My Grandmother’s 80th Birthday Party

On Friday night I had the pleasure of celebrating my grandmother’s 80th birthday with dinner and a lovely family gathering afterwards.  Her husband and all three daughters were there to celebrate the milestone along with four of her five grand children. It was an absolutely wonderful night and I am so thankful to have such a wonderful Memé, our affectionate name for my maternal grandmother. 

After half an hour of cocktails the 30 guests took seats at four large tables and enjoyed a delicious three course meal.  We were able to choose our dishes ahead of time and I ordered the apple pecan salad, the prime rib of beef with horseradish, and the home sweet apple pie with vanilla ice cream. All three courses were divine. 

My favorite part of the evening was when each of my family members stood up and spoke about one of their favorite memories of my grandmother. One aunt spoke about candle making as a child, another about my grandmother’s favorite sayings, my cousin about learning how to pickle and my grandfather about hitchhiking across three state lines to see her for a weekend while they were dating.  All the stories had one thing in common – my grandmother is very loved!

When it was my turn I shared story about how my Memé reads Sparkles and Shoes.  I have shared on social media before some of her very witty responses to my posts but for background, she subscribes to the blog every day by email and then emails me back with what she thought about the post. Most of the time she does not agree with the latest fashion trend I am writing about or has some humorous insight on the topic of the day but two weeks ago she had a response that topped them all, “Giant Hugs and Have a Great Day and don’t let the Bastards get you down!!” This is a classic Meme comment and one I love.  And that is all you really need to know about my grandmother – she is the best! 

Happy Birthday Memé!