Happy Birthday Tatjana!

I can’t imagine ever experiencing a greater joy than the day you were born. That’s why your birthdays have always been so special to me.

Julie Anne & Tatjana Lee Orchid Rhodes on 23 August, 1986

I loved letting my imagination run wild with themes, and I put a lot of love into making and baking the food. Your father and I also took a lot of pictures!

Nick, Julie Anne, & Tatjana Rhodes on her 1st birthday

Your first birthday party took place in the Toronto Four Seasons Hotel. David Bowie gave you a teddy bear with a backstage pass saying “to the cutest #1 on tour” as he and Simon Lebon sang happy birthday to you. Yasmin and I stayed up most of the night before decorating the hotel room and making sandwiches.

Tatjana Rhodes, your nanny Kim, David Bowie, and Yasmin Lebon

Simon Lebon, Rene Simonsen, and John Taylor at Tatjana’s 1st Birthday

I think half of the children cried when the big Teddy bear came to wish you happy birthday at your 2nd birthday, and it was hard to tell which (big) kid enjoyed the ball pit more. Then we rented the London doll museum for your fancy dress 3rd birthday. All the children came dressed as their favorite doll.

Tatjana and Friend on Her 3rd Birthday

The Porchester Baths was home to your 4th birthday party…

Tatjana’s 4th Birthday…Pool Party at the Porchester Baths

Your favorite…the famous blue cake

Then you were the Little Mermaid at your 5th birthday party, a pirate cruise down the river Thames. BTW, I noticed when looking back through the photo albums that Sam Bradley is faithfully by your side year after year. Sam’s birthday is six days after yours (his new EP is due out on his birthday Aug. 29th).

Sam Bradley and Tatjana Rhodes at the Pirate Party

The magician was a big hit with all of you that day, so I hired a female magician for your 6th birthday of superheroes at St. Lukes hall in the Boltons complete with slides and climbing frames so all of you could show off your super powers.

Tatjana & Julie Anne Rhodes with Another Blue Cake

Tatjana and friends’ slumber party in London 1996

Then you started having birthday parties at the lake house with the girls you grew up with there every summer. On your 7th birthday grandpa Bill and I took you all out on the boat for a tubing party, your 10th birthday you just wanted dinner with your friends at Pizza Hut, because we had a slumber party with your school friends in London when we returned, we had a bowling party at Lake Lanes for your 11th and afterwards the lake trolley gave everyone a ride around the lake. We took over a beauty salon for your 12th birthday while all you girls had make-overs and then lunch at Gejo’s to show off your beautiful new looks.

Lake Lanes birthday party 1997

You and I spent several days having a blast making a paper mache pinata full of candy to celebrate your 8th birthday with your class. I also baked a blue cake you took to school and proudly announced to all your friends, “you’ll poo blue too”(when they oohed and ahhed over the color)! On your 9th birthday Aldo gave us the lower level of Snr. Zili’s… your favorite Italian restaurant.

The last big party at the lake was for your 13th birthday. I organized, and cooked a murder mystery dinner. Everyone came dressed as their character and played the game between courses of food. After that you were more interested in travel over throwing parties. We spent your sweet 16 in Las Vegas for the weekend. Dinner was at Picasso, but the most exciting was going on safari in East Africa for your 18th.

Tatjana’s sweet 16 in Las Vegas

We planned to spend your 21st birthday in Mexico. I made the finals of Ultimate Recipe Showdown and originally turned the show down, but you amazed me when you said you’d rather take the trip later and didn’t want me to miss the opportunity (at the time we didn’t know it, but your decision saved us from being stuck in the middle of a hurricane in the Yucatan). I knew my little girl had grown up into a very kind and thoughtful woman. We took that trip the following December, so you celebrated your first legal drink here at Ketchup in Los Angeles with Gaia. You also had a big party at Raffles in London when you returned.

Tatjana Rhodes & Gaia Pazienti at Ketchup August 23rd, 2007

We have had a lot of fun together through the years. I miss the little girl, but I am so proud of the woman you have become. I hope this year will bring you nothing but happiness and success! I’ll be missing you all day today, but I’m so happy we celebrated early in Croatia. Happy birthday…I LOVE YOU! xoxo

Fun Party Food Ideas

Tatjana’s 4th birthday party

1). Make the various sandwiches your child loves with different breads to differentiate between kinds (ie. peanut butter and jelly, ham and cheese, etc.), then use cookie cutters to make them into fun shapes…Tatjana loved animals, so I used an elephant and kangaroo here, but you can find all types of cookie cutters very inexpensively.

2). Bake chocolate chip cookies with M& M’s instead of just chocolate chips to add color, and have fun with decorating cupcakes into clown faces (Tatjana and I did these together). I also made three different jello flavors, then cut into cubes and place a mixture of colors in each cup for more bright color on the table.

3). I already mentioned that Tatjana’s blue cake is really just The Waldorf Red Cake recipe I shared in an earlier blog. Tatjana’s favorite color is blue, so I used blue food color in place of the red in the original recipe. What is your child’s favorite color? You can find most food colors today, but don’t forget you can mix colors to get what you are looking for too.