My parents have been married for 40 years. When that happens, you plan something special. They have travelled the world from India to Scotland to Bali. One place they had never been was Palm Springs. We thought this would be fitting because my mum is totally into mid-century modern which is quintessential Palm Springs, therefore quintessential mum. Since we had a destination, it seemed the only place that would suit us (and be special enough) was The Parker.
I knew that this place was meant for us when we pulled up and the valets were wearing pink pants (very Pagoda from The Royal Tenenbaums.) The hotel decor leaves you feeling that you entered a time era uniquely it's own. Somewhat indiscernible, very chic. They have pitchers of lemonade in the lobby to sip on as you check-in, full suits of armour guarding the lobby restrooms and palm tree chandeliers announcing you've arrived...somewhere.
Since we all arrived at different times, knowing lunch started at 1:30pm, we all met in the Lounge to commence the event with a Pimm's Cup.
At lunch everyone received a bag with a swim cap for the ladies and an itinerary for the events to follow for the two nights/three days. This was the start to a very exciting, relaxing, bonding, hilarious event.
The following blog posts will be on our time spent there. Let the games begin! But first, let me introduce you to the characters:
My Dad: Professor Birk Westminster
My Mum: Lady Genevieve Kensington
My Husband: Ascot Philips VIII
Moi: Bee Charleston
My Sister: Cecil Hennessy
My Brother: Bryce Paddington III
My Sister-in-law: Mrs. Edith Essex
My Baby Niece: Little Miss Pearl Sass
My Uncle: Captain Crispin Winston
My Aunt: Abigail Ackley
Cheers,
Charysse
The first thing I saw when I woke up were three little bunnies in the front yard. Seriously...I'm not kidding. They were so cute I could have just ripped their ears off! Apparently the only wildlife on the island consists of bunnies, frogs and seals. Still not kidding. And, if you are into this type of thing, you are allowed to eat the bunnies...but no worries, I only like the idea of eating bunnies in France.
After my encounter with the cutest bunnies on the planet earth, we did what we did the day before: arrived one-by-one in our matching pj's and drank coffee and Bailey's.
Eventually it was time for lunch. This consisted of crab sandwiches with a lager and stout tasting for the gentlemen, and fully loaded caesars for the ladies.
The girls bundled up and wandered down the beach. When we returned we found the guys playing a competitive game of boules.
I can't believe this is my last post on Hat Island! It was a trip of a lifetime. This weekend was the result, not only of my ideas and efforts, but that of two other ladies as well. A big thank you to Marta Angus and Karlie Bradshaw. I love collaborating, especially when there is love involved.
Cheers!
Charysse
You might think because we were alone on an island that we would stay in our PJ's and eat hamburgers and hot dogs all weekend long. Not a chance! It's a special occasion and we would never miss a chance to dress up and sit around a grand dinning room table with friends. This is what Saturday night was based around, a 3 course dinner in our finest threads.
Hor d'oeuvres: Foie Gras and a caramel apple jelly served with a warm baguette. I brought back both these items last spring from France, waiting to use them for this very event. It was definitely worth the wait.
First Course: A magical potato and cheddar soup, made from scratch, served in individual pots.
Second Couse: Jamie Oliver's "Super Sexy" salad. This included figs, prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil and a super sexy dressing.
Main Course: Filet mignon served with a crème fraîche morel sauce, mini yorkshires and mashed carrots.
Dessert: Ginger molasses moustache shaped cookies and red velvet cupcakes.
One of our challenges was the table decor. It's hard to envision a table setup before you get there. Especially when you don't know what plates, cutlery and glassware you will be delt. When we got there, I saw that it would not be an issue in the least. The items that we did bring were light weight and easy to transport, these included: tortoise cutlery, table runner (burlap from Home Depot), birch candles, corks (which we used for the place setting name cards) and white cotton napkins. The idea of using driftwood from the beach was really our only option for a centrepiece. We washed shells from off the beach for each plate and wrapped each one like a present using twine (pictured below).
One thing that really added to this night were the question cards that we made. I created 10 blank cards for each person. Everyone wrote 5 personal questions and 5 generic Trivial Pursuit-like questions. We had everything from "what was my nickname in high-school?" to "where did the pea-coat originate?". We learned a lot about each other and everything else.
As usual we danced between courses and before we knew it the night came to a close. It was perfect. My friend said she felt like a camera crew should have been following us that night, and she's right...it did have a Nancy Meyers vibe to it.
Cheers,
Charysse
