Monday, April 19, 2010

Jackpot.

On Saturday night, I had the privilege to attend a fundraiser for a local not-for-profit organization in our area. As is par for such fundraisers, the event included delicious hors d'oeuvres, a fantastic dinner, a silent auction, a live auction (complete with auctioneer!) and amazing entertainment. The proceeds went to benefit the start-up of an orphanage in Uganda. Sweet!

Upon entering the main foyer where the silent auction was held, I glanced at some of items and took some time to greet and chat with a few of my friends who were also attending the event. After some witty banter, I perused a few more of the items while I waited for dinner and the main event to begin. I walked by some tables and saw everything from beautiful art work to free babysitting to vacation packages. It was so fun to see what people had bid. Having never participated in a silent auction, this was all new to me and was quite exciting.

Of course, I, myself, had no intention of bidding.

Until.

A friend of mine sidled up to me and over the loud music (live hand drummers!) asked me if I had seen the chocolate basket. The what? WHAT kind of basket? She led me to a table and there, before my very eyes, stood a gigantic basket stuffed and brimming with all sorts of chocolate goodies. My eyes grew wide. My heart pounded. The vacuum-sealed cellophane glistened under the large overhead lights. The contents of the basket were too numerous to count--all I saw were some cupcakes and some chocolates--but that's all it took. Without a second thought, I wrote down my bid. The highest so far. I bit my lip anxiously, wondering what to do next. I considered standing next to the basket for the remainder of the evening, perhaps as a little threat, as if to say, HEY, I'm PREGNANT.

I DARE YOU TO OUTBID ME.

But, after realizing that might come across as less than classy, I hung around for only a few minutes before making my way to dinner.

The main event was fantastic. Dinner was delicious and the entertainment was awesome. The presentation was moving and exciting, and the live auction was absolutely fun. But, I'm not gonna lie ... that chocolate basket was happily settled in the back of my mind the whole time. After the festivities concluded, I partook in a bit more witty banter before sneaking back out to the foyer.

The silent auction had closed.

And I had won.

!!!!!!

I paid my dues (hey, it's for charity!), hoisted the massive basket in my arms, and started waddling for the exit. Needless to say, the reactions from my fellow peers were hysterical and a nice young boy offered to carry the basket to my car for me (my husband was home with our son). I very thankfully accepted his gracious offer, and he followed me to my car and wedged the basket in the back seat. When I came home, I again hoisted the basket in my arms and waddled inside. My husband was watching TV on the couch. I tip-toed in and peeked around the corner into our living room. He saw me first, then he saw the basket, and much laughter immediately ensued.


Y'all. SERIOUSLY.


It was late by the time I finally made it home, so I didn't have a chance to go through the entire basket. I did notice that there was a chocolate cookbook, a ton of goodies from a local bakery (the same bakery that made our Mardi Gras cake!), and, of course, a bunch of chocolates. I helped myself to (half) a cupcake and crashed in bed.

Upon further inspection of the basket this evening, I noticed there were also several gift cards for desserts at various local restaurants, a box of truffles, and a huge mug of hot cocoa.


Notice the plastic containers? That's the local bakery stuff. Everything from brownies to CAKE BALLS. I LOVE CAKE BALLS. There were actually ten total containers, but I gave some away to some friends. Except for the cake balls. I know my limits.

All I can say is, heck yes, friends.

A very sweet event, indeed. And I was more than happy to make a contribution.

:)

Have a lovely day!

6 comments:

  1. oh wow. That looks yummy!

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  2. mmm...looks amazing!!! don't eat it all at once! ;)

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  3. YUM. Totally worth whatever amount of money was donated at the auction. Again, yum.

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  4. YUM! That reminds me of Christmas, I was 8 months pregnant and we did a go-around-gift event with my cousins. One cousin put in 2 huge boxes of chocolate bars, once I had that sucker in my hands, no one dared to take it from me. Chocolate and pregnant women go well together. (except for the heartburn in my case, but really chocolate tastes so good who could resist?)

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  5. Holy Moly! that looks AMAZING!!! I'm jealous of your stash!

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