Giving Back

Saturday was a busy day in the Bay Area! Like-minded Philanthropists were on hand at a slew of events this past weekend to give back to kids! First thing Saturday morning, Jeff and I loaded the kids into the car and we headed to Breakfast with Santa at San Domenico School! The Fifth graders served up lots of bacon and pancakes (made by the Dads!) and then wowed us with a show and a visit from Santa. All the proceeds went to the Primary School's Leadership Service Learning Projects. What fun! Then, off to the city to SantaFest at the Presidio's Officer's Club. Kids of all ages were on hand to decorate gingerbread houses and visit with Santa, followed by a dinner for parents and their kids that are living or being served by transitional shelters of San Francisco. Santa was a busy guy today! Thanks to Monica Pauli for getting us involved in such an amazing event! After dropping off goodies for the dinner, we dashed over to The Fairmont Hotel! Friday and Saturday, we tied all the red sashes and cushions on gold Chiavari Chairs to complete the Luxe decor for the annual Christmas Ball hosted by the San Francisco Commandery of The Knights of St. John.. It was a festive night of dining and dancing to the sounds of Marianne Kent's Bay Society Orchestra . Break-down of the chairs and centerpieces were definitely Champagne driven! The proceeds of this event go towards Episcopal Charities, Clausen House, and George Mark Children's House, the first children's hospice in the U.S., among other recipients. Kudos to Dame Darlene Hines and her committee that chaired this event. We had fun helping out for these causes and giving back to our community.

Holiday Sweets!

With Holiday Flavors like

• Vanilla Bean


• Black & white


• Cinnamon toast


• Vanilla mint


• Chocolate Mint
  
• Gingerbread
• Coconut snowball (my personal favorite!!!)

Who could resist one flavor??? My friend Rachel from The Velvet Crumb

is baking up cupcakes and minis for the Holiday Season. The can definitely LUXE UP your next event!! Thanks to Curtis for these pictures! They are good enough to eat!

The Holidays are Coming!

Thanksgiving is over and I started the week in full panic mode. Will I have enough work this month? What to get my family for Christmas, not to mention the two December birthdays??!! When to go get the tree and all the decorations out of storage? It is enough to get anybody's heart racing!

Relax and let us assist you in planning a special party or just the holiday dinner...

1. Plan ahead! It saves time and money. Plan on what you will make yourself, what you will buy prepared and what you will ask others to bring. Or better yet, call a caterer!
2. Clean and decorate the house prior to any event you are having. I always clean the house (or have a housekeeper or service come) the day before. Then, I arrange my flowers or orchids based on my party presentation. It saves as lot of time the day of when you are trying to cook and do last minute errands. Plus, you haven't even showered yet!
3. Rent glassware and dishes! For a nominal price, you can have all the glasses matching (for once!) and not have to do the dishes! You can even rent a fabulous linen to give instant Holiday charm to your room! If you plan on using the fine china, definitely hire someone to assist with the dishes. I started out in high school as a hostess helper and see what happened?!
4. Keep it simple! If you plan on doing all the planning, shopping, & cooking yourself, you owe it to yourself to streamline. Don't forget the music-program the IPOD and forget about it! For cocktail parties, wine and champagne, and one signature drink. Don't do a full bar unless you have hired a bartender. If not, your husband will be serving drinks all night-and he won't be happy! Simple Artisanal cheeses, fruit and desserts are easy to assemble ahead of time and perfect for a small cocktail party. Or, make some great soup and serve it in mugs with fresh baked bread! Yum!
5. Enjoy! My job is really to let the hostess be a guest at her own party. How many times have you done everything for a party and REALLY enjoyed yourself? You know that anyone who arrives early for your party gets to open wine and arrange plates of crackers. You were replenishing the smoked salmon when you should have been enjoying that glass of wine, instead, you can't remember where you left it! P.S. Your kitchen is a pigsty, your feet hurt and your husband went to bed... Happy Holidays!

Last Minute Thanksgiving Tips!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends and family! We are all rushing around trying to remember if we did, indeed, order that organic, brined turkey! Should we serve wine because someone always drinks too much and do I have to make candied sweet potatoes (because Grandpa always asks for them, but he NEVER eats them!)???? Sometimes it is alright to just slow down and think about what it is we really are thankful for.

Five Things that make Thanksgiving tolerable!

1. Pizza delivery!

It is 4:00 p.m.the day before Thanksgiving. Your house is clean and you are high-fiving yourself because you think you have all the groceries for Thanksgiving, but remember that you have nothing for tonight's dinner! You have Super Shuttle dropping Aunt Madge at 4:30 p.m. at your house. What to do? Order a pizza to be delivered at 6:00 p.m., open a bottle of wine and relax!

2. Grocery Stores open on Thanksgiving Day!

Can I tell you how many years that I relied on stores to be open because we forgot the butter to make the pies ( or decided we didn't want to make one)? Oh yeah-we need more wine-Aunt Madge drank 2 bottles last night!

It is also a good escape from the family for an hour!

3.Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and Football!

It keeps the kids and the men out of my kitchen-enough said!

4. A Good Laugh!

Watch the latest installment of my favorite ladies, "The Real Housewives of Late Night" -they will make you forget your own family holiday drama! If you have time, watch the 4 episodes prior-they are hysterical!

5. Be Thankful!

For your family, your home, your health,your self, your job, your friends, and the food on your table.

(and be thankful that there is still another month until Christmas!!!)

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving from my family to yours!!!