Your Sixth Drink? You Lush!

So about three weeks ago or so, I had my fancy schmancy birthday mocktail party. Let me begin by saying that it was a blast for many reasons. First of all, people came. Secondly, people dressed up. Thirdly, they drank.

H was the champion drinker; her goal was to try every drink we offered. It was a tall order since the menu consisted of the following teetotaller beverages: appletinis, mai tais, lemon drops, tequila-less sunrise, sangria, passionfruit mojitos, margaritas, pina coladas, and anything that goes well with an olive. Come to think of, I think I finished off that list.
Here I am with two of my roommates as we show-off the beverages. You will note that we are all wearing black dresses. We recommended to our guests that they show up in cocktail attire (it was a cocktail party after all). Thus the LBD (Little Black Dress, for the non-fashionably inclined) was in full force, but some people showed up in much brighter colors.
This picture unfortunately did not capture this guest's bright blue tights. My roommate bought the pink cocktail shaker for the party. It was a very wise investment. She figured that if the party was a success we would do mocktail party sequels, and we would need a shaker.

I was really greatful for the turnout. It made me so happy to be surrounded by friends, and it made me feel that I actually had a place in this huge, bustling city which like a pinball machine seems to constantly push me in frantic directions. So enjoy some pictures of guests...or people that help me feel more settled.

I am proud of this brave married couple who joined fun, mingling with a crowd of singles.
The girl on the right helped me make sugar cookies. She came over in the nick of time. I spent all day prearing the mini-tarts, cheese puffs, and other treats, but I didn't give myself too much time to shower and look presentable. Thanks to her help, I looked pretty good that night.
My roommates proved mighty helpful that night as well, mixing drinks and replenishing the food that everyone seemed to enjoy.

We had a very fashionable crowd.

And despite all the LBDs, the only matching outfits were these two fellows. If you look closely, you will see how exactly matched they were...except for the black jacket.
This is actually a rather dorky picture of me. I am biting a maraschino cherry and not at looking seductive while doing so. That was the plan. I was trying to recreate that iconic Breakfast at Tiffany's image of Audrey in that Givenchy black dress, the pearls, and smoking a cigarette on a long holder. This was my modern take: my Banana Republic black dress, black pearls....and a maraschino cherry.

The appletinis, that my roommate is holding, was the hit of the evening. Someone stated that it was like drinking a green apple Jolly Rancher. The Tequila-less Sunrise was the second-most popular drink.

A lot people took pictures, and they are probably better than mine; they just haven't been forwarded to me yet. Hint, hint. I got tired of posing for photos like the one above. But check out the girl on the right. It's not a super-detailed photo, so I will have to tell you that the eyelashes and most of the hair were not her own. That was total mocktail party commitment.

And that is the aftermath. We left the cleanup to the one roommate who didn't make it to the party. Don't worry, she volunteered.

I had a great time, but more importantly it appeared that everyone had a great time as well. So good that you may read future posts at the phenomenal New York event: Mocktail Sundays.

Morsels from the Bakery

A lot of people ask me about my job, so I thought I would take this opportunity to share some goings on at the Bakery.

1. I am glad that I get to ice cakes because it means that I have less contact with our customers, also known as The Most Spoiled People on the Planet. I still have to answer some of their queries, like "don't you have anything without sugar" (umm...NO!) or "can you get me that cupcake in the case that is completely out of reach because it is purple and has a flower on it?" I hate the last question the most. The Bakery is known around town for letting customers choose the cupcake they desire and then putting their chosen treat in their own box. In the original store this works out rather well. The cupcakes are placed on a table, and people pick from the ones on the trays and don't say a peep about it. In the Upper West Side, however, it doesn't work as well. We place our open trays of cupcakes on top of a case where customers can see the other cupcakes and so if the only pink ones available has blue sprinkles and they want a pink one with green sprinkles, they will point and say that they "have to have that one." It does not matter if all the buttercream is vanilla flavored, or if the sprinkles really have no flavor whatsoever, these customers demand the out of reach cupcake. (Sometimes they erroneously believe that the ones on the bottom shelf are fresher. Sorry kids, the cakes and frostings were all made at the same time.) Sometimes when they ask, "Can you get me the purple one on the second shelf?" I want to say, "Can you be a grown-up and choose one from the ones placed before?" Sometimes I wish we only made one color of frosting with one type of sprinkle so we wouldn't have to deal with their whininess. I think that would be considered cupcake communism.

2. Another thing I would like to say to the people of the Upper West Side: Red Velvet cupcakes are not one of your unalienable rights. If we don't have them when you come in, don't complain, just suck it up and get a slice of cake.

3. The Bakery sees a lot of photographers and photo shoots. Recently we had a shoot with The Owner and three top-rated chefs, including Daniel Boulud. I didn't realize how cool that was at the time; I was more concerned about stepping over tripods while carrying cakes. Anyway, Daniel Boulud is a 4-Star chef who is a bigger name that Anthony Bourdain in the biz. He owns a gaggle of $25o/plate restaurants, writes for Epicurean Magazine and was in that Queen Latifah movie, The Last Holiday. Don't be ashamed if you didn't know this tidbit of knowledge, I found out after I met him. During a quick photo break, he watched me ice a cake, asked a few questions, and suggested doing a "stage" (or mini-internship) to learn how to ice cakes. Of course I agreed, although I knew he was joshing. One of the managers asked if I knew who he was, I pretended that I did. One of coworkers clued me in later.

4. Our Bakery is now Kosher, which is a really good idea for an Upper West Side location with its large Jewish population. We didn't have to change too much on our menu, but we now no longer make the IceBox Cake since the chocolate wafers are not kosher. Have no fear, I still know how to make it.

Here's a little lesson about going to stake conference. I went to mine in April and heard many talks about being charitable and servie-oriented. After it was all over I ran into a friend who is a fellow new-music lover. She informed me that one of my new music obsessions, She & Him, was going to be in town on the upcoming Tuesday. With much elation and probably some jumping up and down I decided that I would splurge and make an appearance at the show. Of course tickets were sold out, but I was extra nice and servicable to customers that day so good karma would smile on me and provide me with a ticket. (I saw sold out Bon Iver for free in February because some guy had an extra ticket.) I nearly succombed to a scalper, but luckily another random guy needed to get rid of a ticket.

Let me give you a background on She & him because you may not have heard me chatter on about this group..or you didn't get to go to South By Southwest...or you don't have a subscription to Entertainment Weekly...or you don't listen to All Songs Considered. Well, She & Him is the charming little project from stellar music producer M.Ward and indie actress Zooey Deschanel. In fact, you may have heard her sing before, if you saw the movie, Elf. She has an amazing amazing amazing voice, and she almosts channels Patsy Cline. M.Ward isn't too shabby either, and after Tuesday, he has pretty much replaced Gary Lightbody as my rockstar crush. (Gary, you still have a chance. All you need to do is go to the bakery, toss me a wink, smile and possibly your phone number and you will be back on the top of the list.)

The concert was a blast considering Zooey was dealing with some laryngitis. She still sang solidly, but she didn't talk to the audience. Instead she would hold up signs with phrases normally heard from the band frontman like, "Hello New York!" or "You All Look Great!" or "Thank You!" It was rather delightful in sign-form. I was too far away to take decent pictures, and my camera battery died. Instead, thanks to the invention of YouTube, I have supplied you with clips from the show: 1. "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here" - my favorite and 2. "You Really Got a Hold on Me" or "How M.Ward Usurped Gary Lightbody as My Rockstar Crush."





Oh yeah, those lessons learned? Go to stake conference and you will hear about rock concerts. Be nice and helpful to others and someone will sell you a ticket to a sold out show. Or something like that.

It's Birthday Time!!

So today is my birthday; I am 32 years old now. I am not too sure about claiming such a large number...especially since I could pass for a college student. (I LOVE the surprised look on people's faces when I reveal my age.) But so it is that I am a year older. So far the birthday celebrations have been pretty fun (fyi, I tend to spend several days fete-ing the day of my birth). Last night I went tango dancing at the fanciest YMCA I have ever seen...seriously this place had a dance room with some lovely light fixtures. (How that equates to "fancy" is probably a bit of a stretch, but humor me.) I danced with a lot of older gentleman (senior citizens, to be exact. But at my extreme age maybe I should get used to my partners), but some of them actually danced quite well. I had an interesting experience when I danced with a guy who, at a slight distance, was the spitting image of my dad. He was a great deal shorter, however. I even learned a bit of Milonga, an Argentine dance like tango but with a faster rhythm.

Tonight I made some dinner for my roommates and friend, Sarah, and afterwards we watched Roman Holiday. Since it is Audrey Hepburn's birthday as well, I thought it best to watch one of her films--it also happens to be a favorite of mine. I love this movie, even though at the end I heave a sad sigh that I cannot run off to Rome for a frolicking good time with Gregory Peck. Maybe "frolick" isn't the best word choice. You know what I mean.

The fun will continue on Saturday with a fun Breakfast at Tiffany's-esque mocktail party. It should be a good time, and I will post pictures and details. I expect you see a little Audrey Hepburn theme running through the birthday celebrations. That's just how I roll. (I even dressed at beatnik Audrey from Funny Face for a friend's sock-hop themed birthday party Friday night). This beautiful actress has been quite the fashion-icon for me, so it should be no surprise to the masses that I choose her or her work as my inspiration for stuff. One of these days I may surprise you all and do a Dolly Parton-themed shindig.

Anyway, that's my birthday in a nutshell. Soon I will post something a bit more poignant discussing how I really feel about being 32.