Last Sunday, my friend, Carol Parks, hosted a Valentine's Day Salon for 12 very lucky and artistic women! I happened to be 1 of those lucky women. The shot above is of Carol's table.

I made party favors and gave these out with antique reproduction store-bought cards for all the guests.

Carol had this board up with photos of all her guests. There was a number under each photo. The photos were mostly of the artists as children. Except for me. We then had to match the names with photos. Well, as you can see in the background, my photo was not very difficult to figure out!

Carol made each of us a box and stocked it like only she can do! Below, the shot is from the inside of my box, which appears above.

A view of my box before I opened it up!

Artist, Pam Garrison, who is 1 of my favorite artists, made each of us this gem!

Another shot of Pam's valentine and on the right, is a book Sonora Beam made me.

When you visit Carol's home, the first thing that strikes you is that she has so many displays, you just might miss something! Her displays are works of art. Each display tells a little story. This photo is from the inside of a trunk that Carol has on a chair.

As part of the event, there was Bill the balloon artist, making balloons into art! He made this lovebird set inside a heart for me to use for our anniversary, Valentine's Day.

A view of another trunk, exploding with colors and textures, all in the name of art.

A basket of ribbon that only Carol can make into art!

Carol's "Winter Wonderland" inviting us to her home. . . It was a perfect afternoon! Carol showered us with gifts, catered food, champagne, sweets galore, wonderful company, a masseuse, the chance to catch up with old friends, and the opportunity to make new friends.

The last post of the night has to do with friendship. My friend, Carolyn gave me a very special card that reads: "To be rich in friends is to be poor in nothing." On the invitations I made, I asked my friends to not give me any gifts. However, most of them ignored my request! I told them that their friendship is the most important gift I could receive. And although I had a very intimate celebration with just a small group of friends and family, I felt that I couldn't really do justice to all the other friends who I didn't invite by talking about how terrific they are. There are too many names to mention, but all these friends are very special and important to me. I cannot believe how blessed I am and I try very hard to not take for granted every friend I have. I am SO honored that they call me "friend". And so, I had to post about 1 more friend and give him his due. Here is a photo of my best friend, Sergio and me at Buca di Beppo, on Friday night. Sergio and I have been friends for about 20 years and I must say that more than any other person I know, he puts up with me. I KNOW I must drive him crazy, but nonetheless, his friendship and love are unconditional. I would be lost without Sergio in my life and I am forever grateful for our friendship.

Last week was a wild 1 that included me celebrating my 5oth birthday and getting the news that I am going to be the principal of the new high school opening up in East Los Angeles this coming August! It has been a whirlwind of celebrations... these pictures are from my birthday celebration on Friday, at Buca di Beppo, in Pasadena. These are my closest friends, my younger brother, Michael, and my husband, Mike, celebrating with me.

A shot of me with my dear husband during dinner. I made the rounds of the table and took pictures of everyone.

My friends George and Peter posing with me!

My friends Maria and Donna strike a pose with me.

Here is a shot of me with Carolyn, whose birthday is the day after mine. Friday night wasn't just about celebrating my birthday; we celebrated (in this order) my birthday, Fred's, and my husband, Mike's birthday. We celebrated a total of 4 February birthdays that night!

Here is a shot of Blanca and her husband, Chuck. Of the entire group, Blanca is my oldest friend. We have been friends for 28 years. When we first met, Blanca was 16 and in 11th grade. I was 22 and was a newlywed and junior in college. Our friendship is something very special and I regard her and my friend, Maria, as family. They are the 2 younger sisters I NEVER had.

Mike and Carolyn, 2 fellow Aquarians celebrating their birthdays too!

My baby brother, Michael, and the most important man in my life: hubby.

A shot of the 2 Michael's ...

Donna gave me these beautiful flowers. I got 50 gorgeous roses in this arrangement. They have found a home in our dining room.

These lovelies came from my best friend, Sergio.

After dinner, all of us came back to our place for cake, champagne, coffee, and hot tea. We toasted to my new job and the 4 February birthdays.

Here's to the 4 of us having birthdays! May the new year be a terrific year for all of us. The last guest left right before 2 a.m. It was an exhausting day, but it was the best birthday I can remember ever having and a lot of it had to do with the very special people who shared my day with me. I LOVE each of them SO much!

Lastly, a shot of the sweet peas that I arranged around the house to get into the spirit and to bring a little of my father and grandmother into our celebration. I ordered 8 bunches of light pink and dark pink sweet peas to put into vases throughout the house to celebrate our birthdays and get into the Valentine's Day spirit. These flowers were my father's, as well as my grandmother's, favorite flower. Each year, in their honor, I plant these flowers from seeds and just watch them take off until they are ready to bloom. Although Dad and Grandmother are not around, this is a way for me to have a little part of them stay with me. On my birthday, I really felt they were right alongside me celebrating...