To many parties and not enough time to document them!

Last weekend was Labor Day weekend and Frank and I did some morning chores before getting ready, packing Mason and the new baby up to go to my friend Vanessa's home for her BBQ Pool Party.

Vanessa and her husband Johnny have a fabulous Eichler Home with a pool in back. They have a few classic cars, including a deuce hot rod being worked on by another friend of ours, Johnny. Their home is so full of vintage Hawaiiana and 1950s Kitsch, she almost doesn't have room to display it all. Vanessa is a new blogger, like me and you can see her blog which documents some of the great finds she gets. Visit her at Adventures in Serendipity .

Here is a photo of Vanessa in front of the giant fish on their living room wall

Frank and Buddy in the shirt I bought Frank for $1 in Vegas

Bad Social Blogger that I am, I failed to take many photos of the party, which is a shame. There were 2 other Chihuahua guests, as well as Vanessa's own Moose and Dollie. 

Rachelle arrived after just finding out she is going to have a baby boy in February. You can follow her blog here at La Dolce Vita. It was also her 30th birthday so I brought a large burnt almond cake from a local bakery called "Dick's." 

For anyone who is outside of the Santa Clara Valley, I need to explain about Dick's burnt almond cake. Dick's is a family owned bakery, and the owner, Dick, learned how to make burnt almond cake from his brother Peter. Peter owns a bakery on the east side of San Jose, called Peter's. I know...the pun is inescapable...Dick and Peter. Dick opened Dick's on the west side, and both bakeries are known for their Burnt Almond cakes.  Living in San Jose, you are either a Peter's or a Dick's person. I prefer Dick's because he uses slivered almonds instead of finely chopped almonds that Peter uses on the outside of his cakes.

There were a few Dick's virgins who were from outside of the area. I love watching people taste these cakes for the first time. 

Back to the party...I brought the cake primarily as a decoy. Tanya and I had planned a surprise party for Rachelle the next day!

Before I talk about the surprise party...here is a quick photo of my outfit for the party. I love this dress, classic new look with a nipped waist and I love the scalloped neckline, pockets and edge of the matching bolero. I bought it from the shop I still work part time at, Time Zone Vintage in San Jose

The surprise party was something Tanya and I had been planning for over a month. We asked our friend Johnny of Kool Cats Kustoms if we could have it at his shop. Johnny, being a nice guy said of course! 

These had to be moved out of the shop for the party

 

 Tanya with balloons next to the big sign

The tables

 

I ordered a chocolate cake with a leopard pattern design in the frosting

 

 For a little background, Rachelle is a HUGE planner. She is very organized and does not like surprises. Tanya and I took full advantage of her being "Momtarded" during her pregnancy to pull this off. She thought she was going to see her parents but was stopping by a BBQ at Johnny's just to say "hi" before going to her parents. She didn't have a clue!

Rachelle when we opened the door to the Garage

Rachelle didn't like her hat

I still have a sucky camera, so here is the best photo of Rachelle about to blow out 30 candles

For someone who doesn't like surprises, she didn't seem to mind this one and was really touched that we went to the effort to coordinate and have this party. We had BBQ chicken, burgers, hot dogs, chips and nacho cheese, salsa, all kinds of salads, etc. The food was set up on Johnny's car lift. I wish I'd gotten a photo of that, too. Next time!