Let the Party Begin....

So we wanted to have a little birthday bash for Miss Mia, one more heavy on adults with only a couple of the kids of close friends invited (we will have plenty of future birthdays full of a dozen kids hyped up on sugar or, as Jasper calls it, Baby Cocaine...) Since her actual birthday was on Wednesday we could have had the party on either the Saturday before or after....that is, if we lived in the U.S. If you want to really spook out a German, wish them a Happy Birthday anytime before the actual date. This will be like cursing them forever with very bad luck. A couple of years ago, when my birthday was on a Monday, I decided to celebrate on the Sunday before. "No one can really that rule all that seriously," I thought. "Besides I'm an American, so it doesn't count for me." Needless to say, most of the German guests flipped out. One woman ran over to me, wide-eyed, and apologized profusely for having wished me Happy Birthday because she didn't know my birthday was actually tomorrow. Another friend gave me my birthday present but flat out refused to give me any birthday well wishes "I just can't do it," he said. And as for the other Germans, several of them called me the next year to say Happy Birthday on the 15th instead of the 16th. To them, that I had actually celebrated a day earlier just didn't seem possible....

Anyway, I didn't dare leave Mia to the mercy of the bad-luck birthday fairy, so her little birthday soiree was yesterday at 3 o'clock. Here are some behind the scenes photographs before the little party started:


Of course, we cleaned the apartment. Here's my desk looking waaaayyyy less messy than usual, believe you me.


The carrot cake I made for her. The recipe was from the U.S. so I used half the amount of sugar they said to use. Basically no German can handle "American sweet" and, frankly, after living her for ten years, neither can I.


Chopping tomatoes for a most delicious homemade salsa fresca.


But we didn't want to slave away for hours in the kitchen so we also offered delicious spreads from Knofi, a Turkish specialty shop in Berlin (the one on Bergmannstrasse).


...as well as some of their tasty dolmas and olives.


Thank goodness I got all that new silverware at Sage Patch and the Alameda Point Flea Market when I was in California. We're going to need them today.


As usual, there were some vintage finds floating around, waiting to be photographed and posted, like this Arzberg tea cup and cake plate set, hand-painted and signed in 1952, which I will soon be offering for sale in Schaufenster....


...and, hiding shyly behind the door, this truly amazing 80s prom dress which will soon make its grand debut in Curious Knopf


This necklace is also the first in a new series of jewelry I am making from vintage 1940s Bakelite which will soon also be for sale in Curious Knopf. But sorry folks, this first one is mine-all-mine. ;)


Since all of our guests were fashionably late, I caught Jasper pigging out on the salsa before they arrived. After I had given him a good scolding he said "Hey, I know what....


....why don't we take macro photographs of each others eyes."


Have I ever mentioned how much I love this man?


The cake's on the table, the salsa's half eaten, the balloons are all over the apartment. Let the party begin. That is, whenever the guests decide to arrive! (and of course they eventually did and boy did we ever have fun. :) )