for Sunday.
If you live in Georgia, please remember to buy your libations on Saturday. When are they going to lift these blue laws already?
Last week my good friend and neighbor, Shane, celebrated a landmark birthday. Yes, he is now 21……
And of course, all the neighbors were there to toast him. We love a good party, you know. So Shane ordered up some pizza, we brought wine and beer and showed up. We are always good for bringing the adult beverages. We’re good like that.
With my buddy Shane.
I even made a cake. Now, I know what you’re thinking…really? After two misfires? Yes, really. And it turned out well. Looks like my cake mojo is back! Although I have a beef with one Miss Betty Crocker. I picked up the cake decorating tube in a nice yellow only to get it home and read that I need a Betty Crocker frosting tip to use with it. What? Really Betty Crocker? I think not. So I wrote it out freehand, sans the silly little cake tip I was told I needed. It was legible. That’s all I will say.
Not so bad.
Shane seemed happy enough with it.
And so we gathered and ate pizza and cake, washed down by wine and beer. A good time was had by all.
Lovely photo of Valerie and Shane....
...photobombed by Justin. lol
Tracy and Crystal
Jay and Rick
The guys enjoy a slice.
Humphrey was so good all night!
It was another great night in the neighborhood. Happy Birthday, Shane!
xoxo, Patti
Today blogging to the Paul Weston Orchestra – The Theme From Shane
Last weekend was such fun. Eric and I got all dolled up to attend “The Next Cool Thing” here in Atlanta. The event brought together designers with furnishing vendors to create the most amazing spaces based on movies. It truly was the most!
My beloved friend Kerry Howard of KMH Interiors teamed up with Mitchell Gold and our dear friends at Larson-Juhl to furnish an alcove centered around the film, “Mommie Dearest”. It was not the biggest space, but it packed a punch. The chic sitting room boasted not only room dividers made of wooden hangers but the showpiece was an enormous chandelier made entirely of wire hangers. It was one of the most exciting ideas I have ever seen. Kerry is full of wonderful surprises and this might have been the best to date.
