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PJ’s Abbey
Old Towne Orange
182 S. Orange Street
Orange, CA 92866
(714) 771-8556
www.pjsabbey.com

Ordered Dishes:

Irish Oatmeal (Steel cut oats topped with Brown Sugar, Walnuts & Apples served with Steamed Milk);

PJ’s Egg Combo (Three Large Eggs cooked any style, two Pancakes, two pieces of Bacon, Sausage, or Cuban Chicken Sausage and served with Abbey Potatoes);

Cuban Huevos Rancheros (Two Large Eggs any style on Corn Tortillas with Fresh Roasted Salsa Sofrito and Black Beans topped with Melted Cheddar Cheese served with Cuban Chicken Sausage);

Eggs Benedict (Two Large Poached Eggs on a Toasted English Muffin with Canadian Bacon and Asparagus topped with Hollandaise Sauce and served with Abbey Potatoes)

Review:

This past Saturday I hosted my first bridal shower ever for my childhood friend, Heather, whom I’ve known for the better part of 15 years. The party was held in the historic district of Orange County, CA, lovingly referred to as Old Towne Orange. It is an area full of antique shops, galleries, tea houses, and quaint turn-of-the-century architecture. Should you ever find yourself in search of a zoot suit, this is the place to go.

Specifically, the shower was held at PJ’s Abbey, a 127 year old Victorian Baptist Church that was converted into a restaurant in 1996. The owners have maintained its original Gothic design, complete with polished wooden pews and overwhelmingly gorgeous stained glass windows. Even though the inside is lovely, the selling point of this place to me is its airy side patio which overlooks a bright residential street full of Victorian charm. Even on a rainy day, this patio still offers the best seats in the house.

The bridal shower was a brunch that I designed around the bride’s love of sweets. I made sugar cube pomanders by painting glue on all sides of some Styrofoam cubes, pressing them in crystal white glitter, and pinning on periwinkle ribbon. Each guest received a single Joseph Schmidt truffle packaged in semi-clear boxes tied with green and periwinkle bows. The green ribbons really inspired my whole look and I loved the mod, retro effect that happened by pairing them with the clear heart pattern on my favor boxes.

The centerpieces were bright yellow roses with red and light pink flowers which I cut from my own garden right as sun came up that day. I attached red ribbon onto thin mimosa glasses in geometrical forms (both of these to tie in with the modern color scheme and the bride’s preference for modern aesthetics). I added a “hard candy/cosmopolitan” look to tie in with my “sweets brunch” by literally creating a jagged encrustation of sugar around the rims and top halves of the glasses.

Finally, I opted to have cupcakes (which the bride loves) as opposed to a regular, single-tiered cake. I lovingly sewed seafoam lace around the entire length of a metal cupcake stand, draped bows in between each compartment, and glued white Jordan Almonds onto the ends. I made sugared yellow rose petals and delicately placed one on each of the 28 lemon poppyseed cakes (with cream cheese whipped frosting!). I inserted a jeweled hair comb onto the top cake and draped over it a small piece of tulle in order to create a more “bridal” effect.

The menus and name tags were my most favorite things of all. I chose this beautiful textured card stock in cardboard brown and cut it into sleek, linear shapes in order to “ground” my entire design concept. I also added a bit of bling onto the menus and name cards to make them more special. Also, I used architectural design pieces that were already there and created cascades of vividly colored butterflies (just couldn’t resist).

I think that, overall, I was able to really “marry” the old romance of our location with the youthful, bold statement of modern design. Even details like the black gingham cloth in the name tag box and the white stitch pattern of the ribbon on the centerpieces were included to serve my purpose.

Since our days on the playground, Heather always knew that she would make a great wife. I, on the other hand, seemed destined to chase one ambition after another. Little has changed for us in that regard, and our lives seem to be more different with every year that passes. I am glad to have been able to do this for her though, as a kind of homage to all the sweet memories we have unknowingly built together.

*** I would like to add a special note of gratitude to our wonderful server, Mike. His patience, earnest, and flexibility really alleviated my load. He made things run smoothly throughout the party and was the epitome of helpfulness even when we ran into some issues with an unexpected bill (totally not the restaurant’s fault). Thank you again, Mike! You did nothing but raise my opinion of PJ’s Abbey. I hope to run into you at Chapman Law School in the very near future! - Tara ***