Julie's Birthday

On April  14, 2011   we celebrated Julie's Birthday.  We met at Sarabeth's Kitchen.

In 1981, Sarabeth and Bill Levine opened a tiny bakery-kitchen to make and sell her preserves and baked goods. A few tables and chairs were soon added, first for breakfast and then for lunch. The little store, with its unique charm and wholesomely delicious products became an instant success with discriminating New Yorkers. By popular demand Sarabeth's (East) made its debut in 1983, followed by Sarabeth's (West) in 1986. Both restaurants began serving dinner as well as breakfast, lunch and brunch. In 1991, Sarabeth's was honored to become the first private restaurant for the Whitney Museum of American Art where it still serves lunch and brunch to art lovers from around the world. Sarabeth's Bakery at the Chelsea Market, a wholesale/retail bakery and café began operations in 1998. 2005 saw the opening of Sarabeth's largest restaurant in New York City's most prime location, Central Park South, between Fifth and Sixth Aves., just steps from the famed Plaza Hotel and across the street from Central Park. Sarabeth's Key West also debuted in 2005 in its landmark location. Both new restaurants have proven extremely popular.

 We ate a lovely lunch and had a really nice time enjoying each other's company. We sat there for a few hours.  We caught up on all topics. 

Julie did not want a gift for her birthday.  She was very adamant about that. Her sister-in-law was doing a walk for breast cancer. Julie's brother has had male breast cancer  and so Julie is extremely supportive of the cause.  Instead of a gift,  Julie wanted us to donate to the walk. So we did !  To read Julie's Brother's story click here. 

We all thought that was a great idea however, but the Birthday club would not be complete without  a special birthday club gift!  Sooooo

Although it was hard to get up from lunch especially since our waiter had the most magnificent eyes, it was time to go to our next stop the Van Cleef  & Arpels Exhibit.

Since its opening on the Place Vendôme in Paris in 1906, Van Cleef & Arpels has played a leading role in style and design innovation. Its timeless pieces have been worn by style icons including the Duchess of Windsor, Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor. This exhibition will explore the historical significance of the firm's contributions to jewelry design in the 20th century, including the establishment of Van Cleef & Arpels in New York with the advent of World War II. On view will be more than 250 works including jewels, timepieces, fashion accessories and objets d'art by Van Cleef & Arpels, many of which were created exclusively for the American market. The exhibition will examine the work through the lenses of innovation, transformation, nature as inspiration, exoticism, fashion and celebrity, and will include design drawings from the Van Cleef & Arpels archives.

It was another successful Birthday Club Bash!