Older & wiser

MT is turning 30 on Friday. I'm having a surprise dinner party for him. He knows something's being planned, but he doesn't know what. 12 people are coming. I am so glad that everyone I invited (a carefully crafted list) is coming and I know MT's going to really love having everyone there.

"There" is our apartment. Our 1 bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. Does anyone see an issue with having 12 people for dinner in a 1 bedroom apartment? Yeah, well, I didn't think of that while I was putting together the carefully crafted list. The carefully crafted list of people who have basically nowhere to sit down and eat. Well, our dining table seats 4... so, um, I guess 8 people have nowhere to sit down and eat.

To remedy this situation I've come up with a few ideas.

• One was to put a few people at the kitchen island and get awesome floor cushions for 4 peeps to take the coffee table. That would work great for me, but I love sitting on the floor. I'm in the minority. Not to mention that it would inhibit conversation having us all broken off into groups. Idea scratched.
• Another was to rent tables and chairs. This lead me to the realization that not only do I not have seating, but I don't have enough place settings, either. Not enough plates, not enough glasses, not enough flatware. But renting when all said and done wasn't cost effective for the small amount I need to order. Idea scratched.
• What I decided to do is see if any of our friends have folding tables/chairs. I can get some nice linens and make it look cool. If I can't find enough equip to borrow I'm going to check out the various hardware and $ .99 stores around the neighborhood - I'm sure I can pick up some folding chairs and a table or 2 for not a whole lot of loot. Bonus: I found an old set of dishes in the hallway closet. Not the most awesome looking things, but I decided to go shabby-chic and mix & match colors and patterns so I think it's going to end up being kind of boho cool.

I think it's going to work out really well. Now I can just obsess about the menu... ugh. A lovely mix of vegetarians and omnivores. Luckily I know my way around the kitchen and can come up with something great. It's just a matter of getting that all done while MT is at work on Friday and I "work from home". Mmm hmm.

Speaking of the carefully crafted list - there's a bit of drama surrounding someone I didn't invite on purpose (last year she got wasted and made a drunken fool of herself at MT's party - just one in a series of alcoholic catastrophes she's been involved with). Another friend called me to ask if I forgot to invite her or if I forgot on purpose. I told him that I forgot her on purpose and he disagrees with my decision. You know what? It's MT's party. I'm throwing it. Tough titties, right? For the record, MT isn't too thrilled with her lately and would rather she not attend a gathering of a rather intimate group. He said that if it were a big bash he wouldn't mind if she were there because the buffer between her and the rest of the guests would be pretty big, but a small group isn't the best setting for her. I think I'm making the right call. Am I screwing this one up?