Oh hi.
Right, I write a blog. Totally dropped the ball on that one last week in London...but I like to think that's totally excusable. Prince Harry wasn't going to seduce himself, you know? At any rate, I'm home now and had the best trip and, just as importantly, the BEST weekend!
Claire and I have hosted a joint birthday party every year for four years now, and I'm pretty sure this year's topped them all. Our friend Erin from undergrad also celebrates a birthday the day after Claire's, and we've talked for years about getting her here to party it up with us. Problem is, very few people are willing to actually take a vacation to Minnesota...in February...so I kind of thought it was a pipe dream that we'd ever make it happen. Since she's grade-A certified awesome, though, she hopped a flight last Thursday, enjoyed some first-class free wine, and spent the entire weekend (in unseasonably warm temps!) with us! Only problem: I got back from London less than 24 hours before hosting this year's party. Clearly, I have excellent judgment and/or very inflated opinions of my own awesomeness and ability to power through anything.
I got home from London around 6pm on Friday night, and promptly crashed hard and fast. I had all these great intentions of sleeping on the plane, and even got to fly business class (FLAT BEDS!!!), but then I remembered that, duh, I can't sleep on planes. Especially not when there's also free alcohol to enjoy in business class...so I pounded through movies and read a book and then when I got home this happened:
Sorry, Snapchat audience, for the obnoxiousness that has been the last several days of Lizzie's Jet Lag Chronicles. That early bedtime meant this happened:
Yeah, it was rough. Knowing what I was going into made it even harder to face up to jet lag this time around. It's tough to try to power through when all you want to do is hide under the covers and cry "WHY ME?!" (I'm REALLY not a morning person.) After lying in bed for like half an hour lamenting my tragic first-world-problem-ridden fate, I got up and started prepping for annual birthday traditions! AKA: JELLO SHOTS.
We made them for the first time three years ago, and now they're kind of our birthday party thing. I turned on music and texted other early birds and embraced my inner "that's so college" girl and accidentally doubled the vodka in the cherry shots and had, in general, a great time.
Then it was time to meet Erin for BRUNCH (DUH) (Review forthcoming!), and after an insane amount of food and catching up, we continued the party at Tattersall with Cosmopolitans and 18th and Centrals. How cute is this girl?!
We rendezvoused with Claire (god that's hard to spell on no sleep!), they got manicures and I headed home, ostensibly to nap but actually to, you know, shower and make an effort to look like a presentable and conscious human that evening. The usual.
I have to throw out another, official, super-huge-giant thank you to my mom and dad, without whom this party would genuinely not have happened, or at least would have been a lot sadder. They, unlike me, knew my general level of functionality after a big trip, and when I got back to MSP on Friday, they greeted me with a car full of wine and sliders for Saturday. They also made more appetizers, got three dozen cupcakes, and came over early on Saturday to do basically all the actual work of setting the party up. Thankfully, they also stayed to enjoy the party...because the coolest 27-year olds party with their AWESOME parents. Remind me to someday regale you all with the tale of Jodester's pool cue air guitar solo...it was beyond epic, because my parents are PERFECT.
Because they are perfect, we took selfies.
Erin and I made a Party City run between brunch and drinks, and of course decided that we needed insane party hats and shades for maximum coolness and birthday enjoyment. Also, because we are totally normal and incredibly pretty.
While it looks like I was functional and normal and drinking wine like a regular person, I actually had a few side beverages going...and that striped shirt I'm wearing is outfit change number 3 of the night because, in my completely out-of-it state, I spilled coffee all down the front of my first shirt and wine all over the sleeve of my second. This came on the heels of spilling blue jello shot all over myself and my floor earlier that morning. Clearly, I am not the kind of person who could handle heavy machinery (or, um, anything) while tired.
Highlights of the party: Eva pulled off an EPIC surprise with Kyla, who also came in for the weekend! I shrieked and almost needed outfit change number four. Thankfully, the wine stayed in the glass. We got one normal picture to practice for July, and then this happened...which is probably also practice for July.
Further, any time I get to spend with Kels is the best. She came over early, helped set everything up, and kept me laughing all night...because she's just the kind of amazing friend who can do that. I got all sentimental and weird at one point kind of off to the side by myself because it's so fantastic to know we've been going strong for eleven years at this point, and there's no end in sight. So much love, Kelsizzle!
Nate and Margaret also came, and made my life, and managed to take exactly one normal picture:
And of course this girl. The party started on her actual birthday this year, and ended on Erin's, so there was a LOT of celebratory shot-taking and cheering and general ridiculousness.
I wish I would have taken more pictures, but sadly that's almost it for the evening...I was too busy pounding coffee, Fireball, jello shots and wine (YIKES). Memorable moments:
--Greg and I got our asses kicked by Eva and my dad on the pool table.
--Hannah and her lovely BF Kyle made me aware of the fact that there is such a thing as champagne gummy bears. They were amazing, FYI.
--Repeatedly trying to tell people about London and inevitably getting distracted because, apparently, when tired I have the attention span of a gnat on Ecstasy.
--Popping in on Claire and Erin's FaceTime with Sierra and her BF Danny just to say "HIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!"
--Heart to hearts with Kels in the bathroom (lol).
--Using my mom's "Jodi's Jams" playlist allllll night and loving her embarrassment/awesome dance moves.
--The moment I realized I doubled the vodka in the red jello shots.
--Impromptu dance circle action for "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" and switching to "Shake it Off" the moment it stopped being Claire's birthday and became Erin's.
--Ending the night the Ringeisen way with an absolutely shrieked version of Celine Dion's iconic classic, "It's All Coming Back to Me Now." Because we are NORMAL and also INCREDIBLY COOL.
Obviously I ended the night in the classiest and most functional possible state. Newsflash: partying til 1:30 with jet lag doesn't mean you're going to sleep in like a normal human, it just means you'll still wake up at 5am completely unable to get back to sleep and still a little drunk. You can thank me for that piece of knowledge at your convenience. That said...
THANK YOU times one million (or times 27, ha!) to Erin for spending her break on a vacation to exotic Minnesota...having her here to celebrate was too much fun! Already looking forward to next year, and to paying Erin a visit in New York as soon as possible!
