Girls’ Night In 2014 (one word: wow)

You know how much I love throwing a party? Well my friends, the “Two Pink Ladies”, totally shade me.

Each year, they throw the most dazzling Girls’ Night In. It’s a fundraising concept that encourages women to enjoy a girly catch-up and donate what they would normally spend on a night out to the Cancer Council.

The invitation this year read: “Roll up, roll up, Two Pink Ladies present … The greatest show on earth.”

It added that there would be: “Cocktails, canapes, fairground fun, pampering, goodie bags and more.”

A few days ago, the Pink Ladies panicked me slightly by adding in a reminder: “Dress code is fairground fun. You can come as you are or dress up in our circus/fairground theme. Whatever takes your fancy… Don’t forget your bottle of bubbly and your dancing shoes!”

I briefly considered repurposing the youngest’s Willy Wonka Book Week costume into a ringmaster get-up, but then decided to stick with the colour of breast cancer awareness, pink.

(It’s a frock I bought many moons ago at the Bondi Markets, I’m thinking it’s ’70s vintage. I couldn’t squeeze into it until the divorce diet kicked in – last night was its first outing. I’m posing with my divine friend Penny. Upon reflection I should have worn more make-up and gotten a bit more sleep prior. Those eye bags!)

This is one of the Pink Ladies, Margie …

I didn’t get a chance to take a snap of the other Pink Lady, Tanya, because she was moving like the speed of light on her hosting duties.

Tanya and Margie work so amazingly hard to make it a great night for everyone.

This was the gorgeously decorated entrance to the party …

There was even a Martha Stewart-esque sign …

The nibbles were incredible. Here are just a few things I tried …

Citrus-cured salmon served with celery and radish salad with fresh herbs.

Carpaccio of saddle of vension with a sour cherry and herb sauce.

Chevre and braised eschallot tart.

After sipping a couple of glasses of bubbly and supping on the delicious canapes, I summoned the courage to visit the scarf-draped fortune teller ensconced in one of the bedrooms. That was interesting … I’d had a little champagne so it’s slightly hazy, but the general gist – without me giving her any hints – was that I was back in control of my life and free to follow my passions, whatever I might choose them to be; I was enjoying my job, writing about things that are fun (she picked I was a writer); and I’m set to have a very social 12 months and meet lots of new people (especially around June 2015). She also saw a man in the cards with light grey hair (someone cynically noted afterwards that it’s not hard to guess that men will have grey hair at our stage in life) and blue eyes who loves me.

Alrighty then! Sounds gooooooood.

There were plenty of sweet treats on offer …