Letters To My Best Friend

Party Time

Hi Eya,

How are you?

I'm exhausted if you ask me. Too much stuff that has happened. Where do I start?

The past few days were so busy I didn't have time to write you anything because I was just tired. Sorry, my friend. Please accept my apologies. I have focused on making everything I promised I can and will do for the Dohertys' anniversary party. I thought I wouldn't finish! I started Saturday morning after I came back from the supermarket. I carefully planned out what dessert to do first so I can manage my time well. I must say I'm proud of what I have achieved and Ben was always checking on me to see if I'm overworking myself or if I need a hand. He even asked Chelsea, the butler's daughter to help me out last Sunday evening. I think she felt forced to help me bake the desserts as I can see she's wearing a frown all the time when she was with me. I told her to go ahead and get some sleep around 9pm as she does look tired. She did a great job on the cookies and the shortbread squares while I made the strawberry flavored macarons.

I finished baking and icing the two tiered cake before midnight last Sunday. I almost overslept Monday morning LOL. Good thing though Aunt Tilly rang me on the intercom to ask if I was going to join them for brunch and that was about 9:30am. I hurriedly got dressed and went down to the day room. This is where I saw four large ornate windows, a wide overhead skylight and numerous beautiful, multi-colored and blooming orchids surrounding a small round table with four outdoor chairs. The family were already having their tea when I sat down opposite Ben. I greeted the couple a 'good morning and happy anniversary!' and tried to fight a yawn. Aunt Tilly, the caring mom as she is, quickly served me with scrambled eggs, bacon, toast and poured me a cup of coffee. They now know I prefer my tea cold (I tried explaining what a milk tea is when I first came here because you know, it is just an Asian thing.) and that I would rather drink coffee in the morning. Uncle Ron asked if I did something stressful to which I just said I've been working on something with Chelsea last night. I didn't really want to give too much detail as it will blow the surprise plus my tongue might slip.

Ben distracted them to remind his parents that he's booked them for a lovely sightseeing trip aboard a private plane at 11am followed by a late lunch at the Savoy hotel. What surprised me was the fact that they were often too busy to go around London ever since they moved from Bristol (when Ben was still a toddler) and relocated here hence they were excited to go on a 'tour' again. He also added we'll just have a quiet dinner when they come back home. His parents instantly sped up their pace to finish their meal LOL. And a good 20 minutes later they excused themselves and left. As soon as they were gone, Ben and I went about our preparation for tonight's soiree. It's an intimate dinner party with just 50 guests, mostly family and the couple's close friends. He showed me his clipboard with notes about the seating arrangement of the guests whom they informed to come by 5:30pm. The musicians, the photographers and the catering service crew are all arriving at 2pm, and a lot more such as a cleaning company, the interior designer and his team who will transform the ballroom to look like the wedding reception way back in 1976. The color palette is pink and gold. These guys are coming by 1:30pm sharp so everyone's been busy here and there.

After we discussed the progress of my dessert-making task, we parted ways and promised to let each other know if we're going behind schedule or if we need any help. I again enlisted Chelsea's assistance to decorate the naked mini cakes with pink flowers which will then be placed in cute cream colored boxes later on. These are the giveaways for tonight. I showed her how to hand-pipe the flowers and to my surprise she got it on the first few tries! The finished product was amazing! I praised her for it and she smiled for the very first time plus she said 'thanks'. I guess it gave her a boost so when I told her that's about it, she offered to help me decorate the cake too. I gladly accepted it and showed her how to roll the fondant and also mold some hearts and some flowers to finish off the cake. We did a great job and wrapped up earlier than I predicted. After this, she still stayed to help me make the strawberry meringue nests, the apple pies and the chocolate-dipped strawberries. Fortunately there are several fridges in the kitchen so we were able to chill all of these before the party started. I don't mean to make your mouth water or anything but here you go. LOL.