Forever Young..Ish!

Can I tell you...about my birthday. Last February 21, I turned 40. As you can imagine there was a lot of pressure leading up to the day itself for reasons too tedious to enumerate. Most of it came from friends asking me what I was planning to do because apparently 'everybody' does something major. I certainly witnessed that with Sophie's uber glam party in Paris when she flew me in just for the weekend. I'm more inclined to do smaller gatherings and that's exactly what I did. This way I get to celebrate and make a wish several times over. I don't see anything wrong with that, do you?First of, dinner with the family. We went to Danal, one of our favorite restaurants in the city. We've been going there for years; for brunch, for dinner and even for our company Holiday parties. In fact, I designed my first collection in Danal back when they were still an antique store serving tea and sandwiches on the side. Danny, the proprietor, always throws in a few cookies or dessert at the end of every meal. We love freebies. A few days later, I went to Zampa, my new favorite enoteca in the West Village. It's the perfect place for a small crowd. David invited all my closest friends and it was a really lovely and intimate evening. We were only supposed to stay a few hours but we ended up staying all night and drinking more than our share of wine. The problem with cocktails is that once you get started you can never seem to stop.The next day, I had some more cake at Rafe (the company), where every birthday is celebrated with everybody singing and having a slice or two of cake sometime after lunch. It's what we call "merienda" in the Philippines. Mine was no exception except instead of cake, Mom got me my favorite Mixed fruit tarts from Ceci-Cela. Perfect with coffee. Soooo good!
I left for Paris several days later for my bi-annual trip to attend Premiere Vision, the biggest and most important trade show for designers. My girfriend Sophie Albou treated me to a very special dinner at L'Atelier du Joel Robuchon. You must know that it is virtually impossible to get a reservation at this restaurant especially during PV but Sophie knows all the right people. I've indulged at his other outposts in Hong Kong and Tokyo but this was my first time here in Paris. In a word...Wow! What a feast that was.
An unforgettable gastronomic bacchanalia. Adolphe Besnard, the designer of Paul & Joe, who I've known for years and my other girlfriend, interior and fashion designer Roseanne de Pampelonne came as well. Each dish was better than the next. I've never eaten so well in my life. Okay, a hyperbole but you get the point.That Sunday, Adolphe and his partner Didier Bertrand invited me to their home in Montemarte for another intimate dinner. Every time I'm in Paris I have dinner chez Adolphe so this was a tradition but with the extra bonus of celebrating my birthday. More cake for me. Yay!
My last celebration was with my friend Victor Magsaysay and his partner Raymond in their domicile in the Marais. It was actually Raymond's birthday dinner.Coincidentally Raymond and I are a few days apart so Victor decided to celebrate mine as well. More cake, but for the last time...really!
If turning 40 is this much fun, I think I'll turn forty again next year. All kidding aside, as far as I'm concerned I'll be forever young...ish! LOL