Happy Cinco De Mayo!
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My Cinco de Mayo-themed engagement party was a blast, and I’m proud to say I was probably the least inebriated person there (for once) (haha). Why, you ask? As the party date got closer, I was starting to freak out because of the number of “yes” responses. All day Saturday, while running errands, I grew increasingly more anxious until I seriously felt like I was going to pass out just sitting on my bed. For the first time in my life, I sat on the floor and tried to meditate. I even did the “ohmmmmmm” but they didn’t really help. I was just so nervous that the thing would get out of control. I couldn’t eat all day. I figured overindulging in the alcohol realm would probably be a bad idea given the lack of food and extreme anxiety.
Turns out I really had nothing to worry about. Yes, it was large — I’d say maybe 120-130 people at the peak; but everyone was really cool and for the most part, in control.
I rented a frozen margarita machine. I did it mainly for the Cinco de Mayo vibe more than anything else but surprisingly — that actually turned out to be the most popular drink of the night. It was so worth the price, although the cost was fairly cheap anyway (just $175, which includes delivery, set up/take down and two mixes). If you happen to be in the NJ area, try Frozendrinkguys.com and ask for Frank. They were very helpful, friendly and again, reasonable. They set the machine up, and then put a festive grass skirt around it, and an umbrella on top. (You supply the tequila) It’s totally cool. People were so into the drink that they weren’t even waiting for the machine to freeze the mix, they were drinking the soupy stuff on ice. Pretty funny. We actually ran out of mix pretty early in the night, good lesson for next time, and there definitely WILL be a next time. Although since it goes fast, and it takes about an hour to freeze the mix each time, I’ll probably plan ahead and order a couple machines.
While I stayed away from going overboard on the cocktails, a few of the revelers did not. One half of our engaged couple in particular was enjoying herself, as well she should. I had the famous Johnny Lo and his karaoke going on for pretty much the entire party, and Rebecca Gomez doing some backup go-go dancing. It was classic. Please tell me someone has pictures of THAT! One of the highlights of the night, if not the greatest moment of the night, came when Chuck Nice, of VH1’s Best Week Ever and frequent guest of our show, sang Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” — Un-REAL. It brought the house down more than any other karaoke performance I have ever seen. I WISH I had a tape of it because it really was one of the coolest live performances ever. It came late in the evening but it really brought everyone together (people were scattered across the condo for most of the night) and revved everyone up again. Chuck’s wife was with him and can I please say WOW. She’s absolutely gorgeous, and cool as hell.
We also had an amazing cake from Carlo’s Bakery in Hoboken, a local institution. When I get married, Carlo’s is doing the job! I went in on a Thursday afternoon and ordered what looked like a fairly complex cake; they did a beautiful job. The end result was so much more than I dreamed. They knew it was Cinco de Mayo themed, so they added all sorts of related extras like decorative sugared chili peppers – it was so cool. Thank you SO much, Carlo’s for doing such a great job on such short notice.
The crowd was excellent. It kind-of spanned the age spectrum; we had quite a few members of the M&J show crew and “Happy Hour” crew from the Fox Biz Channel (who skew younger, mid-20’s and early 30’s), my and Doug’s friends (30’s) and my family and some of their friends (all ages) Everyone was in a great mood and really seemed to enjoy the motley mix of personalities. I really appreciate everyone showing up. Sometimes people balk at going to Hoboken from the city because they think it’s like another planet, even though it’s only a 15 minute cab ride from mid-town!
Anyway, I’m going to post some pictures – forgot the camera today but will do it tomorrow.
One final note to one of our producers (and Mike’s and my former assistant) Robyn — great job on dealing with the green room today. She had her work cut out for her, man. We had so many guests for our different LIVE segments, and then a few taped pieces after the show. Not just humans, but animals, everywhere. I’ll also include a picture tomorrow of Robyn’s husband, Michael posing with my Hoboken friend Rick and my boyfriend Doug. You’ll get why it’s worth posting when you see it.
Tune in tomorrow to see if Brooke White decks me.
