Conlix's Engagement!!!

So it went like this. Felix came over and we went shopping for gifts in Chinatown.

He wanted the engagement to go like this: Connie wanted picture frames for Xmas, so Felix wanted to give her three framed photos.

Photo 1 was a joke gift and was this really cute and dorky framed "Certificate of Excellence". (Chinatown - $.99)

Photo 2 was this adorable photo I took of Felly with an "I Love You Balloon" (Chinatown - $1.50)



And finally, Photo 3 was a picture of him holding the ring.



So he planned to be down on his knee "tying his shoe" as she began opening Gift #3. And by the time she realized what the heck was going on he had the actual ring out and was saying sweet beautiful things and ending with "Connie G, marry me." (not sure if those were his exact words, but they should have been.)

About the ring: Connie had seen her dream ring several years ago on a shopping trip with her mom and sister at Bergdorf-Goodman. So Felix had to work with Kristen to go to Bergdorf's, have her explain what the ring looked like and approximately when they saw it so they could look at ring after ring and figure out what ring it was, track down the jeweler, and then have him custom make the ring again.

Somehow the ring was so unique that some jeweler at Bergdorf's actually remembered the exact ring they were talking about.

But either way, this ring. Is special.

Yada yada yada, she said yes. They called friends and family, and then they rushed off to Daniel (supposedly the best restyraunt in NYC) for their engagement dinner.

At this point Kristen and I rushed over to Conlix's to prepare for everyone to come over for a surprise engagement party!

I tried to inflate balloons I had bought, but Party City wanted to charge me a stupid 99 cents a balloon and I KNEW I could get a better deal back in Chinatown. So I booked it back to Chinatown where the nice lady let me fill up 40 balloons for $12.

I am slightly terrified of popping balloons, so I definitely did not want to try jamming them in my backseat. So I stuck in them in my sunroof and drove across town with them.



It was super cute, not a single one popped, and we put a smile on the face of almost every person we drove by that had a soul.



I love balloons. As long as they don't pop.

When they pop I hate balloons.



We got there. Decorated. Laid out cake and bubbly and snackies.



And then guests showed up. Vitri drove down from Boston. Kurt and Tracey from CT. Even those who very rarely ever make appearances, like MAO, came by. THAT is how special Connie and Felix are.







When Connie and Felix entered the room we had turned off all the lights and squatted real low (I originally wanted everyone to just stand there in silence, wide-eyed, and waving frantically like a weirdo but without making a peep, but my awesome idea was veto-ed by sister Kristen) and then jumped up and yelled "CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!"



It would have been magical either way.



I knew I was going to love the cute little crying faces Connie would make.



Very very special.





We had champagne toasts...



Chatted and mingled...







Oh, and can I just say that Connie's hair looked AWESOME.




And then Laura read a beautiful poem she had written.





And Con showed off her bling.



Everyone left around midnight, it was a Monday night after all. But the five of us stuck around and watched a big slideshow of our life together.

I've spent so many special occasions with all these guys that they really do feel like adopted family.

And if you've followed this blog long enough, you probably know I have way too many good friends, and way too many people I consider my best friends...but Felix is like one of the best of the best. One of the smartest, kindest, all-around-awesomest, most-successful people I know - he whose couch (and Steph's, of course) allowed me to fulfill my bicoastal dream.

Felix. I love you. With all my heart!



We've all just been filled with pure happiness this entire weekend. Because, well, a lot of other wonderful stuff also happened that I'll go into at a later date... but it made this Conlix event all the more joyous. And it means so much that we were able to share this love and joy together.






Plus, HELLO! It's CHRISTMAS!!!!



Best Christmas EVER. Congratulations Connie and Felix!!!!!



P.S. my new website has officially launched!

Check out www.denniskwanweddings.com !!!!!!

Felix and Connie engaged!

He popped the question last night.



She said yes.

They went and had a $10,000 dinner at Daniel.

Then we surprised them with a party when they got home.

Will post pics soon!

AC and Shiri's Engagement

I was hiding behind a pillar. It was the most beautiful engagement ever and raised the bar for all engagments to come. AC hired a string trio (originally a quartet but one person couldn't make it) and told them to start playing their song "Wonderwall" as he and shiri started walking close. As they played, a "crowd" began to gather around. He got down on one knee and proposed.



She accepted and they embraced.



And then the crowd applauded. It was only then that Shiri realized that the crowd was made up of all their friends and family who had flown in from Texas, Boston, etc.




Tears and smiles were everywhere. It was amazing.





Originally we were in the plaza in front of the fountain at Lincoln Center and we were all scurrying back and forth up until the very last minutes. But because of the rain, one of the violin bitches REFUSED to get her "$30,000 instrument" wet. Here's what THAT proposal would have looked like...



But you know what, these things happen for a reason. And if we hadn't been in that other position, I never would have gotten as clear a shot of her face as we did in that top picture (you can barely see it in the silhouette above) and that little light behind her ring hand just happened to be there, magical. So yeah. You just gotta go with the flow, and remember that no matter what happens, the end result is the same and you have a great story to tell.

Congratulations AC and Shiri! I could not be happier for two of my favorite people.

Kate on Conan Premiere

My friend, the recently engaged KateLarrrrrrsen, was indirectly featured on the season premiere of Conan:



I had lunch with Kate a few months ago when she was here in NYC, but the last time YOU saw Kate was when she got severely wasted face at her birthday party a couple of years ago.

LOLLLLLL

Gawker Party!

MattyFong invited me to a Gawker Party the other night. It was held at Gawker's headquarters in SoHo, they have this ridiculous roofdeck. Tony Bennett was there. His granddaughter or something was showing her photography. I felt weird taking pics in the actual party, so this is all you get.

Broadway Bares 2010

Disclaimer: If you do not want to see pictures of almost naked men and women (mostly men) DO NOT scroll down and come back when I update on Monday-ish.

So the Katy Perry concert took place at the Roseland Ballroom, which reminded me I needed to post about a long-forgotten event that I neglected to earlier. BROADWAY BARES!!!!

Broadway Bares happened the night we got home from DannyHong's 30th Birthday Hamptons Spectacular.

(The problem with big events and adventures is that there is always a crapload of pictures to prep for blogging, so when these events happen back-to-back-to-back and I have other work to do, things get put on the back burner and often forgotten...)

But yes, Broadway Bares, year two!

Literally we drove back into the city...



Dropped off our things and went straight to the venue. And already the gays were lined up around several blocks...




This years show was called Strip-o-poly. Like Monopoly, get it?



I attended with Tom (who had several actor friends in the show) and Zameer.



And we bumped into some friends, including JoeScat.



Oh, so what is Broadway Bares? Broadway Bares is an annual one-night-only benefit put on by the biggest stars of Broadway. Each year there's a theme. And everyone ends up almost-naked. It is BRILLIANT.

The show opened with Mr. Monopoly singing a song.




He was joined by surprise guest Vanessa Williams.



(The crowd went nuts.)





And then when the song went to the final chorus, Kristen Chenoweth (of Glee/Pushing Daisies fame) popped up!



(There was a collective gasp and the crowd went supernuts.)



Some people were crying.




Most everyone was in awe.

They mounted a swing and flew high over the audience.



Incredible incredible opening.



Each musical number revolved loosely around a monopoly space.

One was called "The Bank" and was choreographed to Lady Gaga's "Money Honey"...






There was a female number. I forget what the song was...



Sexy though...



There was one that took place mostly in the dark with silhoettes and flashlights and stuff.




And then there was a break where Lucy Liu appeared!



And was joined by reality-star Reichen!




She pulled a cell phone out of his crotch.



And chatted with someone, I forget who. Whatever. We loves Lucy.



There was a racecar number to Rihanna's "Shut Up and Drive"...






There was a railroad number...





There was a really impressive one with all these aerialists...








There was a Jersey Shore number...







And a hotel number starring the beautiful Charlie Williams...





And a Go to Jail number...






And then there was some soccer number, not sure what soccer had to do with Monopoly. But it was hot and starred Tom's good friend Matt.








There was another random girl number.



And then there was the Grand Finale starring American Idol's Diana DeGarmo.



Cheyenne Jackson (from 30 Rock and upcoming Glee episodes)...



Jerry Mitchell, the founder of Broadway Bares and head choreographer for shows like Hairspray
and Holly Madison's PeepShow in Vegas.



And then every single performer stormed the stange.




And Alan Cumming came out and announced how much they had made. (A few million I think.)



And then there was a final strip-off where everyone dances their best and attendees tip everyone like gogo-boys and girls.






Hot hot hot hot hot.




Awesome awesome show.



After witnessing some of the most perfect male and female bodies we'd ever seen our lives, we did the only logical thing. We went and ate several plates of fried and cheese-covered food.



Yay!



Want more Broadway Bares? See pics from last year.