SURPRISE!!! (not)

It was Mister Man's birthday yesterday, and I have been scheming for weeks with many people about hosting this SURPRISE! party for him. The only problem is that I may have let the phrase "surprise party" slip in a string of emails about another event. But then, I sort of convinced myself that he had done the typical man thang, and only skimmed the email (as is his wont when there's a long strong of emails). I'd also tried to get to him to press DELETE before he read the offending email - and again, was deluded about the fact that his little peepers hadn't fallen on my hastily typed words!!

You see, Mister Man is a pretty extraordinary individual who does so very much for other people. He helps all of our women friends with repairs and stuff, and he'll drop everything to help our friends in crisis. He gives of himself more than any person I know. So he, more than almost any other person I know, is deserving of such an honour....

The day started out brilliantly. We prepped some ribs for the slow cooker, and they began a 9 hour journey into the world of the delectable. Then, I fixed us some uber decadent french toast that was stuffed with cream cheese, strawberries and pineapple and served up with some lovely bacon.

And then, I took him to shop for a new scent (a gift from The Mums and I). I'll do a separate post about that experience later...

From there, we headed to the Fairmont Vancouver, Waterfront for a cocktail and some snicky snacks. Mister Man had these gorgeous oysters, and we shared a plate of mussels.

Back at the ranch, I finished making the white chocolate mousse for the chocolate cake, checked on the Tres Leches Cake which was still setting (I figgered too much cake was better than not enough!) and took a "surprise" (AKA staged) phone call from Miss Annie and Miss Lara, suggesting that we meet up at The District for a few drinks before our dinner guests arrived. I thought I had fooled Mister Man into thinking that we were celebrating his day with a small, simple dinner with a couple of friends.... I'd told him that folks were coming at 7, so of COURSE we could slip away to Mister Man's fave haunt, The District, at 5:00 for some drinks and appies.

In the meantime, at 5:30, after a flurry of codified text images between us, Pooter, Susan and Diyan descended upon the apartment to prep the space for the arrival of the surprise party guests as Annie, Lara and I stalled at The District. Oh how we stalled.... a plate of charcuterie, a shot of bourbon, many laughs, much chatting - huge eyes between us any time Mister Man stepped away from the table.

And then came the appointed hour, and off we went. My heart was thumping out of my chest. I could hardly stand the tension. I could feel ulcers growing on every part of my gullet. We walked through the door of our apartment, and there were about 15 of the most beautiful and wonderful people I know - all sitting in wait for that moment in which they could all shriek SURPRISE!!

Oh my nerves.

Well of COURSE he read the email I'd written in which I'd spilled the beans! Of course he had been sitting back bemused for days as he watched me wriggle, plot, scheme and act my face off....

But you know what? I wouldn't have traded it for the world, because it was SO MUCH FUN planning this event. And it was SO MUCH FUN hanging around with a roomful of spectacular people, eating the most delicious potluck you can imagine. And it was SO MUCH FUN to honour such a fabulous human being....

You see, there's probably nothing in the world I wouldn't do for him.... so any kind of event that honours his presence on the earth is a good thing.