skin owl’s 1st birthday: catered by yours truly!

photo courtesy of zach lipp

photo courtesy of zach lipp

phew…my first “professional” catering gig(& second party in a week) accomplished! after the last week i am so incredibly exhausted…i felt like i was hungover all day yesterday.  it was all totally worth the two 12+ hour days i put in, the nerves of “will the food be good?”, and the few moments i completely questioned what the hell i was doing! i couldn’t have done it without my dear friend stacy!!!! she offered her services, for free mind you, and was so gracious and fun the whole time! i am not sure i would have carried all that shit up and down stairs for someone, but she did it! seriously, she was so awesome and just did what needed to be done and i didn’t have to tell her or micromanage or anything!!!!! my friend zach even popped over the morning of the party and ran some errands for me and came back to my extremely hot house and peeled and devained a whole lot of shrimp!!! i mean, what incredibly amazing friends i have!

a few months back my friend donna asked me to do the food for her and her friend lex’s birthday party, see here.  the sheer fact that donna thought i could pull it off gave me the confidence to actually try it! that party was a success and i loved doing it.  then a few months after that, a lovely lady named annie (always love a fellow annie), emailed me and asked if i would be interested in doing her party. she wanted something creative, not a general run of the mill caterer. annie owns a skincare line called skin owl and she was planning a first birthday party for her great business! i explained i was not that professional, but she took the chance on me and i could not be more appreciative and honored!

 i came up with a few ways to theme the menu, but the one annie liked the best was incorporating ingredients that are beneficial for the skin. she picked one ingredient from each dish and gave me an excerpt of info. i made place cards for each dish with the info so people can interact and learn something about the food they are eating.  annie’s main products right now are based off argan oil, lavender, geranium, and sage. so, we added three drinks with syrups infused with these ingredients.

the party turned out amazing! i was so nervous about getting the food out on time, about it tasting good, and everything else that could go wrong. the night went incredibly smooth, everyone was so happy and full of compliments (especially annie! which means the world!) people even made a point to leave tips for us. i mean, i never even thought about asking!

photos above courtesy of zach lipp

photos above  courtesy of me

the menu:

sweet potato quesadillas with black bean, feta, and green onion on whole wheat tortillas

chipotle lime shrimp skewers

grilled cheese and tomato soup

mango, avacado, red onion, cilantro and lime lettuce boats

curry deviled eggs with turmeric

cucumber sandwiches with feta, sun dried tomatoes, and olives

white bean sage/ lemon dip with root chips

strawberry shortcake with honey lemon cream

chocolate chip mint cookies with milk

chocolate covered berries

blackberry sage cooler

rose geranium mojito

lavender spritzer

photos above courtesy of zach lipp

i can’t thank enough donna, annie, stacy, zach and all my other supportive  and encouraging friends ( you know who you are)!!!!

i am not sure where i am going with all of this…but i am just going!!!