I’m sitting at the kitchen table in my red flannel pajamas, watching dreamily as snow flurries outside the window like sprinkles of white glitter, still basking in the glow of Saturday night’s party.
If you were not here, I wish you could have been. Because, if I do say so myself, it was astounding. Truly. But I cannot take credit for it all. First, I must thank Holland, our balloon designer for turning our house into a twinkling wonderland of lights and ribbons and balloons.
Leave it to our girl-about-town, Caren West, to come up with something to warm you up and something to cool you down, at the same venue. Tonight.
What? There’s an opening in your party going schedule? Let me help you pencil something in for tonight.
Yacht Rock. That’s right. Yacht Rock. You know, cover bands that do all the fun music from the 1970s. Like Christopher Cross and Seals & Crofts and whatever else was popular back in the day. It’s fun! And…you can get all cooled off before the show by ice skating at Park Tavern.
Honey, we’ve got you covered. Miss Caren, details please!
PARK TAVERN HOSTS THE SECOND ANNUAL YACHT ROCK HOLIDAY SPECIAL ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10TH
Featuring Three Levels of Entertainment and Performances from the Yacht Rock Revue, Yacht Rock Schooner and DJ MP3PO
Atlanta, Georgia (November 29, 2010) – The second annual Yacht Rock Holiday Special will be held at Park Tavern in Piedmont Park on Friday, December 10, 2010. Revelers are invited to attend an early show at 8 p.m. or late night bash at 10 p.m. The festive evening featuresthree levels of live entertainment including the Yacht Rock Revue, fireside performances by the Yacht Rock Schooner, ice skating at The Rink with DJ MP3PO, and the PleaseRock Carolizers! Two cans of food for the Atlanta Community Food Bank will get guests a picture with Santa at the Mixtape Atlanta photo booth. Advance tickets are available for $20 for both the 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. shows at https://www.xorbia.com/rsvp/yachtrock/extravaganza/tickets.cfm.
This should be a blast – go on, buy some tickets. You know you want to…
Today’s post comes from my friend, Chip Ivie, who told me of a supper club he belongs to. They recently got together to create a Feast of the Seven Fishes, which fascinated me. Chip was very sweet to write up and send me all the details. This sounds like the perfect way to involve all your friends in a special dinner.
Whew, this week has been a whirlwind of parties – and we have not even started the weekend. Last night found Eric and me at a palatial mansion in Buckhead where every real estate fantasy was brought to life and Tuesday night I was lucky enough to be Kerry Howard’s date for the Callanwolde Christmas preview party. Incredible.
My dear friend Kerry was chosen to design the dining room and oh, what an amazing job he did! No detail was overlooked. The room was bathed in lush blue and champagne colors, accented by a gorgeous large print by Artaissance and framed by our friends at Larson-Juhl. Two huge trees flank the end of dining room (one of which fell over during the night and Kerry had to redecorate all over again, with unflappable grace, I might add). The fabulous furnishings were supplied by The Foundry (formerly World of Rugs and also our party hosts from last night’s shindig), with lots of Kerry details and beautiful orchids. It is the house show stopper and the first room you notice when you enter the mansion.
The preview party was all about fun. And boy, did we have fun. The food was incredible (catered by Affairs to Remember), lots of lovely libations, a live band and dancing, an organist playing Christmas tunes and just the most lovely setting imaginable.
Our good friend Caren West sent me this marvy press release on the opening of an ice skating rink in Piedmont Park, our city’s best place to play.
Let’s get all the details from Caren:
THE RINK AT PARK TAVERN HOSTS BREAKFAST WITH SANTA ON OPENING DAY
The Rink at Park Tavern, a new covered ice skating rink located in the heart of Midtown in Piedmont Park, will open to the public on Monday, November 22, 2010. To celebrate its arrival, Park Tavern is hosting a special Breakfast with Santa at The Rink from8 to 10:30 a.m. that morning. For $10 kids can enjoy sweets from Santa’s bakery, cereal and fruit juices. Parents can bring a camera, but there will also be a professional photographer available to snap pictures with Santa. Park Tavern’s new homemade hot chocolate and new frozen hot chocolate will be available for purchase. Parents will also be able to purchase bagels, coffee and gourmet Danishes. Breakfast with Santa does not include the cost of skating or skate rental. Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.xorbia.com/tickets/therink/.
The Rink at Park Tavern will also host a second Breakfast with Santa for kids on Friday, November 26 from 8 to 10:30 a.m. Kids can also enjoy Frozen Hot Chocolate and Cookies with Santa on Tuesday, November 30 from 4 to 7:30 p.m.
ABOUT THE RINK AT PARK TAVERN
Located in the spacious Garden Tent in Park Tavern, The Rink will feature modern amenities for day and night skating including a brand new rink created with harvested rainwater that is 85 feet long and 40 feet wide. Skaters will stay warm under a beautiful heated tent with a state-of-the-art sound system; while observers can enjoy rink-side dining, homemade hot chocolate, specialty cocktails, house-brews, ½ price wine bottles every Wednesday, 1/2 off sushi nightly from 10 p.m. to midnight, holiday decorations, and much more. With original woodwork, Stone Mountain-granite walls, stack-stone fireplaces, granite bars, new leather furniture and a natural slate floor, Park Tavern’s lodge-like feel will only enhance the overall experience.
Accommodating approximately 200 skaters, The Rink at Park Tavern will be open for evening skating experiences daily beginning at 5 p.m. on Monday November, 22, 2010 through Monday, February 14, 2011 and will offer four sessions on weekends and when kids are out of school on holiday breaks at 9 a.m., 1 p.m., 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. Each skating session is 3 ½ hours with ½ hour breaks to resurface the ice with harvested rainwater. At 9 p.m. each night, The Rink at Park Tavern will only be open to ages 21 and up. The Rink is also available for private skating lessons, parties and even marriage proposals. Park Tavern will also host number of specialty events throughout the season. For the most up to date event calendar, specialty packages, and venue rental information, please visit www.parktavern.com.
xoxo, Patti
Today blogging to Perry Como – It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas
My new friend, Bret Love, is a member of this cool improv group here in Atlanta. Don’t you get tired of doing the same old thing every weekend? Here’s your chance to mix it up a little bit and have some fun!
Stop! Improv Time!
December shows will be FREE with the donation of a new, unwrapped toy for the Atlanta Union Mission:
WHO: Improv Monster
WHAT: A troupe of Atlanta’s finest improv comedy veterans inspired by different performing artists every week
WHEN: Thursday nights at 8PM
WHERE: Relapse Theatre, 380 14th St NW, Atlanta, GA 30318. Call 404-541-9911 for more info.
WHY: Because it’s one of the city’s funniest and most innovative improv shows, and tickets are only $10 ($5 w/student ID)
• • • • • • •
What is IMPROV MONSTER? Imagine the irreverence of early Saturday Night Live, the colorful characters of Christopher Guest’s best work (Waiting For Guffman, Best In Show), and the madcap improvised mayhem of the Upright Citizens Brigade. Now imagine it performed live and unscripted by Atlanta’s best improvised theatre veterans, and you have Jackpie’s IMPROV MONSTER.
Co-directed by Jackpie Theatre founder Jim Karwisch and John Sexton, IMPROV MONSTER takes its inspiration from different guest artists every week, whose performances provide the source material for their long-form improvised scene-work. Recent sources have included burlesque troupes, circus acts, standup comedians, poets and musicians. Together, IMPROV MONSTER and their guests forge a unique artistic fusion unlike anything the Atlanta improv scene has ever seen.
In December the show’s theme will be Holiday Stories, with guests including Santa Sam Smith (Dec 2), the cast of Actors Express’ “Every Christmas Story Ever Told” (Dec 9) and
Kara Cantrell of Stone Mountain Christmas (Dec 16).
“Improv Monster makes Saturday Night Live look like entertainment for daycare kiddies. I read my poems, and they took my poems and ran with them, expanding them and finding the humor in them. The audience loved it. You will love Improv Monster!” –Poet Mikel K
Looks like they give out hugs, too!
xoxo, Patti
Today blogging to Happy Tree Friends – Don’t Make Me Laugh
Our neighbors are amazing. There is an expert for almost everything among our friends. One particular neighbor, Charlie Smith, is an incredible artist. And he has a polka dot van. I love polka dots. Not only that, but he also won the savory pie competition with his killer chicken pie at last year’s bake-off. So when we all got wind of his show at Eyedrum, everybody went.
The show is a shoot-off from the Burning Man festival held in California each year. I always wanted to go, but Eric says I just like the idea of burning man, but the reality would not appeal to my delicate senses. But for just one night, I got to experience a piece of history at Charlie’s show, Art of Such N Such.
I love a fun night out with the girls. It has kind of taken me a long time to come around to this idea. Eric and I are just crazy for each other, but even oh-so-in-love couples need guys and girls time with their buddies.
Adorable Tami Reed of Talking With Tami recently invited me to a Girls’ Night Out sponsored by O.P.I. nail polish – you know them – with their scads of colors and adorable color names (“I’m Not A Waitress” comes to mind), well, I knew I could not say no. Plus it was held at Pampered Nail and Body Spa (341 Nelson Street Southwest Atlanta, GA 30313; 404-521-2873), just minutes from my house. Really, this event was calling my name.
The lovely fellows over at the AFFPS (that’s Atlanta Foundation for Public Spaces), have asked me to come aboard as their PR and Partnerships Director. Isn’t that swell? Not only do they have a fab gallery in Decatur, but they are the folks responsible for that fantastic open market at Atlantic Station each weekend. I have picked up several darling trinkets for myself between checking out the sales at Old Navy and The Gap.
The Chastain Park Arts Festival opens tonight with a screening of “Grease” on the park lawn. Pack up all your Pink Ladies and head on over with your cozy blankets for a fun singalong in the park at 6 p.m.
Saturday morning you and your furry best friend can join in the pet parade at 10:30 a.m. Be sure to bring your own coffee mug for $1.00 refills! There is live music to enjoy as you take in all the marvelous art. You will also be able to see some of the artists at work (something you don’t see at many festivals). And maybe pick up a few Christmas gifts while you are at it (or maybe something gorgeous for yourself!)
Come by and say hi to me in the morning, or if you have other plans on Saturday, you can always catch the festival on Sunday until 5 p.m. I’ll be there both days for a bit.
Don’t you just love wine? Me, too! I was so excited when my good pals Doug and Sharon Paul from Three Sisters Vineyards asked me if I would like to represent them at the city’s premiere wine event held at The Georgia Aquarium. If you read the blog with any regularity, you know I am a BIG fan of their wines and jumped at the opportunity to pour for them.
All dressed up in my favorite sweater dress (it is autumn, after all….) and cute brown slingback pumps, off I went to participate in this fab evening. I met with Doug and Sharon earlier in the week to make sure I knew all the particulars about the winery. I even memorized the wines used to blend their Fat Boy White and Fat Boy Red. Corkscrew in hand I was ready to meet a bundle of new friends!
But first, one of my favorites – Mr. John Walker, king of special events at the aquarium. I rung him up right before the throng arrived and we had a chance to quickly catch up.
