The party is over, and all evidence it ever occurred has been destroyed or returned to its normal loft existence. 
Overall, I would rate the night as successful, however, I would stop short of wildly successful because nobody cried and nobody got naked. Either of those instances could have pushed the soiree to new heights, but alas, it wasn’t in the cards that night. But everyone came, ate and drank and the guests stayed anywhere from two to six hours which was manageable and didn’t make me want to throttle the stragglers for outstaying their welcome.
A few lessons I learned, which might are probably obvious to people who do this regularly included:
• Plan to sleep in and then drive immediately to your favorite place for brunch the next morning. The dirty dishes and mess will be there when you get back, however, you will feel more inclined to tackle it after eating a plate of migas, having a mimosa or bloody mary and drinking at least six cups of strong coffee.
• You will always have too much food so only buy things you want to eat yourself. Saturday and Sunday were spent grazing on leftover sushi rolls, cold cuts, bell peppers, carrots, hummus, chips and salsa, and cupcakes. If anything, I would limit the extra cupcakes because the only thing eating extra cupcakes makes you want to do is continue eating leftover cupcakes while sitting on the couch and I swear that I was sweating pure buttercream icing at the gym this morning.
• 'Planet Earth' on Blu Ray supplies the best background images available for a party. I figured this would be a good idea since there would be music playing, and you missed nothing by only viewing the movie pictures without verbal narration, but the guests went even wilder for this mini-series than I anticipated. One minute the video is traveling through landscapes like the Tetons or the African Sahara in vivid colors and then you’re watching a great white shark leap out of the ocean to gobble a seal (or possibly an otter, I can’t entirely remember). Regardless, it inspired various comments like “I feel like I’m running down the mountain with that billy goat” to “this is making me really horny.” 
• If you want pictures, then you should pick your friend who spends the most time inside Facebook and ask them for help. I did not follow this rule and the only pictures I got were of the early set-up shown above as I quickly forgot about the camera and focused on more pressing issues like drinking and the bathroom and occasionally drinking in the bathroom to save a trip.
I’m sure there were other lessons learned, but those are the main ones that stick out on a Monday morning. Everything went smoothly, and yet I don’t feel the need to throw another one for quite awhile despite there being 2 or 3 more discs of Planet Earth that I’ve yet to watch.
-BDS
I love the bold colors that you chose for the loft. Looks great!
I am the same way when it comes to taking pictures. I get involved with what I'm doing and forget entirely about the camera. I may have one of two when we first arrive somewhere, which is completely boring. I had an impromptu cookout/Wii party last night. No preparation whatsover, with the exception of one beer run ;)
Your loft is fierce! What a fun place to spend your life!
I like JLee's impromptu party idea. In my opinion, those always tend to be the most fun. But those rarely happen to me.
Glad you had a great party, and I love Planet Earth too. (We need to invest in the Blue Ray, as I bet it's much more vivid than my 1080p HD!)
Jlee - Thanks as it kind of has a latin american vibe now. It works for me. Ha. I feel like anything for a long while now is going to be impromptu as a grill and a beer run and a Wii would be just as good a time (and far less work).
Kmwthay - Thanks as the walls kind of soften the industrial vibe, and I like the mix. I'm with you and Jlee on the impromtu parties as they are easy to relax into and a lot less work. If you already have a 1080p tv, then the player itself is getting a lot cheaper and you'll really get the most out of your set and the video from 'Earth.' It was amazing.
I didn't see any signs of vomit, so I guess everything went as smoothly as possible.
Well as long as you had fun.
Our flat screen is in the bedroom, otherwise I'd be using your idea for my next shindig. Congrats on having a "grown up" party.... you know, the kind where nobody cries, gets nekkid or ends up in your bedroom with the door locked.
"sweating butter cream icing" ahahahahahahah. I love cupcakes.
(love the decor, btw)
Heff - And nobody clogged the toilet, so it's hard to complain too much. Ha.
Nobich - Yep. I guess that often gets lost in the mix. I'm also happy it's over.
Boxer - It's very cool, and at some point, I'd like to own the whole thing and watch the other parts. Thanks on the party and the decor even though a few tears might have been OK. Ha. Also got a call from WM agency during party & it looks like might get coverage in August, so . . . that helped things too. :)
I borrowed those discs from a friend over a year ago and have yet to watch them....oops!!
Sounds like a good time and though most of my friends and I love love love sushi, none of us has ever had it at a party. Great idea!!
My 2nd favorite thing about parties (other than boozing) is the moring after brunch at a greasy spoon!
Coverage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great news. Great news.
Ok I see success.....check.
Buttercream Icing....yummy....check.
Nudity.....no I don't see any nudity. Did you get me here under false pretenses B?
Miss Ash - You better believe it as the next day grease is a fine reward. Ha. And watch those Earth DVDs as they are very cool, and really, you can do other things too and just look up during the parts that intrest you.
Boxer - Fingers crossed for August. Everything takes time, but they are sending me a release form (probably have to hound them later this week if it's not here) and then should take 2 - 3 weeks from that point. Will post word, for good or ill, at that point. :)
KayDee - Guilty. Ha. But last QHF should have balanced those scales to a degree, eh? There's always next time . . .
Glad to hear it went well. There is indeed something lovely about finding the leftovers the day after, even if it means bleeding buttercream icing.
no matter what happens, it's post worthy and hell.... YOU'RE getting coverage. :-) And it seems like you have someone's direct dial into WM?
Bostonpobble - You're right as I almost always enjoy leftovers better than the first time around (but I'm glad I threw the last bits of cupcake away yesterday. Ha.).
Boxer - I do, and the agent's assistant knows who I am, which is definitely a good thing and we talked about how much she loves Austin earlier this week. I would love for her to send me the release form, so it can start getting coverage. Ha. But it IS moving . . .