The Romantics take Vancouver

8 friends. 4 couples. Celebrating 10 years of marriage. 

This particular celebration is the third we have celebrated out of the four. (For the other two events check out my blog posts on them: I, II.) 

To explain everything that occurred, and when, would most likely get you hopelessly lost. Even when planning we all at one point forgot what was next on the agenda. And of course, it's not always necessary to kiss and tell. 

The day consisted of twelve clues. Six of the clues were contained within matryoshka dolls requiring the clue to dwindle in size along with the proportions of the dolls. The last of the written clues became so small that a magnifying glass was needed. The other six clues were put inside envelopes (pictured below). Each clue was in the form of a poem. A limo transported us along our clue driven treasure hunt throughout Vancouver. One of my favourite stops was the whiskey tasting at the Shebeen Whiskey House. They were kind enough to open shop specifically for the eight of us. I made labels for the four whiskeys we tasted (pictured below). Our last stop was the beautiful Vancouver Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel.  

We splurged and got a suite at the hotel. By doing this it enabled us to have a sit-down dinner with enough room to party in when the time came. We had oysters as a starter in the sitting room, and began the sit-down dinner with an often requested caesar salad made by one of the couples present. We then moved onto burgers. Yes that's right, you heard me, burgers. Everything from the bun to the mayonnaise was house made. It was delicious. And after a full day of running around, it just hit the spot. 

We were too full from dinner to cut the cake. So first thing in the morning we all reconvened at the suite for cake and bubbly. We bundled up in our robes and ate on the outdoor patio by the fireplace. We were in no rush as our checkout wasn't till 5pm. This led us to the realization that white cotton robes are the perfect look for anytime of day.

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The cake (pictured below) was pretty darn cute and made by Le Gateau Bake Shop.

A big thank you to Katie Juchymenko and Marta Angus for helping make this such a great event. 

Photo Credit (Above): Marta Angus

Photo Credit (Above): Jamie Juchymenko

Photo Credit (Above): Marta Angus

Photo Credit (Above): Marta Angus

Photo Credit (Above): Marta Angus

Cheers,

Charysse

The Barrel-Aged Negroni

Two months ago, we got together with friends and decided that we wanted to attempt a barrel-aged cocktail. We went to The Modern Bartender and bought a 5L oak barrel. We followed the instructions and then filled it with equal parts gin, sweet vermouth and Campari to make the classic Negroni. Because a Negroni is known to be bitter, we thought this drink would be the perfect test subject. We hoped to see the sharper edges knocked off leaving a much smoother cocktail.

Eight long weeks later, we unbarreled the Negroni and bottled them with labels and all (pictured below). Our expectations were met when we at last sampled our creation. Our eight weeks of sweat and toil had paid off. Okay, there was no work involved but eight weeks of whining about the wait is exhausting.

Once it's in the bottles you can keep it as long as you like. You can only barrel and bottle cocktails that are purely alcohol, no juice etc, otherwise it will turn sour. Once you have transferred the cocktail to jars, it's easy to stir over ice, strain and garnish (with a orange twist). Voilà, le Negroni!

Once you open Pandora's drinking box, you'll realize there is a lot more to making a proper drink than a shaker. Get your butts down to The Modern Bartender and/or download the app Speakeasy Cocktails and they'll show you a thing or two.

Cheers,

Charysse

Mission Heat

This past weekend in Vancouver was hot, very hot . If you move in towards the valley, towards Mission, your thermometer would have bumped up about 5-10 degrees. This hot weekend was the backdrop for an outdoor dinner party, thrown for family who were visiting from San Francisco. 

Menu
My sister-in-law, the brains of the family, had the idea (equal parts pragmatic and posh) to get the dinner catered by a fabulous restaurant in Abbostsford called 62. We had four courses of delicious local treats.  Ingredients like Abbotsford organic goat cheese and Aldergrove king oyster mushrooms adorned each dish. Each course was well thought out and creative.

At 36 degrees I literally couldn't 'handle the heat in the kitchen', thankfully the professionals could. If you ever make it to Abbotsford, you must dine at 62. The Chef, Jeff Massey, and our server definitely made this night very special.

The kids dined in style with their McDonald's. 

Decor
The week before the party, we made it official and decided to get rentals. My sister-in-law acquired what was needed and I took care of the look and pre-dinner drink. However, that only gave me a week to get everything together.When there is a time crunch I say throw what you know. I had to draw from parties I have done in the past. This blog is to help show you that you can use the same elements from different parties you have done in the past, and create a total different look.

Runner: We used the same burlap runner from Canadian Tire, that we used for the Hat Island dinner (as shown here). It's cheap and gave it the backyard feel we wanted.

Place Cards: I used champagne corks as the place card holders. I did exactly this for the Hat Island dinner as well (as shown here).

Mason Jars: My other sister-in-law had a party the summer before based solely on mason jars. She still had the lanterns she made out of mason jars from that party, so we borrowed those and all we had to do was hang them. For the pre-dinner drink I used smaller mason jars and tied name tags to each one with twine. For the vases that held the flowers we used 2 dozen large mason jars. You can buy mason jars at Canadian Tire by the dozen and can cost you anywhere from $8 to $14/dozen. 

Flowers: I have always, since I can remember, wanted to have a table full of flowers down the center. My budget has never allowed this though. But lucky me, my mother-in-law has a backyard full of Hydrangea's in all different colours. I love hydrangea's. 

Playlist: There is always a playlist for every occasion in my life. Being outside didn't stop me from making one. We used my Jawbone Jambox which is wireless and connects by bluetooth to my phone. It's small in size but has big sound. The playlist consisted of everything from George Michael to Artie Shaw. 

When dinner was done, the festivities began. We did everything: quading, ziplining, a piñata, even karoke. All is possible in the heat of mid-summer and in the middle of nowhere: Mission.

Cheers,

Charysse

The St.Germain Cocktail

Every time we visit San Diego, having lunch at the Del Coronado Hotel is mandatory. And so this April we found ourselves there once again. I'd like to think not much has changed since Tony Curtis wooed Marilyn here in Some Like It Hot. The gift shop has plenty memento's to confirm this assumption... though we didn't notice any men dressed like women.


Our table wasn't ready, so we decided to have a drink while we were waiting at the bar. The server recommended the St.Germain cocktail. I was intrigued and decided to try one. When it came, not only was it refreshing, but also it came in a specialized "St.Germain" measurer, which I later bought from them (pictured below).


2 Parts Champagne (or Dry White Wine)
1.5 Parts St.Germain
2 Parts Perrier


Note: It can be served in any glass really. If you want to get feminine, serve it in a coupe champagne glass with no ice and a couple berries (pictured below). But if you mean business, make it  a large tumbler with lots of ice and a twist.


For more cocktail recipes using St.Germain, visit their website at: www.stgermain.fr

Cheers,

Charysse

The Parker Palm Spring Series VI: The Dinner

It may seem random, the menu the theme etc, but what you'll find is that it all ties in. For my parents wedding they had brunch at a Chinese restaurant. So we decided on having a pink and orange Chinese theme. Try going to Chinatown with pink and orange as your colours. What seemed to be impossible, ended up being doable.


It began with my parents dancing to Harvest Moon by Neil Young. We got some photos taken and then commenced our evening. As the sun went down and the pool lit up I thought nothing could top this evening... until something did. We got a personal visit from The Parker's pastry chef. He presented the edible art created especially for my parents 40th. Since the 40th is the Ruby anniversary, he decided on red velvet cake. And boy, am I glad he did. 


It was just one of those nights.

Playlist: Frank Sinatra (lots of it), Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Ultra Lounge Cha-Cha album, Solomon Burke, Sonny and Cher and many more.

What we brought from home: Pink table runner, paper lanterns, yellow tassels, fortune cookies, mini umbrella's, parasols and graphics (including name cards and menus).

What we borrowed from the Parker: Flower centrepiece, candles, linens and furniture. 

A huge thank you to the staff at the Parker for making this what it was. It's because of you that I will be returning.


(Side Note: The pink dress I wore, was my grandma's from the late 1960's.)

Cheers,

Charysse