Does anyone remember when Jeff and I were late to our very own dinner party? That was at our house? With guests we invited? Well folks, I think I’ve officially topped that one. I was actually late to my husband’s birthday party a few weeks ago and I was the one throwing it.
Here’s the story: When Jeff asked if I could throw him a birthday party for his 29th birthday, I was DELIGHTED. Immediately, the over-achieving hostess in me got out my checklist and started gleefully writing down all of the things that I was going to be able to check off of that list during the week. We would have burgers and wine and cocktails and hot wings and taquitos and wine and cake and wine… It was going to be a Casa de Youngren Bash of Awesome-Sauce. So out went the Evite and I spent the rest of the week going over every little detail on my list to make sure it would be the party of a lifetime – or at least of the weekend.
But even though there’s a little over-achiever running around inside of me, I also tend to run late in the course of getting things done. There’s always that one last item on my checklist that I HAVE to finish… and BAM. I’m suddenly 30 minutes late. I happen to know this about myself, so I woke up at the crack of dawn the morning of the party and started tackling my day-of checklist like the errand-conquering beast that I am. I had everything planned down to the hour: guests were set to arrive at 6:00pm, so I knew exactly when I had to be at which store, when to be home, what time to start the cake, chop the veggies, clean up the house, set out the dishes, and heat up the oven. It would be like clockwork – as soon as guests would start coming in the door, there would be fresh hot wings on the table, drinks ready to go, and burgers waiting to be grilled while party guests had the time of their lives – or at least of the weekend. Plus, I would have it all done and ready 30 minutes before 6:00pm. It took everything I had not to do a big ‘ol happy dance in the middle of Costco because I knew I was killing it.
What can I say, I’m a party-planning animal. I was feeling goo-ood!
Except for one tiny little detail… You know how I was planning for the party to begin at 6:oopm all week? Well, apparently when I sent out the Evite, I actually put the start time of the party as 5:00pm… ummmm, yeeeeaaaaaah….
So it’s when I’m standing in the shower, hair full of shampoo, face covered in cleanser, holding a razor in one hand and shower gel in the other, when Jeff comes running up the stairs to ask me why the party was starting at 5 instead of 6, and that our first guests had just arrived…
It was like that time in high school when I thought dying my hair red from a box was a good idea – my Noxema covered face was completely MORTIFIED. AAAAAAACK! So what did I do? I totally and completely panicked. Once I rinsed myself off, I practically fell out of the shower and frantically threw on some clothes while blowing dry my hair with one hand and slathering on mascara with the other. Before I was even half decent enough to come downstairs, our kitchen was already full of guests. The birthday cake sat un-frosted, the veggies weren’t chopped, and the wings were still – wait for it – frozen. FROZEN people!!! Not piping hot and steaming on the table ready to be devoured by our hungry and oh-so-grateful houseguests that I had food ready to go when they walked in the door. Nope. I felt like a complete, mascara-covered MORON.
Tell me please, who forgets the actual start time to their own party???
As I hysterically slathered the cake with frosting (and tried to hide my panick-stricken face while greeting guests with a smile that said “Oh I’m totally prepared and ready for guests – don’t all parties start like this?”) my dear friends prepped the veggies, poured drinks, and pulled the wings out of the fridge as I frantically pointed at bowls and plates and ovens. It was not exactly the start to the party that I had imagined…
So to my dear friends (you know who you are – Dave, Jenny, Heather, Courtney, Kristy and more) that helped me out with the food, here’s a big ‘ol hug and THANK YOU for having my back. The party was still a ton of fun, and guess what? The food was totally ready and prepped by 5:30, just like I had planned.
In true Youngren jet-setting style, a few days after Jeff’s Birthday Bash of Awesome-Sauce, we flew out across the pacific and found ourselves in the Land Down Under hopping around on a beach petting wild kangaroos. It was in the middle of getting licked on the face by one of these ‘roos that I asked myself two questions: (1) how in the WORLD did we get here and (2) and how the world did we get HERE???
There’s lot’s more to come from our trip to the land of OZ, including our engagement session with the lovely Jeff and Erin (yes, you read that correctly – they’re names really are Jeff and Erin) so stay tuned for more!
And because you guys always make me laugh with delight with your witty comments…
***Hug Comment Contest: So apparently Jeff hair gets big and poofy after a four-hour car ride in Australia, so the best comment in regards to Jeffy’s ‘fro gets a free hug. And maybe a Starbucks card, you never know. Love you guys!***
Hugs,
Erin
