Long long ago, in a Galaxy far far away… no wait… wrong story. Long long ago, when your dear Pippa was just a Pepita (Ok, I could drive) my father asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I told him that I wanted a gun. Yes, I did. A shotgun. A Remington 1100 to be exact. (Stay with me…)
The look on his face was priceless. A man who spent his entire life hunting had his moment. He beamed. He chuckled. And he replied “SURE!”. It would be an understatement to say that he was ecstatic. He got right on the case and found me a pristine 1100 and with a smile from ear to ear presented it to me on my birthday, ribbons and wrapping and a gun cleaning kit to boot. The look on my face was absolute and utter delight. I had my very own shotgun.
If I haven’t lost you yet in a fit of anger and a sudden disdain for me due to your stance on gun control then keep reading. Because, you see, this was a massive experience for me. This has nothing to do with politics. I will probably not ever post about politics because you believe what you believe, and I believe what I believe, and I have no intention of telling you what that is, it’s my business and yours respectively. But, I like to hunt birds. In the wild. But, mostly we shoot little orange discs (Clays) that fly like birds at mach 6 past me and away from me and most of the time I can hit them.
And while I am FAR from Annie Oakley, you could say with ease that YES, I CAN hit the broad side of a barn (my husband and father can attest, ’cause I actually did hit my father in law’s barn one day) and I love it. Some of my favorite days in the history of ME have been at the skeet or trap range with my Dad. In the switchgrass side by side with my husband, our dogs, my very very dear late father in law and the rustle of pheasants being flushed.
One of the few things that as an event planner I have ALWAYS wanted to do was to host a beautiful post shoot dinner in the woods. As a Chef one of the things that I have always wanted to do was host a beautiful post shoot dinner in the woods. This is it. Falling leaves, flickering candles, exhausted from a crisp day and a well earned dinner afield.
Here at Witzend we are very lucky to have no shortage of woods, making it the ideal spot for my dream to come true. So while my father in law is looking down on this table from Heaven wondering where his bottle of Famous Grouse is, the rest of us are laughing and recalling a day of hits and misses, dogs run amuck, and wondering who is going to take the Gator all the way back to the house to fetch another case bottle of wine.
This is fall at Witzend my friends. And, if you are still along for the ride, then you have learned a little more about me and are possibly inspired to fill up your own Suburban to the gills and take things further afield. Trust me, it’s worth it.
XOXO
Pippa
P.S. Love my cute little Acorn place card holders pictured above? Me too! They are the easiest thing you could ever make and I posted a little tutorial here so you can up your autumn table “game” CLICK HERE