Welcome to Paradise: Our Shangri-La Dinner Party BEGINS!
All the bits and pieces you need to throw this party. (Except the recipes, 'cause those come in the next newsletter.)
Now that we know the business on all things Shangri- La, we can get on with our dinner party. (If you are new here and missed the introductory post, click here to read it.) I always snag a co-host for these little shindigs and this time it’s Erin Sylvester. Yes, you read that right - THE VERY SAME Erin Sylvester of Sylvester Rovine Selections who provides us with all of our deliciously gluggable wine suggestions. If you ever drink natural wine in Los Angeles or NYC (or anywhere, really), then you have almost certainly had some of her bottles.
A little backstory about the two of us - Erin and I have been friends for many years, and we always find ourselves in the deepest of shenanigans. (Intrepid wine distributor + feral chef = what could possibly go wrong?) Our favorite thing to do when things get ridiculous is to raise a glass, laugh real hard (more like a cackle, really), and triumphantly proclaim “WE DID IT AGAIN!” I highly recommend this perspective on life. It works great in super awesome situations and super shitty situations alike. Anyway, it was Erin’s idea to do the Shangri-La theme, and I was immediately on board. We were off to the races. And by races, I mean invites.
Decorations and games
Honestly, this theme doesn’t need much in the way of decorations or games. But even if it did, the simple act of getting together is the most important thing, so don’t feel the need to spend a lot of time or money preparing. The only things you need for any party are flattering lighting, good music and tasty food. And even with just two out of three, it’ll still be great. So these are optional - take them, leave them, or use them as inspiration for your own ideas. (And if you do, let me know what you did.)
If you are a plant person, then this is the theme for you. Get lots of plants, fronds, flowers and moss and arrange them around the space. Make it look vegetal, verdant and lush.
Add a ton of candles to make it shine.
If you have the means, place bars of solid gold on the table as a centerpiece. (This is in reference to the never ending supply of gold in the hills of Shangri-La). If you do not have access to solid bars of gold (weird!), use pyrite instead. Or balls of Ferrero Rocher.
Use an actual fountain for the Fountain of Vermouth. Side note: I thought I would be able to use my chocolate fountain for this (which I obviously converted into a queso fountain long ago), but vermouth isn’t viscous enough. For it to work, I’m preeeeetty sure you’d need an actual fountain. I did not go so far as to try this, although I wanted to, and maybe one day, if I ever get paid enough to write this newsletter, I will. lol. hahaha. like and subscribe!
Have everyone wear their most lavish and luxurious threads. Extra points for golden accessories.
Playlist
I like to make playlists. Are they any good? Duh. But these things tend to be subjective. If you hate my taste in music, a) NEVER tell me, and b) go ahead and make your own dang playlist, see if I care. All I hope is that you take the music component seriously, because it’s important.
The rules of a Ruined Table playlist are as follows:
The songs are meant to be listened to in order, and the maker of the playlist (me) must genuinely like all of them, i.e. I can’t add any old song just because it fits the theme.
Each playlist should be approximately 1 hour long.
Artist repeats on any single playlist should be used sparingly, if at all.
Song repeats across multiple playlists should be avoided.
The songs on each playlist must go along with the theme that it’s made for, wherein yours truly comes up with arbitrary, but well-thought-out parameters for what “going along with the theme” actually means.
So, without further ado, here is the official Shangri-La playlist. Like it, download it and play it at your party. Shout out to my fellow ENIGMA-HEADS!
Can you figure out the parameters for this one? Let me know in the comments. First one to get it right gets a shout out in the next newsletter.
Up for Discussion
It wouldn’t be a Ruined Table party without this part. For all you newcomers, I always come up with theme-appropriate conversation starters to help properly “ruin the table” at the end of the night. Sometimes the topics are a little cheesy. Sometimes they are a little deep. Sometimes they are a little scandalous. They are always fun, so long as everyone goes along with it.
The meal has ended, but the party hasn’t. Gather your buds around the table (preferably a ruined one), open another bottle of whatever you are drinking, and go around in a circle, taking turns answering each of the questions below. Remember to listen just as much as you talk, as most people just want to feel seen and heard. Once you give them that gift, they will give it right back to you. The trick is to speak from your heart and remain open. And of course, as always, to have fun.
You just found out that you will never age another day and you get to choose which age you’ll stay. What’s your ideal forever-age?
SURPRISE CAVEAT! It’s not just physical, you will also mentally remain the age you choose. Did your number change?
Let’s build a Utopia. Go around in the circle and everyone add one perk. Assume all the basic Shangri-La stuff is already there - peace, endless resources, no aging, and beautiful surroundings.
Why do you think we demonize aging in our society? Wouldn’t it be better to celebrate it, considering we will all experience it eventually?
Congratulations! You’ve been gifted a spot in Shangri-La. You get to bring 2 people with you - a lover and a friend. Who do you bring?
Thanks for coming through! Stay tuned for the recipes, shopping list, and prep plan, coming in the next newsletter, in two weeks. Don’t forget to follow Ruined Table on tik tok and instagram for more photos and videos from Shangri-La, and if you have any interest in becoming a host, hit me up in the DMs, baby.
Stay messy,
McBroom