My Mom's 90th Birthday Weekend

This weekend, the 29th, my Mom, Lorraine turned 90. I made an invitation with the cover having the above photo of her as little girl on it.  She looked great then and looks great now!  Every Friday afternoon a bunch of special ladies that live in the same apartment building that my parents live in meet in the party room.  Someone is always bring something to eat.

A few weeks ago I hung the invitation in a decorated envelope on all the ladies front door.  The invitation said to save the date and that I was going to host this last Friday's ladies 
get-together and requested they show up a little early so we could all surprise Lorraine! (Of course I had to make an envelope for Lorraine so she could see what I had done.)

I arrived early so I could decorate the table, get the Cava open and the hors d'oeuvres ready.  My good friend Suzy heard what I was up to earlier in the week and said, "I want to crash Lorraine's party!"  Of course I said "YES", but she had to bring an hors d'oeuvre. 

I served Shrimp Cakes with a Mayo Sriracha Sauce and Suzy made her yummy Mushroom Croustades.  By the way, I am back to working on my appetizer cookbook and this Shrimp Cake recipe will be in the book. 

When my mom entered the party room and saw all of us sitting around the decorated table, she said she almost fainted from surprise.

Katie and Bianca and

Betty and Maddie.  Just some of the ladies in the group.
The celebration continued on Sunday, her actual birthday, where we went to Suzy's backyard barbecue at noon.  It was a beautiful day and Suzy and Fred put out a fabulous spread.

 

On to Capital Grill in downtown Denver on Larimer Square that evening for dinner.  
She looks magnificent at 90! 

Capital Grill is one of my favorite places to dine.  The table was decorated little mylar balloons and along with a birthday card for Lorraine.  The service was outstanding (thank you Sarah) and we received a few special perks.  Complimentary champagne and a little amuse bouche to start with and then at the end of our meal, this delicious dessert plate with the decedent flourless chocolate cake on the left and a scrumptious creamy cheesecake on the right.

It was a gorgeous evening and a beautiful ending to the birthday weekend.  Lorraine received numerous phone calls, birthday wishes on my Facebook page, cards, flowers and some great gifts.  Thank you everyone for making my Mom's 90th birthday a special one!