Elisa's Big Surprise

January 28, 2012

Elisa’s Big Surprise

What a day!  Elliott and I played an important part in the elaborate plan to bring Elisa to the site of her surprise farewell brunch.  This is her last weekend in DC before moving to NYC.  Lauren, her good friend since high school days, decided less than a week ago to organize today’s big event and she was adamant about keeping the plans secret.  Our role included inviting Elisa to meet us at noon at the Smithsonian American Art Museum to see the new Annie Liebovitz exhibit.  After that, we had to convince her to join us for brunch at the Beacon Bar and Grill.  Well, that part wasn’t hard since Elisa is the Queen of Brunch.  But the tricky part was the timing, which we had to get absolutely right so that all of the guests were assembled in the restaurant before we arrived.  I guess we were convincing enough because Elisa didn’t suspect anything unusual.  When we got to the restaurant and she saw so many of her friends (and Christian, who took the train down from New York) waiting for her, she was overwhelmed.  Lauren had prepared a beautiful photo collage that included photos from all phases of Elisa’s life, going back to her early childhood in Fayence.  We celebrated with champagne, mimosas, and the usual brunch fare.  Lauren’s homemade cupcakes were a special treat.  It has been wonderful having Elisa so close by for the past few years, but we understand that she’s ready to move on.  She has a wonderful sense of adventure and she’s very excited about living in Manhattan with Christian.  Of course, we plan to visit her often!