He Loves Lucy......................!

 

Just in case you slept through the entire weekend

you might have missed the fact that it was 

Lucille Ball's 100th birthday on Saturday.

What a pioneer for females! 

She was the first female to run a 

major picture studio,

the first to put a pregnancy into a story line

and the pioneer of many TV production methods

that are still used today.

In fact, legend has it that reruns were created

so people could see

"I Love Lucy" again and again. 

Of the thousands and thousands of Lucy fans,

my brother ranks up their as one of her biggest.

He has loved Lucy for as long as I can remember.

To commemorate her special birthday,

he threw an 

I Love Lucy party

at his house Saturday night.

The table was not only decorated with everything "Lucy", but the entire meal, from drinks to desserts, all centered around Lucy episodes.

Notice the grapes: Who could celebrate Lucy without remembering the famous 

grape stomping episode?

My brother, Rusty, thought up and decorated the

entire table

and planned the entire menu.

His wife, an excellent cook,

got the food in "Lucy" condition.

His three sons and my parents helped him enjoy the birthday celebration for Lucy.

There were an abundance of hearts throughout the table

....which probably is still not enough to represent 

how much 

my brother loves Lucy!

My brother googled "I Love Lucy" images 

and used some of his favorites
as place mats that he created
on a color printer.

You can see some more of the 'place mats' in this picture,

as well as the grapes!

My brother used L-O-V-E blocks from 

Valentine's Day for part of his centerpiece.

He also had a Lucy doll 

from his daughter's doll collection that worked 

on the table perfectly.

 

There were many fun and entertaining aspects of 

the meal.

One that everyone seemed to enjoy, 
especially my mother(!!!),
(who said Rusty is SO talented),
was his re-creation of 
 Vitameatavegamin.
The vitamin drink in the Lucy episode
had a large amount of alcohol in it.
By the time Lucy got the commercial finished,
she was a little tipsy!
Rusty said his drink was a special mix he
made up, but there was no alcohol involved!

Rusty went to the drugstore and purchased

new medicine bottles from the pharmacy.

He made the labels on his computer and printed them off.

He had a variety of place mats

for the table.

Obviously, a true Lucy lover could not

pick just one! 

If you don't have a color printer

you could do the same idea by going to a copy shop

for a minimal price.

He did not miss a beat did he?

Now you know why my mother thinks

he is SO talented!

So, are you ready to see what he and his wife 

served to eat?

Each food course 

came from one of Rusty's 

favorite episodes.

Spaghetti (yes, it had meat sauce too): Do you remember the episode where Lucy had a stare-down with 
William Holden

at the Brown Derby?

Ethel had to use manicure scissors to cut the spaghetti

as Lucy was having her stare-down.

So of course Rusty supplied 

manicure scissors 

(yes, clean!!)

for everyone's spaghetti.

Also on the menu was homemade pizza.

Remember the episode where Lucy is at

the pizzeria?

She twirls and swirls and throws the 

pizza dough in the air....

and it ends up all over her head and face!

Do you think Rusty let everyone throw their own 

pizza dough?

Then there was the salad dressing episode.
Fred convinces Lucy and Ethel to 
make and market 
Lucy's aunt's oh-so-famous-salad-dressing.

Again, Rusty used his color printer 
to create a special 
salad dressing label
(from the actual episode).
Notice the heart on top of the jar as well.
Every....little.....detail......!!!

If you have ever watched Lucy at all
then you remember the 
bread baking episode.
When Lucy opens her stove
the bread just keeps coming and coming and coming.
Finally she has to use a hacksaw to 
saw it in two.
Rusty's wife made homemade 
mini loaves of bread,
but the hacksaw blade 
was there to 
cut up the loaves....
and butter them!

 

If you looked closely at the table pictures...
or just guessed...
you know what was for dessert!
Everyone remembers when Lucy and Ethel 
are supposed to wrap candy as it goes by on the 
conveyor belt.
Lucy can't keep up and she stuffs the candy 
in her uniform, under her hat and in her mouth.
Well, Rusty had little wrapped candies....
all you could eat! Or stuff! 
And they were lined up straight down the table,
just like a conveyor belt.

Just in case the meal itself was not 
enough fun,
Rusty had DVD's of Lucy episodes playing
as they piled on their food
and enjoyed their meal.

Yes, Rusty has every episode of I Love Lucy.
He probably has it on VHS tape, 
DVD's
and Blue Rays if I know him!

DVD covers and books add to the 
party decor.
Don't forget little things like that
to fill in the blank spots.

Believe it or not,
Rusty had not even thought of any of this
until 6 p.m. on Saturday night.
He then got it all together,
created and decorated
while his wife cooked
his ideas!
If you know Rusty, you are not surprised.
Imagine what he would have done with
some planning!!!!!!!!!!

In the end, it was more than just Rusty loving Lucy.
It was about having a fun family meal.
It was about celebrating the nonsensical things in life.
It was about enjoying time together before kids 
go to college.
It was about using a big imagination
and a little time and effort and
creating great memories....
and making his Mama laugh!
Find some nonsense and celebrate 
with your family
before summer slips away!
I have linked this with Wow Us Wednesdays
and Tablescape Thursdays. Also Open House Party with Sherry. 
And over at the ever wonderful My Romantic Home Show and Tell Friday.