i heart my friends

"hey, save sunday for a hurliday* dinner, i'll make a reso somewhere and send out the info this week." those were my friend colin's words last weekend. colin is in the core group of 8 that includes the gays and a few lady friends.

tuesday i get an e-mail, "i need your address to messenger you the invite." a messenger shows up and i sign for a padded envelope that contains a gorgeous invite sheathed in rice paper with gold labeling. it announced a "christmas sit down" at freeman's, "black and white holiday attire." and just like that, our casual dinner was turning into an event. colin also got to plan the menu.

we showed up and there was another party in our room. colin kind of pulled the "don't you know who i am" card which worked like a charm because his company does a lot of business at the restaurant. we were bought a round of drinks and the other people were kicked out to make room for us. colin disappeared and then reappeared to guide us to our private room where on the table he'd scattered pictures of us and had put photos of each of us, individually, in little stands at each place setting acting as our place cards.

we took turns talking about our fondest memories of the past year. our goals for next year. we regaled each other with tales of parties past. recounted our many nights of debauchery. talked about how lucky we felt to be in each other's lives.

on the menu: cheddar toast with watercress, endive and pear salad, pork with sauteed apples over a creamy polenta, mac and cheese, apple crisp and chocolate cake.

the food was phenomenal but the company was clearly the highlight of the evening.

*my friends have recently started talking like the target lady. all the time. i can no longer decide whether it's funny or annoying. also, tried finding a link to the target lady and can't find one anywhere on youtube! but if you haven't seen her, trust me, she's amazing.