Mardi Gras and Murder Mystery Dinner

This has been a jammed packed month with heart themes, mardi gras and mystery. Over a week ago I attended the local "Go Red" event for the American Heart Association. The day before the event I had the privilege of assisting the coordinator and her team in decorating the venue for an expected 350 people. They chose a Mardi Gras theme of "Krewe de Rouge", and had red mardi gras mask centerpieces, gift bags, red chair covers and other beautiful decoration. I love event planning, so this was right up my alley. Some local artists donated paintings, pottery and other hand made items for a silent auction. My "Felt With the Heart" painting was purchased by a Louisiana Senator and his wife. I was so honored that they chose my piece for their home. Another highlight of the night was meeting Jenna Bush Hager. She was the keynote speaker for the event and was just as beautiful, if not more, in person.

As soon as that event was over, I had to get busy for my own Mardi Gras themed event - a murder mystery dinner! This special dinner for eight included gumbo, muffelettas (New Orleans Style), king cake, and a Mardi Gras Ding Dong cake, something I put my own unique spin on. The ficticious setting for this party was a New Orleans Garden District mansion and included a notorious gothic author, a southern beauty queen, a Las Vegas trailer trash gold-digger, a French Quarter street musician, a bayou boy, a lawyer and last but not least, hired help in the way of the chef and the maid. My husband and I took the roles of the hired help. I love how my friends took the time to dress the parts of the characters. No one read the scripts beforehand (including myself) so we were in for hilarious surprises throughout the night as we tried to guess who the murderer was. If you have never done a murder mystery "game", you can't imagine how much fun it was. We can't wait for the next one.

Meanwhile back at the studio, I have a mardi gras dachshund custom painting in the works along with some canvases that I haven't decided what they will be yet. Want to take a peek?

I have another fun event to attend next week and hubby is already planning our spring break vacation. I told him to surprise me! I'm too tired to think about anything but I will be ready for a new adventure soon.  Thanks for stopping by. I promise I'll have more new art up soon. Have a great day!