In the past couple of weeks, I have worked a few events. One was an event at the Whaling Museum bartending for a group of 25 ladies. The exhibition was focused on the colorful lives and histories of outstanding women from four centuries of Nantucket history. Another event was held at the Maria Mitchell museum with an approximate 125 people. The museum is dedicated to preserving the history of Maria Mitchell who was a Nantucket native and one of the first astronomers in the 1800s.

The largest event on the island each year is a benefit for the local hospital and the Boston Pops play on the beach with over 1,000 people in attendance. 750 of those pay $2,500 per person for a reserved table and catered meal which means each table paid $25,000 - grand total of $1,875,000! In addition, there is an option for general admission at only $600 per person. Needless to say it was a busy day setting everything up on the beach and a busy evening plating and serving this crowd. On the menu was yellow and red heirloom tomatoes topped with crab and lobster salad, beef tenderloin on a bed of corn salad drizzled with horseradish sauce and grilled salmon with an asian slaw. The night ended with an incredible fireworks show - best I've seen in my lifetime and directly overhead.

The following day was Mark's 50th birthday party which was held on the beach. I would say we had about 40 people and a day of relaxation, swimming, eating and drinking. This crew knows how to do it right. There was a pig roast which was completely disgusting but sickly fascinating in the same sense - roasting an entire pig in a box. We had a chilled curried squash soup, a potato torta on a grilled baguette rubbed with fresh garlic and tomato, homemade guac and salsa, broccoli salad, grilled corn on the cob and of course margaritas! There was a man who has a vacation home (one of many) in france on a vineyard and is a wine collector - thousands of bottles of wines. He brought some rare bottles which are worth over $1,000 a bottle.... Rough life on Nantucket.

Friday Eithne and I flew to Newport Rhode Island for the day/night. What a beautiful town!! We did a lot of walking, sleeping on the beach and just hanging out. It was her first break from work all summer and we had a great time. I love to talk about food because the food here is unreal!! So for dinner we shared - oysters on the half shell, a spider sushi roll - best i've ever had, calamari and portobello and tomato bruschetta. YUM!

Just last night I helped Donna Leigh cater a private home party for 25 people. First, Donna Leigh is the most eccentric, hysterical, southern woman I know and I'm always guaranteed a good laugh with this woman. The vacation home was unreal and right on the bay. We served "swordfish twinkies" which is what the host calls them - so easy and unbelievably delicious swordfish drenched in olive oil and breadcrumbs grilled on the bbq. I never would have guessed how tasty this would be. Of course the swordfish was fresh which makes all the difference. Along with that we had an appetizer of asparagus wrapped in Prosciutto drizzled with truffle oil, crostini with duck and chicken liver pate topped with figs (gag), orzo salad with sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives and goat cheese, corn salad, greens with tomatoes, basil and mozzarella and beef tenderloin with a gorgonzola cheese sauce. To top it off - my favorite part was the raw bar which is very common here...oysters on the half shell, littleneck clams and prawns. To die for!

I still ask myself when I wake up each day if I'm really living this life! It has been absolutely phenomenal. Two things I do miss about the west coast are of course my peeps and my attire - shorts, plain t-shirts, jeans and hoodies. Status is very important here on the island and everyone dresses to impress. While I enjoy dress up evenings, I have realized what a casual girl I am and how different the northwest is from the east coast! Luckily Eithne has a big closet!

So many more experiences in the past few weeks that I'd like to share but I'll save those for another post. I am having the time of my life here on Nantucket and look forward to the remainder of my time here!