Guess who's coming for dinner?

I am not going to lie - I am a fan of the 1925 F Scott Fitzgerald novel The Great Gatsby

And an even bigger fan of the original film starring Robert Redford as Jay Gatsby and Mia Farrow as Daisy. And all the fabulous Bulgari jewellery

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And I also liked what Baz Luhrmann did to the 2013 film version. Not as good as Redford and Farrow, but classic Baz nevertheless! And a spectacle (and all that Moet!)

 

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The movie hype provided the perfect setting our WANTZ dinner this year-  I have been involved with WANTZ for the last five years
 

Here are my fellow Wontons - such great girls - doing such great work
 

Check out more about WANTZ here

 

 WANTZ has raised over 1.2 million for Queensland charities over the last 10 years - not a shabby effort by any means!

 

And our signature event is always our intimate dinner held at Restaurant II in Brisbane each year

 

 

 You know that Superstar tea cosy has spent the last week trying to cajole an invite out of me for this signature event 

 

 

I think it started when she saw a photo of Superstar Chef David Pugh  - She obviously saw a kindred spirit in their shared Superstar status

 

 

So it really was not a surprise to me when I discovered her (changed into her formal tea cosy reserved soley for special or black tie occasions) amongst all my paraphernalia when I arrived at the restaurant

 

She quickly cosied herself with the champagne on ice

 

 

She was brazen enough to charge in and demand a selfie with the man of the moment himself

 

 

She hassled his kitchen staff right in the heart of the busy period

 

 

 and, right after they threw her out, she settled for fraternising with the auction and raffle prizes (how gorgeous is this Mercedes car!)

 

 

Until the marvellous Swing Central Big Band arrived - and she was quick to join them in their warm up

 

and they really were given no choice but to embrace her as a potential support act

 

Thank goodness at that juncture, the guests arrived!

 

The room looked perfect

 

in case you have not already deduced, Jennifer Mendez was there to capture the shots so beautifully

 

This is the view which greeted arriving guests - so chic!

The media hungry tea pot did not wait too long to demand a bestie shot and she chose the youngest of our guests as her target - thanks Millie!

Lucky for her, the crème de la crème of media savvy social commentators, the U on Sunday's Damien Rossi and his beautiful friend M attended the evening and added a touch of glamour

Talking of glamour, this is my very favourite shot of the night

Far North, a magnificent cruising company, sent their beautiful Lisa to our event - their donated prize raised over $20K for our charity - Consider a True North cruise here - they are spectacular! And we were so very grateful for their magnificent support.

 

Superstar tea cosy would not leave centre-stage, at one point reinventing herself as a drummer because she decided that perhaps a pop career was a distinct possibility!

It was a fabulous night we were able to purchase equipment on the wish lists of our chosen charity AEIOU and CHILD to the value of $163,277!  We were over the moon!

As expressed by one of our more vivacious guests - the unstoppable Caitlin!

And if you want to sneak a peak at the wonderful evening - spend a few short minutes checking out this gorgeous video which Jennifer Mendez produced and to remember the true Gatsby spirit

 

Take a Glimpse of our Gatsby soiree here

 

It was the end of a big week at Hanworth  - so a celebration was in order

 

That always encourageable teapot in one hand, a bottle of Moet in the other - I could see no possible reason to complain! Friday nights don't get much better than this!

 

 x HH