Everything down to the logo on the water carafes had to be perfect. I mean it’s only once that the guest of honor (and your best friend of 20 years) moves to New York to follow her dream of pursuing a career in fashion. Knowing Lynsey as someone who appreciates tablescapes almost more than the food itself, I started thinking up the flowers, dishes and tablecloths long before I nailed down the menu.
I was inspired by these very unassuming chopping boards from IKEA. I wanted to serve family style so I picked up two to hold the bread and dipping oil in the center of the table. Everything cascaded from there. I used my vintage crystal tumblers for water juxtaposed with my mom’s mason jars for wine. Her gold wedding flatware paired with a 1950’s crocheted table cloth was made not too sweet by a burlap runner. I hit up the San Francisco Flower Mart to create the arrangements. This wholesale dream was called the “best flower market in the country” by Martha Stewart Living and it really is. You can buy everything from single stems to huge bundles of the most exotic greenery imaginable. It is by far the most affordable way to create your own arrangements.
The final product was exactly how I imagined it to be. Everything came through to tell the story of both Lynsey and my personalities. She and I have come along way since wanting to paint clouds on our ceilings like a Pottery Barn Kids catalog circa 1998. We have matured away from anything cookie cutter and share a love for vintage dishes, gold rimmed anything and ethereal flower arrangements mixed with rustic accents.
The menu needed to be just as thoughtful. We run in a circle of real eaters. You won’t hear any “dressing on the side” or juice cleanse nonsense in our group. I wanted to incorporate grilling, watermelon and pasta salad onto the menu and it worked out to be this…
Menu:
- Cheese Platter
- Warm Fennel-and-Parmesan Dip
- Watermelon, Tomato, Strawberry Salad with Basil and Balsamic Glaze
- Pea and Pesto Pasta Salad
- Salmon Kebabs with Onion, Lemon and Bell Pepper
- Steak Kebabs with Pineapple, Onion, Bell Pepper
- Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
This dinner was a true representation of our friendship – our combined group of family and friends laughing around the table, knowing no limits to the amount of wine consumed. After a couple glasses of wine we toasted to Lynsey which prompted a ‘speech’ about our friendship, a moment I’ll always hold dear. Lynsey and I met when we were eight and six years old. The two and a half year age gap between us, never attending the same school and relocating to different cities for our college years would all be understandable reasons to grow apart. The imaginative games of rock babies and spy kits morphed into the years where one of us was a cool high-schooler and the other was very awkward 7th grader who looked alarmingly like Chelsea Clinton. I went to live in Spain and Lynsey was working as a nanny. There were years when I was still in college and Lynsey was living in the big city. Yet through the ugly years, the Abercrombie and Fitch mini skirts with Uggs, the loves and losses, we always remained the best of friends. We merged our groups of friends through annual Tahoe trips titled “I Drink, I Smoke” and eventually the age gap became indistinguishable and two small girls became women.
I’ve been so lucky to have had Lynsey Rose as my best friend and confidant for two decades. We have shared something most people will never know – what it’s like to grow separately without growing apart. So here is to my best friend. May you accomplish everything you dream out there. May New York be kind to you. And I hope you know there is a dinner table in California surrounded by family and friends that will always have a glass of wine waiting.
Recipes: Warm Fennel-and-Parmesan Dip /// Pea and Pesto Pasta Salad /// Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting