Bake Sale Extravaganza MADNESS...so much ridiculous FUN!

Well, to say that the first annual SUGAR & STILETTOS Bake Sale Extravaganza for Charity on May 21st was a HUGE success would be a bit of an understatement. To say that is was ridiculous FUN would be another crazy understatement. Then to say that is was beyond all expectations and oh, so yummy and delicious would also be an insane understatement. I think you get the picture.

The day before, on May 20th, my house was a beehive of activity with volunteers headed by super club member, Eleanor Strauss, accepting deliveries of homemade treats all day long and packaging them in our beautiful Sugar & Stilettos finest. Deliveries and pick-ups of many of our professional treats went on throughout the day as well. My friend, Tracy McAllister (a UC Berkeley friend of over 30 years), came down from the Bay Area to help for the entire weekend...she literally drove all over the Westside for me...how amazing is that?! My friend, Madeline Cripe, who lives on the valley side of Los Angeles, drove around that side of town picking up tons of stuff and then bringing it all over the hill to my house. Again, I say, how cool is that?! Like these people have nothing better to do than help me...really...I am so blessed.

I was in constant motion...never leaving the house but busy, busy, busy...putting out small fires as they came up getting the finishing touches on a thousand last minute things. I don't think I even sat down until late that night when Joshua was finally asleep and everyone was gone. Even then I had to take some Tylenol PM to insure that I would sleep at least a bit because my heart was racing like nobody's business with all the excitement of what was soon to come after so many months of hard work, planning and plotting.

Saturday morning, I was up at the crack of dawn grabbing a hot cup of coffee to fortify me (my morning ritual) which comforted me greatly. Then the parade began...my hairdresser, Stephanie, arrived at 830am to give me her best S & S Up-Do fitting my tiara just so (see photo above)...it was my one beauty indulgence...alright I had another one...my sister-in-law Jacklynn, a professional hair and make-up stylist, helped me with my make-up in the morning and throughout the day did touch ups (not to mention helping with just about everything else!)...it was such a luxury and made feel like I was back in my soap opera acting days in NYC.

First, Miki Harris, (caterer, friend and sister of the above mentioned Tracy), came and started whipping my house (front and back yards) into a sea of hot pink perfection. Tables were draped in pink, balloons were hung, flowers placed just so...and then the parade of treats and merchandise began...piled high everywhere...it was a sight to behold. Tracy continued to do the last of the pick-ups and her other sister, Lex (she of the fabulous promo skills and creator of our stunning S & S aprons) was also an impressive whirling dervish. The troops of volunteers began showing up to help and away we went into never, never land!

By the time "doors" opened at 11am we were ready. The first 50 people got a free S & S gift (an adorable transparent cutting board)...each entrant got a raffle ticket and then every 20 minutes a winner was chosen...the prize was a FREE pastry of their choice and believe me there were a million choices! One of my personal favorites were the gorgeous cupcakes that owner, Leslie Danelian of Sweet Butter Kitchen and Cafe in Sherman Oaks, designed especially for the bake sale (see photo above)...how
S & S PARFAIT(perfect) are those beauties!

My brilliant niece, Casey, continued to have great ideas that made things run more smoothly and wonderfully plus she was one of our extraordinary photographers (BTW she had just graduated with honors from Emerson College in Boston the week before!). Barbara Jansen also took breathtaking photos that Casey and I are still sorting through. Gabby Greigo was expertly videoing every minute of the lovely pandemonium. Club member and event volunteer co-ordinator, Lisa Murphy, took to the megaphone and practically found herself a new career. Celeste Figmaka Candido turned into a selling machine. Wendy Morales and her friend, Linda Ramos, held down the fort at the cashier's table.

The music blasting out into the warm air and sunny skies was put together by my talented son, Joshua, who also headed up the Kid's Table with his friends...they all did a terrific job of setting up and selling their treats...welcoming every child who wanted to participate and helping every customer decide what to buy or sample. Michael Warren (Hill St. Blues), Kathleen Noone (All My Children) and Nancy Sullivan (Drake & Josh) all showed up to lend their support. Genevieve Ruitort of the Westside Food Bank and Paul Rubenstein of St. Joseph Center were with us to answer questions about their organizations and the tireless work they do helping those most in need. And my parents, God bless them, took prominent places in the middle of all the backyard activity marveling at the controlled (slightly!) chaos that their daughter had created and eating their fair share of sweet treats. It was quite the circus atmosphere...

At 1:30pm my good friend, comedien and actor Richard Lewis, arrived. His wife, Joyce (also a good friend and unbelievable mentor who had already been at the event from the beginning) and I circled around Richard getting him ready for the piece de resistance that we had been cooking up for months. Can you guess what we convinced him to do in the name of a good cause? Probably not...check out the photo above...no, your eyes are not deceiving you...that IS Richard Lewis in stilettos and a tiara...OOH LA LA! He was such a good sport about all the cameras that went immediately flashing in his face. It was such a delicious (sorry, couldn't  help it!) moment and time during the event.

The merriment continued...people laughing, eating, dancing...children and adults alike generally being joyful and happy. To top it off, when Joshua and I went to count the money later (like 10pm) this is what we discovered...combined with the pre and post sales I did we raised over $6,000.00 and we're still counting...money is still coming in and I have high hopes that we will reach $7,000.00. Do you know how many women and children the WFB and SJC will be able to feed with that money? I can tell you that it is literally hundreds, perhaps thousands...now that is really something to feel proud of...makes me feel just silly giddy. I'm thinking at least $10,000.00 next year...why not, right?!

As the day ended the sense of community created and the raised awareness was awe inspiring...simply put...priceless. Everyone started talking about the 2012 Extravaganza...what more could I ask for?

Merci beaucoup, beaucoup, beaucoup to each sponsor, donor, volunteer and customer who came and shared in our passion and mission...there are far too many of you for me to name personally in this blog but believe me, I know who you are and am eternally grateful.

When you have time don't forget to check out the Bake Sale Page on the website plus our Facebook and Twitter pages for more details plus tons of pictures and video clips...it will all be posted very soon...that way you'll be able to relive the fun or feel it for the first time...it's MAGIC is infectious...you'll have a smile on your face and a glow in your heart for days...

xoxo Nanci