Red Hats, Fudge Cake and Ferris Wheels

RED HATS

 

When my friend and former neighbor, Sharon French, invited me to attend her Red Hat Society group’s luncheon scheduled for October 23 at the Lasker Inn in Galveston, I couldn’t imagine a better way to spend my birthday. She assured me that, as a guest, I didn’t need to wear a purple dress and red hat (their signature attire), but why would I not??? I already had a purple dress from the Masquerade Ball I attended in September (read the post: Dancing the Night Away), so I immediately set about ordering a red hat for the occasion, and wasn’t disappointed, as you can see in the photo.

 

I had a great time meeting all of Sharon’s “red hat” friends, eating a fabulous lunch in the elegant dining room (shown front to back on the left are Sharon's daughter, Cheryl, Sharon, and me) and touring the beautifully restored 1870s mansion. 

 

 

FUDGE CAKE

 

But my birthday celebrating didn’t stop there. I moved on to celebration #2—a party for three. My friend, Coral Beach, was born on October 21, and my sister, Charlotte Dillard, arrived two years and three days after me, on October 26. How could we let this coincidence slip by without notice? So we headed out the next morning for Old Town Spring, just north of Houston, blessed with gloriously cool fall weather, for a fun day of shopping in quaint little stores and eating at Wunsche Brothers Café, which is housed in an old saloon.

 

We topped off our lunch with some yummy desserts, Texas Fudge Cake for Charlotte and me, and Coconut Cream Pie for Coral. (That's Coral on the left and Charlotte on the right.) In the absence of champagne glasses, we clinked our dessert plates together for a toast and sang a rousing round of “Happy Birthday to Us”! It was a wonderful day with two special birthday buddies!

 

 

FERRIS WHEELS

 

I thought I was finally done celebrating this year’s birthday—until two more friends, Carolyn Gandara and Rosemary Sharp, called with another invitation for shopping and eating (does life get any better than that???)—but this time at the Kemah Boardwalk and adjacent Lighthouse shopping district. The photo at left shows me and Carolyn out in front of Landry’s Restaurant, where we all stuffed ourselves with delicious seafood during lunch. But the “icing on the cake” (so to speak) was the warm cinnamon bread pudding, topped with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and Bananas Foster sauce. YUM!!! I’m still dreaming about that dessert—and it wasn’t even chocolate!! Could there be more dessert surprises in my future? Let’s hope so!!

 

But the fun didn’t stop there; another thrill was waiting right outside the restaurant. As we left, I spotted one of those giant Ferris Wheels (see the post: It’s the Little Things That Count) and just couldn’t resist taking a spin. Here we are, going round and round on that great big wheel, high above the bay, on a gorgeous sunny day.

Above right are me and Carolyn and on the left are Rosemary and Carolyn.

 

How fun is that???

 

Thank you ladies for a super-special birthday week!!!