Dining with Duvall

My daughters Gretchen and Amy, both past debutantes with the Thursday Club's Les Fleurettes, helped fit hair wreaths on the current crop of provisional debutantes last Saturday evening in preparation for the S.E.E.D.S. gala at Descanso Gardens. As we adjusted the wreaths and anchored them with bobby pins, we had a chance to get acquainted.

While the girls set out with balloons and baskets to greet arriving guests, I dashed home to don my gown. Bob and I drove back to the Gardens for the fifth annual benefit for educational programs, a dinner-dance with both silent and live auctions.

The next day I called two of the debs, Elizabeth Seaford and Lexie Malchione, to hear their reports on the evening. In past years, Les Fleurettes have sold raffle tickets, but the planners of Saturday's benefit invited Tiffany's to help raise funds with their Keys for Causes program. The famous jewelry store sent five locked boxes, each holding a beautiful gift, along with 100 keys. The debs sold all the keys at $100 each.

At the conclusion of the cocktail hour, the key holders lined up to try their luck. Would one of their keys open a box?

"There were only four keys left and the box holding the most valuable gift was still locked. I was excited to see the lady, who bought two keys from us, unlock the last box." said Lexie Malchione. "She won a four-diamond drop necklace worth $2,600," Lexie added. "I was so happy for her."

I asked Lexie if she was enjoying being part of Les Fleurettes provisional program. "Oh yes, she said. "The girls are really nice. I like all of them. We just finished our fashion show. I love to shop, so picking outfits for the show was fun."

I laughed when Lexie described the part of the deb program she hadn't enjoyed. "I'm not Martha Stewart," she explained. "Making tea sandwiches was frustrating. Did you know that cutting off crusts and cutting shapes wastes a whole piece of bread?" I admitted that I knew that only too well. Making tea sandwiches for the club has turned into a family joke. Any frustrating task requiring dexterity and artistic talent on my part is referred to as "a tea sandwich experience."