lavanderblues

Sunday, May 13, 2007

my 21st bday party =)

*warning* long post ahead!
(had to sort through almost 300 photos, but there were so many nice shots of many people im afraid i wasnt very selective oops)

it was an amazing birthday party on saturday night to celebrate my upcoming birthday on thursday =) i really couldnt have asked for more; it was exactly as i had envisioned it! we did everything ourselves (even made my own bday cake =P) as i wanted it to be sweet and meaningful. unfortunately i couldnt invite many other people whom i'd like to have asked as i ultimately decided that i wanted a very small intimate party of about 25 (inclusive of family). many apologies to everyone.

prep work:
it took my mum and i several weeks of planning, with shopping in the weekends at various places like concourse, holland v and little india for supplies. and the night before was spent baking the choux pastry for cream puffs, and on d-day, mum and i rose bright and early to start baking the cheesecake brownie and peach cupcakes for my bday cake =) i designed everything myself, from the invite cards to the printed menu, and even the cake too =)

i was so happy strewing gorgeous red rose petals on all the tables, with floating candles and tealights and oil lamps all over the garden, which i felt made my normally frumpy backyard extremely atmospheric. everyone was supposed to come in their interpretation of the theme - "flirty summer breezy nights", a phrase i felt embodied the idea for the evening garden party =P and everyone looked fabulous =)

the menu was home-cooked, and included,
appetizers: nachos&salsa from margarita's, cheese sticks, and 2 types of bruschetta which were made by my mum.
mains: bbq lamb, salad and andrew's delicious aglio olio
desserts: my cheesecake brownie, creampuffs with peach slices and peach cupcakes w mascarpone frosting which was my bday cake =)

everyone "helping" andrew with the pasta, which thanks to him was cooked on the spot and served piping hot!

myself, huiling and yun helping to prepare the salmon&asparagus bruschetta

mirri likes the heart shaped balloons on my mango tree

uncle stephen and auntie kimsiang (selene's parents) who've been figures in my life all through my years were kind enough to come for my party too =) dad & mum entertained them at another table =)

after dinner and desserts outside, we moved into the dining area for cake and li&wenbo's songs =)

li sang twice that evening. this was "i hope you dance", originally by lee ann womack =) so sweet of u babe, thanks!=)

i felt this was a very nice shot of everyone helping to light the 21 sparkling candles on my bday cake =)

my peach cupcake w mascarpone frosting birthday cake, with a cupcake for each person in attendance and 21 sparkly candles =) the candles really had sparks flying from them!

part of my birthday gifts - the nine west bag i really really liked, and a braun buffel wallet frm the medicine bunch. sel and her parents gave me a silver "h" pendant frm tiffany&co, fiona a long chain necklace she made herself, huiling a bag, and yun, a really gorgeous wooden windmill she assembled herself. thanks dears for all the gorgeous and thoughtful presents =)

i also got a pink ballet slipper pinata which we had some fun with. i got blindfolded first and they teased me for a super long time. at one point in time i think i almost whacked jerry w the bat too. then we led zj all the way to the pond, but fortunately for him he was astute enough to feel the edge of it and not step into the water blindly. fiona also displayed suppressed angst in hitting the pinata =P it was ultimately broken by joel and joshua =)

the party was nicely rounded off with li and wenbo's rendition of "say a little prayer", with hilarious backup by marcus and bean =)

we definitely couldnt have pulled it off without all the lovely people in attendance that night who were all so sporting and helpful =) im especially grateful to my mum and maid who slogged the entire day to make the entire thing come true, and am super grateful to shiyun and huiling who helped assemble the appetizers and set up when mum and i were running late and getting flustered, andrew for cooking all the pasta when we couldnt do it cos we were so busy =P, my uncle for setting up all the tables and balloons and for bbqing all the delicious lamb we got to eat =), the guys for carrying my grandma up and down the stairs so that she could be there in the midst of the action, and everyone else for being sporting and helping out randomly throughout the night =) it was amazing to have everyone there and i really appreciated it so much, for giving me such a beautiful 21st party. thankyou =)

lin~*
11:07 pm