Preparations for the Fete

BonJouR!

Ah!

I remember six years ago today...John and I were in full blown stress mode! Petit Soleil was scheduled to open on February 13 and we were sold out for that first holiday weekend. We had a staircase and upstairs walkways, but no railings anywhere. All the ironwork was delayed because everyone thought the other person was ordering ir, thus no one had ordered it. Without the railing we couldn't open....SSSTTRRREESSSS!!! I was running all over town looking for last minute trinkets and lamps, soap dishes, cool baskets for towels etc...John was frantically planting geraniums in the window boxes and primroses in the flowerbeds. We were testing light bulbs and recipes, telephones and TVs...We were in labor about to give birth to Petit Soleil!

Birth. Not a painful one, but definitely a confused one. Our son, Andrew,was just 15 and was painfully trying to learn how wait the tables and serve breakfast. His head down, hands clenched within his apron pockets, a tiny voice coming out of his huge football player body. Our daughter, Annie, 13 and dreadfully shy, wouldn't even come out of the kitchen. She flipped the pancakes, and plated the quiche, and did dishes but would not pop her head out to even greet a guest. I was totally overwhelmed by the extreme multi -tasking and John was in Hospitality Heaven greeting the guests, making reservations and yaking with everyone. It was a bit of a Cirque du Petit Soleil!

Fast forward....Andrew is now a server extraordinaire - breakfast, wine, appetizers and, when home from college, he bakes, does all the maintenance work and cleans carpets. Annie would rather be on the floor talking with the guests and telling them about all the local running trails than in the kitchen doing dishes. She watches
Food TV, even at her apartment at UCSC, and calls me with ideas for new recipes for appetizers and muffins and coffee cakes. John is still Mr. Hospitality and I am still the extreme multi task-er. We have joyfully adopted Cole as our alter-ego, aka manager! She has stepped up the plate and is helping Petit grow and thrive. It is easier parenting Petit Soleil now more than ever!!

I share all this because we are happily planning our anniversary party or FETE! We have invited some fabulous young artists to make this event really special! Emilie Morris (emiliem.etsy.com) has made for us some charming little banners, stars and table decorations out of old French newspapers, dictionaries and glitter. Jenny Mallott (liveartfullymagazine.com) is making some truly cute little mementos with the menus and recipes of dishes we will be serving over the long weekend. Kortney Larson is a Cal Poly Graphic Arts student and she designed our event announcements and Christina Carroll will be showing her incredible multi media art pieces that will dazzle our dining room!

Cole and I have been going over recipes and choosing special wines for this weekend. All of us look forward to this Petit new year, to a new thriving economy and to happy days ahead.

Cheers!
Dianne