A new in-home Thai restaurant.

A few weeks before leaving for Thailand I suddenly got a big idea. I should throw a fundraising Thai dinner for the Thai Child Development Foundation! That’s sort of a big undertaking when you have little experience cooking Thai food and don’t even have your own apartment to host it. Thankfully, Frances agreed to help. Not only does she have a beautiful apartment, she’s also taken Thai cooking lessons. Score!

After discussing the menu and budget with Frances, I set to work making it all happen. The timeline was short. It was about a week between conception and execution. Considering how anxious I started to get, that was probably a good thing.

When our guests arrived we kept them busy with drinks and a coloring contest. Who doesn’t love to color?

Frances was the head chef for the evening. I played the part of sous chef and waitress. We decided to call our venture Frilly Thai. (Frances + Jilly)

The meal consisted of Tom Yum soup, make your own spring rolls, pad thai, and bananas in coconut milk for dessert (not pictured).

We even played a little “Pin the Trunk on the Elephant.”

I suppose it’s a little weird to praise your own party, but I honestly thought it was pretty awesome. The food was delicious and the guests were generous. Frances’s apartment truly felt like a little Thai restaurant.

In the end, with the addition of donations from my family, I was able to raise $400 for the Thai Child Development Fun. Not too bad.

Thanks to everyone who attended, Frances for helping me host, and Molly for being our photographer!

xo, jill