My birthday was this past weekend and I turned the big 3.0. Because my birthday is in October, I had a spooky Baroque Romance themed birthday dinner that served as a funeral for my youth. My 20’s were a great time (besides like, this whole year) and they deserved a proper send off.
Turning 30 is depressing, turning 30 during a pandemic and 2 weeks away from an insane election is even more depressing. I know I know all of you over 30 are going to tell me otherwise. I’m not sure I can totally trust it yet. Getting emotional over turning 30 was not something I thought would happen to me, but not being able to be with everyone I love was hard. I hated having a guest list and feeling like I was picking a myspace top 8. I miss the real world and I want to be with all my friends, inside and not cold. But with all that aside, I was still able to have a gorgeous and intimate death to my youth themed dinner party, safe and outside in my friend’s amazing backyard. The party was tons of fun, and woke up the next day feeling like maybe my 30’s won’t be so bad afterall.
The Dinner
Pesto and Cheese Stuffed Shells in a Pumpkin Vodka Sauce, a Harvest Salad (recipe here!), and a Spooky Charcuterie Board were served for dinner. For the cake I made a Chocolate Devil’s Food Cake with Raspberry Filling and Chocolate Dripping Ganache (recipes coming soon!) At first I wasn’t sure how the vodka would mesh with the pumpkin in the stuffed shells, but it turned out so creamy and good. Perfectly full of autumn flavors.
The cake was to die for, literally. It was so rich and delicious. I made a “homemade devil’s food cake” and filled it with raspberry preserves and vanilla buttercream. The cake was left partially naked and I added a dripping chocolate ganache to add to the gothic feel. The cake was topped with black bacarra roses.
The Cocktail
For the cocktail I made what I like to call the “Libra Smokeshow”. I wanted a cocktail with a deep red color that was also a little smoky. I mixed mezcal, chambord, pomegranate juice, lemon juice, honey and topped it with a little ginger beer. For added drama I added dry ice to make it smoke.
The Decor
I wanted the party to have a spooky feel but not feel like Halloween. The funeral for my 20’s was centered around a Baroque Romance theme. Everything was black, deep red, gold and ornate. Black bacarra roses were made into bouquets in assorted brass vases. 2 black candelabras were added to the table with black taper candles to add to the Baroque feel.
I made the menus using a handmade paper that had flicks of dried rose petals in it. Each plate was adorned with a gold charger and black baccara rose. Smoke colored Libbey goblets and coupes were used for drinks.
After the dinner, a large fire was made to help with the chilly October air and blankets were passed around. It was super cozy. At the end of the night there was even a small dance party after many glasses of natural wine… It was a birthday I soon won’t forget and I thank my friends for making it so special.
As always you can follow WhatKnot Events for all the details on our recent picnics and parties! We’re now accepting booking requests for intimate holiday parties.
