
I believe that birthdays are a time to celebrate where you are in life with those who are a part of getting you there. It may be that is the reason why I’m always looking for something fun, engaging and unique to do for a celebration. Harrison and I always come up something a little off the wall that brings my different groups of friends together even though it takes a lot of planning and prep on our part. What can I say – I’m a planner and a project manager at heart!
Although we chose to skip the hoopla this year because we’re still getting adjusted to life with Tanner, I wanted to give a short recap to provide some birthday party planning inspiration before sharing my simple but absolutely lovely birthday brunch. It doesn’t always have to be dinner + drinks.
Unique Birthday Party Themes (at least I thought so!)
2012 – Pub Quiz – Last year Harrison threw me a Surprise Party at a local gastropub with a personalized pub quiz trivia that he made up, printed and got gag gifts for! (#bestesthubbyever) Friends got to work in groups and learned new things about me. Great idea if you have your own space at a bar.
2011 – Food Truck Festival at Santa Anita Racetrack (horse racing!) – Find fun events that are happening in your neighborhood where friends can all meet you and do something new. We hung out all afternoon and lots of friends had their first horse betting experience. It was so fun cheering on the horsies together!
2010 – Preppy Picnic – This was a big year for me and I knew I wanted to do something outside (even if it was January!) at my favorite park near my place – Barnsdall Art Park. There is a beautiful view of the Griffith Observatory from the park. We had all our friends get prep’d out and put out some brunch food and bocce ball.
2009 – Broomball – I was thinking about how much fun broomball was in high school and thought it might be cool to get enough people together as adults. We got red and blue bandanas for the two teams and got together about 30 friends. It turned out to be super fun and a great way to mix different groups.
2008 – Hot Pot – Instead of an ordinary hosted dinner, I shared a little of my Chinese culture by inviting friends over for hot pot. It was a fun way for everyone to cook together and try something new.
So, on to this year, life slowed down for me with the birth of Tanner and I’ve been in seclusion since December. It is a treat now-a-days to just get out to eat, so thats all I wanted. To share a nice brunch with some close friends. We ended up with just a couple of us going to brunch at the Raymond in South Pasadena. It was the perfect place to bring a baby and have some space to ourselves. I look forward to getting back out there as Tanner gets older each month!
Herb and Cheddar Biscuits layered with Bacon and topped with a poached egg {The Raymond}

My boys having a good time

The amazingly delicious berry cake – thanks Kimey! {Merely Sweets}