Thursday, January 22, 2009

It's Your Birthday, Mr. Man!

Back when Mr. Man was little, his baby bald head and eventual brown hair earned him the nickname, "Charlie Brown". But for the last 15 years, he's answered to "Mahal" or "Beloved" in Tagalog. He is my eternal beloved...

Today is his birthday, but since he had to go to work, we, (meaning me) had to quickly put together a menu and table(scape) to surprise him with. Well, I came up with this quick fare:

Seafood noodle soup
Fried chicken
Rice
Lemonade
White cake


(I used our yellow & green Asian dinnerware with my Italian crystal stemware and realized that our new red plates perfectly matched the red on the blossom print. I used my white salad plates to bring out the white in the dinnerware and lighten the look. My Correlle bowls have green rims that matched the green on the bamboo accents of the dinnerware. I anchored everything with my rust/red fabric I found at Walmart for $1/yard. The placement of the candles and platters are reminiscent of a dragon in honor of the Chinese New Year. The lemonade spread the yellow onto the placesettings. The runner and placemats are our everyday ones, but the weaving and color gave it a more "of nature" look to the setting.)

We had 1.5 hours to get everything from concept to table, but we did it!

The verdict, He loved it!

Lisa said the food was beautiful! Jas and Ian asked if we're going to use them all soon again.

38 Reasons Why I Adore Mr. Man
1. Tall- 6 feet
2. Brown hair
3. Brown eyes
4. Patient
5. Shy and Gentle
6. Sweet
7. Romantic
8. Pilot License holder
9. Great sense of humor
10. Lovely speaking voice
11. Hard worker
12. Honest
13. Helpful
14. Handsome
15. Fix-it guy
16. Loves 80s music
17. Not picky with food
18. Missionary in Philippines
19. Married me in the Oakland temple
20. Married me!
21. Faithful
22. Mac-n-cheese master chef
23. Loves our simple dates
24. Not a complainer
25. Loves the gospel
26. Careful with money
27. Great with our kids
28. Encourages me
29. Thinks I'm beautiful
30. Compassionate
31. Loves my food
32. Loves our life together
33. Honors his parents
34. Loves animals
35. Brave
36. Integrity
37. Loves common sense
38. Loves chocolate like me!!!

I am crazy about this man, even from the very beginning. We've been through a lot but even now, we still make the best out of whatever life throws at us without sacrificing what we believe and we do it together.
I feel bad that most people get intimated to get to know him because he is shy, but hey, it's their loss...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAHAL!!!

WE LOVE YOU!!!

More celebration tomorrow...

7 comments:

Stephanie said...

Happy Birthday! The dinner looks beautiful! You are so good at organinzing fun things.

Chandy said...

Thanks, Steph! I love doing things like this, especially for the fam!

Hansonpatch said...

Happy Birthday Charlie! LOVE the table, and thanks for sharing how you did everything so it can be recreated. Dinner must have been really good!

Chandy said...

Actually, yest! The kids loved the chicken, rice, cake and lemonade while Lisa, Charlie and I feasted on all.

The table came quickly, but it wasn't until after I saw the pictures that I realized how pretty it all looked.

Chandy said...

From Michelle Branch:

"Can you please tell brother Mathews HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY for me thanks! Have a good day.

Love always,
Michelle Branch"

Eldredge Family said...

Your table looks amazing! Seriously I am going to have to show you my table scape! You will die laughing!

Chandy said...

Thanks, Crystal! I want to see your tablescape. I could use a good laugh!