The 'In Thing'

"You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough"

Mae West

On Saturday I hosted the 'In Thing' in conjunction with cancer research and in memory of my incredible mother.  Three years ago my mum was diagnosed with bowel cancer.   At the time I didn't let this worry me as she was so calm and relaxed about the whole thing that there was no doubt that she would beat it. And she did. With a few bouts of radiotherapy and an operation the cancer was gone. But a few months later on her full body check-up cancer was found in her liver, numerous bouts of radiotherapy and chemo ensued and eventually it was also found in her lungs.   Throughout all of the highs and lows my mum was dignified, she kept smiling, didn't once moan & was a pillar of strength for us all. Yes there were tears but not a day went by that she wasn't smiling or laughing.  She really was an inspiration and I am so proud to have been able to call her my mum.  Therefore,  I couldn't think of anything better to honour her memory than hosting a night she would have loved - surrounded by friends, pink champagne, Motown and pampering!!!  

I invited a group of close girl friends to mine for 7.00pm for champagne, cocktails and canapés. The flat was adorned with lilies, my mother's favourite flower, pink uplighters colour washed the walls, motown was playing and drinks were poured. I served Lychee martinis, made up by the fabulous bar company Liquid Chefs - they literally make the best cocktails in the world (and the guys there are all amazing!), if you are planning an event or holding a party, look them up! Ours certainly went down a treat....

 Wearing a Zara necklace (similar here), H&M white top, New Look coated jeans, my Zara shoes are from a few seasons ago and have sold out but there are some beauties here that I have my eye on!

Everybody had arrived by 8.00pm and so I thought it was about time to circulate some of the miniature delights that had been warming in the oven!

Belinda circulating the smoked salmon tartlets (in some very cool black pastry cases!)

Vegetable dim sum with soy dip

Squash and gruyere tartlets

There was a fine selection of squash and gruyere tartlets, smoked salmon tartlets, courgette and feta fritters and wild mushroom risotto balls, all supplied by the Wonderful Melanie's Catering & Events.  They do the most incredible canapes and parties! 

During this time our lovely therapists had arrived from Glo Salon and so with cocktails in hand, music playing, food circulating we sat down to be pampered!  

...or caught up on the week's events whilst we waited our turn...

The Glo therapists offer tailored pamper teats at home in and around London, perfect if you are hosting a girls night or even for a corporate event (who doesn't need a massage after sitting in a meeting all day?!).  They arrive just before your guests arrive, set themselves up and then they're ready to go.  Depending on the size and timings of your event they offer a variety of treatments, we went for a 30 minute treatment per guest with the choice of either a 15 minute head massage, eyebrow shaping, thai head massage, mini mani / mini pedi or 30 minutes full mani / pedi.  It was so lovely to relax in the comfort of your own home with a cocktail in hand and be pampered!!  It made the evening very special indeed! One thing to note though is that they will require a small table per therapist when they arrive to place all of their 'tools of the trade on', this is one thing that wasn't conveyed to us and slipped our minds completely!  You can find Glo here.  Go on, spoil yourself and your friends, we deserve it!

It was then time for some more filling bowl food of Teriyaki salmon on a bed of coconut rice and some of Marcelllo's (of 'The Grocer at 91') special spaghetti bolognese...

And if we could fit anything else in, for dessert there were brownies, rocky road and a nice little Pick & Mix station...

Once everybody was sufficiently content, nails painted, eyebrows shaped, we played a good few rounds of Pictionary, which we were actually all pretty good at!  Then I announced the winner of the raffle...

We played a few more quizzes and laughed and laughed until we burst!

It really was the most incredible evening in, I was surrounded by some of my closest friends whose friendship is invaluable, especially over the past year, and it couldn't have been a nicer evening.

Overall, just from hosting one evening at home with friends and the generosity and love of many, my Just Giving page soared to a whopping £1,535.00!!  

Totally overwhelming!

As the night drew to a close, and our stomachs ached from laughing, everybody left with a little goodie bag to remember the evening in, and a thank you note with where to donate to...

Every November Cancer Research promote taking part in the 'In Thing' so next year why don't you get your closest girls round for a wonderful evening in.  In November it really is 'The In Thing'!

Info here (and if you're feeling especially generous my Just Giving page is here!)

I finished the evening, snuggled in bed between my two bests where we talked and giggled into the early hours......

A truly perfect night in.

K x