By Invitation only.....join us at my dinner table!

Good morning friends! You are in for such a fun and wonderful treat today....I loved this idea and what fun it was putting this eclectic group of my "new friends" together! As you by now know, once a month the group I am a part of "By invitation only" (brainchild of marvelous Marsha of Splenderosa)  gets together and posts on a common theme. Its such fun to see how we each interpret this theme or event. 
So this months theme was creating our own 'fantasy dinner party" with any ten people in the world, dead or alive, but no relatives and God can't be invited. (because he is always there and always invited anyway:)  When I was told about our theme this month,  I knew right off the bat a few invitees without having to even think about it, but then I had to really ponder the rest of this guest list. I mean I want it to be an interesting mix, a group of people I personally would love to get to know better, people I have questions for and am intrigued by, and of course an eclectic enough group that it would make for one heck of an interesting night..and you better believe it will!
Here's a sneak peak of the dinner table.......

Where?In the middle of a vineyard because to me, that's kind of the ultimate dinner party. Casual, relaxed but elegant.  And with this swanky group I want no distractions and no gawkers. I want everyones undivided attention and of course a beautiful setting only enhances the evening!  I will naturally be able to custom order the weather, and it will be high 60's- low 70's, zero humidity, and clear skies as everyone arrives. As dinner starts getting served, we will be blessed with the most glorious sunset and enjoy fabulous food, wine and lively conversation under the stars. This fete will go on until the sun starts rising.......needless to say, it will be some night!
So here's who's going to be seated at my table and a little background on why I chose them!

Nancy Meyers......Because in my next life I want her life..we think so much alike, if I was directing movies, I swear every movie set would look just like hers do! Thanks to her brilliant vision, I know exactly how I want my future cafe/bakery to look, how I would want my California and Hamptons homes decorated, exactly where I want to stay with my family on a NYC weekend. Nancy....you so "have it going on". And I will use this get together to see if a partnership might be in the cards :

Ralph Fiennes...... He has been a secret crush ever since I saw him in The English Patient (I think I may have seen it a dozen times) he is such a gentleman, regally/old fashioned  handsome, somewhat mysterious, and charming without trying too hard. Besides, any actor who steers clear of the Hollywood "scene" gets major brownie points in my book! He strikes me as  intelligent, decent and supremely talented. Plus I want to hear that British accent!

Ludwig Van Beethoven..... His music always haunts me but in a good way, Moonlight Sonata continues to be one of my all time favorites, and when people talk about music "moving them" I am pretty sure Beethoven's reign over classical music has something to do with that. I loved the movie "Immortal Beloved" with Gary Oldman (bought the CD  and DVD)  and still blast his CD's in my car much to my kids horror, when I am feeling particularly dramatic or dreamy. Plus full disclosure, I wonder as I  know thousands of others do, who was he really thinking of when he penned "Immortal beloved"?

Albert Einstein........ Because I have always been fascinated with this man, I mean putting his rocking hairdo aside....  to think all of that intelligence was in ONE brain. I really enjoyed reading his
autobiography a few years ago.  And just admit it- every one of you wants to run your hand through that dollop of white hair on his head! I want to hear how he thinks, what he feels, what ignites his fire, what he thinks about our world today, etc.......

Julia Child Who else could take the place of the unofficial live wire of our soiree? A larger than life character, I hope she might come early to give me a few tips in the kitchen! Besides, anyone who broke the rules and tore down gender barriers as she so successfully did and won the French over, is someone I can learn a lot from! I can hear her boisterous laugh now, it would fill the room with such a warm and positive energy, heck.....Ludwig might even warm up to her! 

Bono...first his music is AMAZING. Maybe he will indulge us with an impromptu performance? A mixer with Ludwig perhaps? Now that would be incredible!  Putting his brilliant music aside, and too many hits to name, I respect him for the humanitarian and crusader that he is. He has certainly made it "cool" to make your mark in this world and I have a great amount of respect for him!

Princess Diana......do you really need a reason? This beautiful person, inside and out embodied elegance, grace, dignity, compassion, empathy, humility and peace. I so admired her and was saddened to hear how she had been so unhappy for years. It was so uplifting to see her happy again towards the end....I know she is missed by so many. I want Diana sitting right next to me.....miss that beautiful face.

Sandra Bullock...... because lets face it she IS America's sweetheart and I want to have a gal pal like her to kick under the table when Albert starts talking about unified field theories that just go over my head, Ralph winks at me from across the table or Julia Child starts singing!

Prince William and Harry... if not for the one reason that they could reunite with their mum, so she could see how they have matured and blossomed into strong, able, accomplished  young men. I know she would be so incredibly proud. To hear that Will is soon to become a father and learn of all the great things Harry is doing....I know would put on a smile not only on her beautiful face but on every one of us at the table. (and I am sure more than a few tears)

So there you have it.....my guest list for this wonderful dinner. The only difficult thing was narrowing it down. There are so many people I would have liked to include, but maybe this will become a regular gig and I can start inviting groups of 10 over every weekend....now that would be fun and something to talk about!


I am only fretting over who to sit where......any ideas?? Maybe after each course we can change seats so we all have a chance to "mingle". Have a beautiful and dreamy day!


Want to see more "dinner parties" and who is sitting at their table? Click on over to Splenderosa to visit all the other fabulous bloggers participating! Click here.