Hen Party
There is nothing quite like a night out with your girlfriends. Getting yourself all dolled up, wearing your fancy pants, high heeling it and grooving the night away before heading home elegantly, maybe with just a slight stumble or two in said high heels. It's a beautiful thing.
The obligatory night out with your girls before you get married can be a little tired and cheezy, let's be honest. Luckily my girls are all class, we had a truly fabulous night. I found myself to be one very happy Hen.
I was incredibly spoilt by my bridesmaids. One of my amazing ladies handled most of the organising - from the activities to the decorations, including the Audrey Hepburn VIP passes. She came up with a brilliant idea that was fun for everyone and really true to who I am. I cannot thank Peta enough for this, she's truly one of the brightest beauties on this planet. I feel blessed to have her in my life and cherish her friendship.
This night made me realised how lucky I am to have such an incredible group of friends. Beyond my amazing bridesmaids, I find myself surrounded by intelligent, caring, stunning, hilarious ladies who enrich my life more than they'll ever know.
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Our night started at my house, where we delighted in Moët and Strawberries. It was a hot night, really sticky and muggy. Let me tell you, I am now officially against wearing my hair out on my wedding day.
We then had a mini bus take us to our destination, over the Bolte Bridge to factory land, where Harriet informed me that we were in fact getting our forklifting licences - win!! You see until I arrived, I had no idea what my girls had planned for the night. This made it such a fun mystery! Unfortunately we weren't getting our forklifting licences - that will have to wait for another girls night out. No, we were about to experience...
A Cooking Demo Dinner Party!!
Isn't that the best idea for a Hens night? I'm sure fellow foodies will agree. Raw Materials put on a great show - they were super relaxed and friendly yet very professional. I would definitely recommend this experience to others!
Peta had set up the table beforehand in a truly beautiful fashion. From the fresh flowers she picked up at Camberwell Market that morning, to the polka dot lolly bag place settings. Stunning. Perfection. We expect nothing less form Peta, though, she's divine (remember the dinner party she threw? Gorgeous).
Group shot!
Before heading inside for some Tapas: mushroom, chorizo and onion on toasted garlicy bread, with a prosciutto wrapped asparagus spear. Absolutely delicious. There were some other bites there, yet I found myself focussed on these two delights.
Clearly I was enjoying myself. I was thrilled to be able to satisfy my craving for chorizo, which I've had ever since tuning into Nigella Lawson, the goddess, before falling asleep at night. Nigella is a huge fan of this paprika log, and ours was pretty darn fantastic.
P.S. I had a sash. It was special.
Then the main event!
The Paella was jam-packed full of chorizo, chicken, fish, prawns and mussels! Plus a scattering of pretty, pert peas and vibrant capsicum. Such a feast for the eyes.
We ended on a perfect little pot of Creme Catalana, which is essentially a Spanish creme brûlée and was undoubtedly scrumptious. This was my first taste of this beautiful dish, and with prominent citrus hits, it was truly love. Love.
Tapas + girls night = a seriously fabulous, successful equation.
After dinner we did a little quiz. De, one of my beautiful bridesmaids, is still overseas and hence could not join in the fun. She did, however, create a little quiz for me. De asked Ben a variety of questions and if I got one wrong, I had to do a tequila shot. Tricky business, ladies.
It was all rather hilarious. When asked who his celebrity pass was (i.e. which celebrity he would have a 'free pass' to sleep with should they ever meet), Ben didn't quite understand the question. Believing a celebrity pass to mean 'which celebrity he'd love to hang out with', my man answered "Michael Jordan". True story. He cracks me up. So yeah, I got that one wrong. I got a fair share wrong, but luckily the shots were diluted. Clearly they feared I'd end up on the floor too soon.
Dinner, drinks and a quiz - how fun is that? And there wasn't a single hint of Penis Paraphernalia in sight.
Oh hang on, yes there was...in the form of a Penis Piñata. Ben jokingly sent an online link to Peta a while ago, and she ended up buying it. Awesome.
I broke the bat.
This guy was filled with mini Nerds and Freedo Frogs, score! I developed a new-found appreciation for mini nerds that night.
It was truly the best Penis Piñata a girl could ask for.
Here's a sneaky video for those of you keen to see my athleticism. As my friend Bear pointed out, all those years of Rounders in primary school came in handy. As did my shoe.
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We then piled back into the mini bus, lolly bags in tow,
and headed to The Night Cat and then LuWow on Johnston St for dancing! LuWow was all kinds of awesome - with Hawaiian decor, a screen playing retro movies and Go-Go dancers on pedestals, I found myself in a very happy space for the short while we visited. I am so keen to head back there - pure Hawaiian retro fab. It doesn't get any cooler than that.
And with that I headed home, with a stash of mini nerds in my clutch and without a hint of a stumble. Ok maybe just a little.
To all my ladies, in particular my beautiful bridesmaids and notably Miss Peta Gorgeous Face, thank you. A million times, thank you. I'm the luckiest Hen there ever was.