The Girl’s Night In With Our New Friend, Senor Sauza

When I went to bed, just shortly before 2 AM Friday night, I first had to shake some kosher salt out of my bra. Maybe a small bit of watermelon rind too.

These are signs of a good party, yo.

Earlier in the week, I thought I’d invite a few of my neighbourhood foxes over for a “girl’s night in” kind of soiree – I’d received a bottle of Sauza Tequila Silver from a friend, so I bought a bunch of limes and avocados, some chips and salsa, and we got ready to party.

I must tell you that tequila and I parted company a long time ago – probably somewhere in the early nineties, when we just had too many disasterous parties with one another, and eventually I decided we should see other people taste other people taste other spirits… the other night, we made our gentle re-acquaintance.

We were seven in total, including myself. Actually, there were eight, if you count Martin-the-houseboy/babysitter who not only vacuumed the whole house upon his arrival from work, but also tended to all the ladies, grilled delicious shrimp I marinated earlier in the day (olive oil, grated lime peel and juice, kosher salt, chilli flakes – leave shrimp in their shells, and grill over BBQ until done – freaking delicious, oh my soul…) and was the resident refiller of tortilla chips and home-made guacamole to boot. Man, did I ever marry well.

I’d say everyone had shown up by 9 PM – we’re all mothers (except for one) and it’s almost always to get the kids to bed before vacating the house for the evening. Once one’s head is relaxed, it’s easier to kick back and get into excellent chit chat.

Of course, it also helped that we began serving tequila Palomas which were wicked delish. My Mexican friend Claudia mixed them up for us – 2 oz Sauza tequila in a salt-rimmed tall glass with ice, with a good squeeze of lime juice added, and then filled with grapefruit soda (or fresh grapefruit juice with a splash of soda.) We used Fresca, which felt retro and hysterical. I wasn’t sure I could even find Fresca anywhere these days, but it was right there in the soda aisle of the grocery store. Who knew?

We also tried the same concoction in a cocktail shaker in petite martini glasses. I think they just went down much faster – holy wow.

We laughed and nibbled, talked and giggled… I’m always worried that there won’t be enough food or booze for an evening, but the entire spread was completely abound. One friend brought a watermelon. Another brought a bag of blue corn tortilla chips, which look completely festive and excellent in the bowl, alongside the brown chipotle chips and the golden regular ones I’d bought. The shrimp and guac were garlicky, and the salsa had some spice to it – and how lovely it was to wash everything down with the Sauza-concoctions we made. And just about everyone showed up with a bottle of wine… and we drank many of those too.

I had a bunch of fruit I’d intended to plate beautifully, but the boxes of strawberries were aaaaaall the way downstair in the basement fridge – I was wearing 4″ wedge heels and there was no way I could go up and down my precarious back stairs in the dark anyway… so in the end I just cut up some watermelon and put out some grapes to refresh ourselves with towards the end of the night. (I would have sent Martin-the-houseboy, but he’d already snuck off to bed by that time, poor guy.)

We ate and we drank and we made merry. We laughed our heads off. We commiserated and consoled one another about life in general – though really, we’re all fortunate ladies with good, full lives. Still, it’s always good to have a pat on the back from a friend, who says she understands you, and she gets where you are in your life – that we’re all in the same boat… and I love you, man.

It’s rather a good thing that nearly everyone lives only a stone’s throw from my house, as we were very drunk and wobbily by the end of the happy, happy evening. I believe we imbibed the entire tasty bottle, except for a smidge… maybe two small shots worth. (Raise your hand if you want one… anyone?? Bueller?!)

The morning’s mess speaks volumes…

Good times. Awesome peeps. And tequila and I are friends again!! We’ll do it again very soon, I’m sure. ;)