Easter Brunch & Pie Swap

It's almost spring time! Woohoo! [I'm so sick of drabby winter - hence, the overtly cheerful colors of this image] And with that comes...

"Yen's Quarterly Give-Back" <--- I just made that up :)

We got such a warm reception from the cookies we donated last winter, a friend suggested we do PIES this time around! Yep, a perfect excuse to whip out that KitchenAid mixer and apron you never use!

Bake a pie (or two) - we'll cut one of your pies into slices to swap and taste amongst each other and we'll donate your other [whole] pie to the Portland Rescue Mission for distribution to the homeless on Easter Day! Bake it, buy it (peel off the Costco / Safeway label), steal it, I don't care! Sweet or savory! I'll provide the bubbly but I'll also have tea, coffee, juice, etc. Oh and an Easter egg hunt! Just come veg out, let the kids run amuck, relax and feel good about giving back! It's just a reason for us to hang out!

Cupids for Charity Results

We've finally tallied up the results of our Cupids for Charity singles event and with over 80 attendees, we raised $2,510 for Haiti!!! That's a pretty darn successful first attempt at hosting my first singles /charity event... wouldn't you say?

The event itself was only three hours long and while it turned out that a lot of people ended up already knowing one another (gosh, this world is small - or maybe it's just Portland - we need to branch out, people!) I had a ton of fun. In fact, I think I had too much fun, considering I'm not even single! lol Don't worry, Michael came to help out too and insisted he helped a couple of guys on their "3-second pitch." :P Spontaneously, a friend's brother cleverly concocted an auction where the highest bidders would win a lunch date with a lovely lady or hunky hottie. I was afraid people wouldn't bid (hey, it's Portland; it's a tough economy and again, it's Portland :) but to my surprise, bids went as high as $120! I heard there was even a guy who doubled the amount he bidded after he went on his date! Wow! That one must have went well ;) It's for a good cause, right?... in more ways than one :: wink wink ::

Here are a few of our brave auction volunteers...

Bachelorette #1: Tran

Bachelor #5: JeoLida

Bachelorette #6Bachelor #9

It was really heartwarming to see all my girl hostesses (also spoken for and thus perhaps more gung-ho) hustle their hot asses around the floor swaying guys to open up their wallets and toss their dolla' dolla' bills in our donation box. Little did these poor guys know they didn't stand a chance. haha JUST KIDDING! But seriously, they were working it so hard, I didn't barely have to do anything! Man, if the corporate world operated like us and had employees like this, we would not be in a recession right now :) Everyone really pulled together, worked super hard and as a result, we raised enough money to essentially sponsor at least three victims of the Haiti earthquake for an entire year!... but of course, Mercy Corps will decide to use the money the best way needed right now. Thank you and Guddah Bless!

Left to right: The "Other" Yen, Thuy (hostess), Tram (hostess), Minh, Me - Yen (duh)(hostess), Vi (hostess), Allison (hostess) and Tran (Missing: Annie Thao, hostess)

Cupids for Charity

When: Thursday January 28, 2010

Where: Old Town Pizza

Who: Singles ONLY!!!

If your New Year resolutions involve giving back to the less fortunate and say...meeting someone special, then you're in luck! Even if you're only toying with the idea of settling down from your wild ways OR simply venturing outside of your comfort zone to muster up the guts to talk to someone new, this event is for you.

Join us for a night of cheap drinks for charity!

Here's the name of the game:

To keep things even, all you have to do is:

BE SINGLE AND BRING A FRIEND WHO'S ALSO SINGLE OF THE OPPOSITE SEX!

Please don't come solo! We encourage you to spread the word and invite all of your eligible and single friends, but we're not in high school anymore, so don't bring your posse (unless you want them ruining your game).

Please also be sure that:

1. Your friend is not already in love with you.
2. You're not in love with your friend.
3. You and this friend have not had a (even remotely) romantic past.
4. You have not had dreams of having a romantic past with this friend.
5. And that you and your friend are truly single! No baggage please!

Breaking those 5 rules would defeat the purpose!

The event is casual and free to attend. If you're shy, we'll have hosts to help you mingle!

Old Town Pizza on MLK is an amazing space, with a spacious bar area, fireplace, high wooden beams and tons of seating. Drinks are cheap - stay long enough to enjoy happy hour at 9pm where well drinks are just $2.50 and pizza slices (arguably the best in Portland) are $1.50! But don't be so cheap that you wait till 9pm to come. Seriously. Everyone might already be drunk and the "good ones" taken by then ;) though we are expecting a very good turn out! It's for a good cause!

Plus, 20% of sales that night will go towards Portland-based Mercy Corps in an effort to help those who suffered Haiti's earthquake. Even before the tragedy, more than 80% of Haitians already lived below the poverty line, so imagine where this leaves them now. Please come support - every little bit helps!

UPDATE: ADP, Blount International and Nike have agreed to match the donations we raise that night!

Got questions? Feel free to ask! Or go directly to my Evite by clicking here. You will have to add your name to the guest list before you can RSVP but please do RSVP!

Cookie Credits

I really wanted to get a picture of each gal with their baked good but it was so hectic (and fun) that night, I barely got a chance to get pictures of just the cookies! It's not to say that anyone's cookie contribution was less important or delicious than the other. Everyone did a wonderful job! I have such amazingly (beautiful and) generous friends! We were able to donate over 20 dozen cookies (and that's after everyone got to take some home) - that's TWICE as many cookies as I was hoping for! Thank you SO much girls! It's really beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Cookie credits in order of arrival:

Allison didn't have time to bake, but that didn't stop her from contributing a beautiful array of cookies........... from Costco :)

I was beat from the previous day's catastrophe but in an effort to make something more edible, this is my rendition of oatmeal raisin cookies... not Martha's recipe though.


Tran's Rolo Surprise cookies. She never bakes, so she had to go buy new baking gear just for this ocassion!

I've never heard the other Yen lacking in energy or sound so tired, but after baking a "gazillion" Pumpkin Spiced Cupcakes, you can't blame her. It was really close to a gazillion because we initially lost count. She chipped a nail while baking too... let's hope no one found an acrylic in there :D

Annie Thao's peanut butter balls (not pictured) and beautiful coconut macaroons.

Lydia's strawberry and cream cookies! She donated all of her swapped cookies!

Ina's yogurt. Ina is a great baker (I've tried her cheesecake) but she did not have time to bake due to a hectic week at work, BUT she made it up with tubs of Skinni Dip yogurt.



Kim's super special Cherry Cheesecake muffins baked with love from her assistants Tylin & Tysa.



Thuy's chocolate dipped pretzles! This busy mom showed up unexpectedly with this yummy treat... sans kid!
I did not get a dedicated picture of Tram's "Surprise" Cookie (bottom left) and Marionberry Bonanza Bars on her lovely three-tiered presentation plate or Minh's chocolate chip cookie (top center), but Tram's Bonanza Bars were quite the hit and Minh's cookies were covered in chocolate chips (just the way we like them).

Cookie Swap

I am hosting my very 1st Annual Holiday Cookie Swap!

No guarantees on the "annual" thing though, since it depends on how much success and fun we have at this one ;)

Please bring four to six dozen of your favorite cookies, plus copies of your recipe to share! If that scares you, just think of it as only two or three batches :) or even less if you decide to make more elaborate cookies. No need to stress out - it's suppose to be fun! And it's for a good cause, since a dozen of each contribution will be delivered to the Portland Rescue Mission the following day.

The rest of the cookies will be swapped amongst us (we'll eat a few here :) but you will have plenty and a variety of yummy cookies to share with your family and friends at home too! BRING TUBBERWARE for your take-home!

And don't stay home just because you think you can't bake! God knows I can't bake, but it's a good opportunity for us to get together for a good cause. Plus, it's something different! Think outside the box and bring cookies, cupcakes, tarts, macaroons, brownies, biscotti or anything you'd like! You can even reply with a suggestion for someone else to bake your favorite cookie!

I will provide milk, coffee, tea, apple cider and wine!

Please respond with the type of cookie you'd like to bring (as to avoid us all bringing the same kind) or if a few of you would rather keep it a surprise, that's perfectly OK too!

Look forward to seeing you gals next week!


xx, Yen


P.S. If time is of the essence, feel free to make them the weekend before (keep them in an air-tight container) or even bring refrigerator cookie dough that you've made in advance (wrapped well in plastic and parchement, which can be frozen for up to three weeks) with instructions on how we can bake them at home!