A Haunted Gingerbread House

What happens when many creative minds come together? It's actually quite funny! Earlier this week I was invited to an event hosted by Executive Chef, a company that creates team building events inspired by their passion for great food.

I had no idea what to expect when I arrived at the Ferry Building in San Francisco on that sunny Monday with my lovely Production Lead Amanda. We were given name badges, a chef's hat, and a red apron and instructed to start at the wine tasting station to taste a variety of local wines.

Who can resist good wine on a beautiful day? We spent the first half hour enjoying hors d'oeurves and wine while meeting new friends and hanging out with old buddies in the industry. Soon after, we were asked to divide up into groups to compete--in a GINGERBREAD HOUSE MAKING CONTEST! The theme was to be 'HAUNTED HALLOWEEN'.

I grew up loving the Hansel and Gretel story, and have admired numerous gingerbread houses from hotel displays, restaurants, etc...but never had I built my own gingerbread house. This was indeed going to be a challenge!

Our team was led by the incredibly creative Sue Meylan of the Julia Morgan Ballroom, who showed us how to build the 'basic structure' of a gingerbread house. I am also quite proud to say that my brilliant assistant Amanda, who is an architect as well as planner, was just as intelligent and creative on this project! She dove right in, along with Sue, and used wafers as roof shingles and pretzel sticks and gummies as trees! Kathleen Kirkpatrick, Director of Events at Villa Montalvo, was in charge of the landscaping of the front yard and she did a superb job! I was into the smaller details, creating a worm with several green gummies and black food coloring and a rat that ended up looking more like a beetle. We had a ton of fun!!

In the end, Neil Adams of Blueprint Studios and the girls from the Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco took the trophy home with their very haunted gingerbread house along with a graveyard! They did a fantastic job and totally deserved it!

If you're looking to host a party, such as bridal shower or bachelorette party, you should definitely consider Executive Chefs. They can custom-create a culinary adventure for you and your friends, and really make it a fun and unique experience. It's a very effective way for people to quickly bond with one another!

Here are a series of photos of our culinary adventure that afternoon!


This is a photo showing all our 'props' to build the gingerbread house!

Kathleen, Sue, and Amanda hard at work on our masterpiece!


Half way into the competition.....our house was starting to come together


Let me just say....building a gingerbread house is not an easy thing to do!


Okay, so it does look a little 'messy', but we were racing against the clock! I thought
the spider was a fabulous touch, which was from food coloring. Brilliant Amanda!


See my worm? And the rat with the red tail that looks like a beetle?

Viola! Our finished masterpiece, from both sides! Notice the antenna on the rooftop?


And here's the winning graveyard.....though weren't we suppose to build a house? :)

Blog-tag!

My good friend and colleague Jewel Savadelis blog tagged me, and tells me that it's like the children's game of tag where someone says "Tag, You're It!" and you have to do a blog posting on the topics below:

What I Did Today
1. Met a lovely couple who just got engaged and is looking to hire a Wedding Coordinator
2. Drove up to San Francisco together with my good friend Jean Marks
3. Competed in a 'Haunted Gingerbread House' competition hosted by Executive Chefs

4. Drew turtles and dogs with my daughter Bridgette

To-Do List

1. Take a vacation to the Maldives

2. Get a facial

3. Start an exercise routine

4. Take Bridgette to Knotts Berry Farm

Guilty Pleasures

1. Banana Split at Baskin Robbins

2. Omakase at Sushi Sam

3. Papijump game on my iphone

4. Lipstick Jungle

Random Facts About Me

1. I lived in Nampa, Idaho during my elementary school years
2. My first pet was a guinea pig named Sunshine
3. Issey Miyake perfume makes me sneeze
4. My favorite cartoon character is Hello Kitty

I am now tagging:

Jean Marks
Augie Chang
Geoff White
Nancy Liu Chin

Ending the Season with a BANG!

I just realized that for the past several years, I've ended my wedding season with a wedding at the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay. Funny how that happened, but it is definitely one of my favorite places to work at! This year, my final wedding for the season was Emily and Danny's and boy, it was one of the most complex but spectacular weddings I've ever done!

As a planner, I follow the weather reports a lot, especially during the fall and winter season. Weather can really affect an event, even if it is not being held outdoors. It can affect flights at the airport, local traffic, and other components crucial to the success of a fabulous wedding. For this particular weekend, it was especially imperative to be aware of the weather ahead of time. All week long, the reports predicted rain, rain, and more rain. I spent many hours pow-wowing with my partners for this event to creatively devise a Plan B and Plan C. By Friday at rehearsal, we were almost certain that it will rain on Saturday and we would need to go to Plan B but the clients took great comfort in knowing we had such a solid backup plan in place. We all continued to pray that night.

Sometimes, I really think there is a Wedding God up there....watching out for those sweet brides to make sure their wedding doesn't get rained on. All night Friday and the morning of Saturday, there were showers in Half Moon Bay, but right when we were ready to make the final weather call at noon, the skies completely cleared up! We courageously and excitedly decided to go with Plan A, allowing the couple to have their dream ceremony right by the coast. Just when Emily got ready to walk down the aisle, the sun came out!

The gazebo at the Ritz-Carlton was draped in stunning satin green fabric, with a cluster of lanterns hanging from center. Nancy Liu Chin flanked the 'altar' area with two beautiful and lush arrangements, full of hydrangeas, dahlias, roses, and orchids.

The dinner was held in the grand ballroom, which was completely draped in champagne fabric by John Woods of Enhanced Lighting. Square and rectangular lanterns hung above the dance floor which had a bamboo pattern projected across it. A combination of round tables, queens' tables and king's table filled the room and Nancy again did her magic with the striking centerpieces and square votives. The focal point of the room was the 24 x 16 stage featuring The Cheeseballs!

After dinner, the band quickly got the party started but for those that were not interested in dancing they hung out by the scrapbook table next to the photobooth. The biggest WOW factor came when the dessert buffet was set out, featuring custom desserts such as Green Tea Panna Cotta, Matcha Tea Creamy Coconut Tapioca, Candied Lychee, Passion Mango Gel, Almost Infused Creme Brulee, Earl Grey Chocolate Cake, French Macaroons, and many more! As if that wasn't enough for everyone's sweet tooth, they got to devour the delicious wedding cake that was in three different flavors!

This wedding definitely ended my season with a bang. I can now look forward to my upcoming trip to Hong Kong and Japan, AND the planning of more fabulous events for 2009!

Kudos to a really hard working, dedicated, and creative team for this amazing wedding:

Hair and Makeup--Taylor Pham
Photographer--Lisa Leigh
Cinematographer--Chuck and Jewel Savadelis
Lighting and Draping--John Woods of Enhanced Lighting
Wedding Cake--Elegant Cheesecakes
Photobooth--Photoboof!
All food and beverages--Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay
Floral Designer--Nancy Liu Chin
Paper Goods--Peculiar Pair Press
Officiant--Heron Freed Toor
Band--The Cheeseballs
String Quartet--Nob Hill Ensembles

Thank you Lisa for the 'sneak preview' of your fabulous photos. I will definitely post more later!

Let the Fall Begin

For the past two weekends, I had weddings at the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon bay, one of my favorite places in the Bay Area. I never mind the 45 minute drive there, as I love to enjoy the mountains and coastal scenery along the way. At this time of the year, it is especially inviting because of all the pumpkin patches being set up, officially welcoming the fall season!

Autumn is such an enchanting time of the year, transitioning us from summer to winter. For those of you that have never made a trip to the famous Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival, you should definitely not miss out again this year!

Mark your calendars--October 18th and 19th, 2008!

This is the 38th year of the festival, where couples, families, and friends join together for the 'special display of massive weigh-off champion pumpkins, the remarkable “Picasso of pumpkin carvers” sculpting and shaping a monster 1,000+ pound pumpkin, three stages of blockbuster entertainment, everyone's favorite home-spun parade, harvest-inspired crafts, the tastiest pumpkin pie on the planet, enchanting events and contests for the whole family, and the never-ending search for the Great Pumpkin waiting to be picked from one of the rustic pumpkin patches dotting the coast.'

The Festival hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and admission is free, but you may want to consider getting there before 9 a.m. to avoid a very congested Highway 92. It's worth the drive (and the traffic) though, as it really is a very spectacular event!