Notes from the Field: On parties...

 

Last weekend was lovely. It started with cocktails on the back patio and closing down a little French restaurant with my boyfriend and his parents off of Passayunk Ave. It peaked on Saturday night with a shrimp boil for thirteen, with crisp rosé, cold pale ale and a bowl of guacamole as sides for the table of crustaceans bathed in a can of Old Bay and beer. And it ended with a good brunch, travel planning and a whole lot of delicious lounging to revel in a weekend well done.  

Somewhere in between the sun, the chatter and the al fresco dining, there was a birthday party for two little miracles in the dream home on eleventh street. Thanks to their loving mama, there were pops of color, a ceiling full of balloons and a dozen little boys under two. And I had the honor of baking up six dozen red velvet, chocolate peanut butter and bourbon pecan cupcakes for Ollie and Dash, crowned with toppers representing their hometown pride and the Chicago Cubs.   

I cannot claim to be an event planner by trade (my experiences lie mostly within cupcake baking and partymaking for fun). But I must say that this weekend's celebrations went off without a hitch. I can see many similar gatherings on the horizon...viva the summer of fantastic parties.

Case Study 114: "The Margarita Cupcake"

There are few things in this world I know are true. Of them, I am certain that love is divine, knowledge is a god and I will never ever turn down a margarita, whether it's Cinco de Mayo, or any other day. This, this, is the wisdom that twenty-seven years of life has given me. 

Give it to me on a hot night at a corner bar, with chili pepper fairylights strung around the bar and a light breeze passing through the cross streets. Serve it spicy, infused with habanero chiles, mixed quick with grapefruit juice. And pour me a pitcher straight, over ice cold rocks with a squeeze of fresh lime, and hold that damn salt.

Here's hoping your fifth of May is equally divine: full of tacos, amigos and lime cupcakes topped with tequila-lime buttercream and one helluva sprinkle fiesta.