The Morning After the Engagement Party

Last night we finally got round celebrating our Engagement with our friends. With January being a notoriously penniless month, we waited until Pay Day weekend before planning anything. We really didn't want to make too much of a fuss, it was mainly an excuse to get everyone together for dinner and a few drinks as it's getting increasingly more difficult for all of us to get out these days!  Which is why we were extremely touched that we managed to gather 22 of our closest friends together for a meal. This being the case, we wanted to go somewhere really free and easy with a huge table that would seat us all, so we chose Cosmo in Victoria Square, Belfast.  

We've all had birthdays and other events there before and they've always been good fun. As it's a buffet restaurant it meant we didn't have to wait for 22 meals to be prepared; we were able to just get stuck right in. With everyone constantly moving about to get more food it was easier for Michael and I to get chatting to everyone than it would have been if we were seated throughout the whole meal. 22 people was a lot to work with and it got quite stressful at times, especially when it came to deciding where to go afterwards! 

One thing I always forget, is how damn hard it is to perk up to go drinking after you've had an absolutely massive dinner.  We all had food babies by the end of it, and if everyone was anything like me, all we could think about was going home to sleep it off!  But we soldiered on and braved the freezing cold January weather and walked to The Hudson for a couple drinks. It being Saturday night, the bar was full so we were all forced to sit outside under the heat lamps. The beer garden was a bit of a wind-tunnel and it wasn't long before we were all completely frozen solid and had to go elsewhere.  

We walked around the corner to Whites Tavern with the promise of a roaring open fire to warm our hands and feet on!  As it turned out, the fire wasn't lit but the bar was cosy warm and our spirits were lifted immediately as we started to heat up.  Our numbers had dwindled slightly by this point as some people had to go home for work the next morning etc etc.  The wine and food mixture soon got the better of us and the rest of us decided to call it a night around midnight. The remainder of us jumped into taxis and headed back to our house for a "nightcap".

Michael and I stopped to pick up some alcohol from a friend's (who decided to get out of their PJ's and come back to our house too!) on the way home and left my sister off while we were at it.  When we got home there was a group of our friends dancing with their legs crossed on our front lawn so there was a queue for the bathroom while I went around and frantically tried to make sure the house was tidy enough for guests! The nightcap quickly turned into raiding the drinks cabinet and cracking open Cards Against Humanity until 6am.  It served a good purpose though; we are glad to get all the alcohol out of the house so we can detox during our bid to become hermits for the next few months!