So after an A-MAZING dinner last night at the Sprays with Matt and Camille (homemade shephard's pie, crispy potatoe skins, garden salad and Camille's incredible family recipe for delicious brownies from scratch), I pursuaded Camille to go out on the town with me while Matt, Jeremy, and Katy opted for movie night and went to see GI Joe.
Living in LA for more than two years, as a married person with a senior citizen's body clock, I have yet to really explore the night life here. Like most married people, we tend to stick to routine. Our favorite evening gathering place is the Springbock Bar and Grill for amazing hot wings and beer. Depending on the night of the week they also host fun activities such as karaoke, rockband, and live music. If we want something a little more active, we also like Champs in Burbank for their inexpensive pool tables. When we really want to change things up, we'll go down to Santa Monica and hit the promenade, all though it's been a really long time since we've done that.
So doing something "new" is not common for me. But I was up for an adventure, and luckily so was Camille. I have to say, I did feel a little ancient when I was researching clubs to try to figure out where to go and it was quite a task, so many choices and the websites were confusing. Is there a dress code? What kind of music do they play? Do you have to be on a guest list? Is there a cover charge? Drink minimum? What about parking? After much research during the day, I found a couple of options that intrigued me - a lesbian bar called "Girl Bar" in West Hollywood and a multicultural mecca called "Zanzibar" in Santa Monica. Neither of them I was really sold on, however, and most of it had to do with driving far away in unfamiliar territory. Plus, who wants to try to find parking in West Hollywood? Luckily, Camille came to the rescue with a little hot spot that popped up on her GPS called SkinnysLounge in North Hollywood right here in the Valley. You had me at local. Nothing else seems quite so important (music, style, theme, cost) when compared to convenience.
So we dolled up. Camille wore her sexy new sparkly green top and smoky smouldery eye make up that loses you in her big brown eyes, plus, super sweet new brown patterned pumps that I am TOTALLY jealous of. I had just watched Dazed and Confused earlier in the day so I was feeling a little more retro and opted for brown slacks with an orangy striped halter top. Snapped a few photos on the modeling wall to capture the evening on film (er, digital cyberspace), and off we headed to NOHO.
Our immediate impression of the place was very positive on several levels. First, ample free street parking (at least if you arrive early in the night). Second, no cover charge for womeon before 10:30 (great for old ladies like us). Third, really nice, clean decore with good lighting (not to light, not too dark). We started the evening by pulling up a couple of stools at the end of the side bar where the music (good music) was very present but not too loud so we could easily enjoy conversation over a couple of rounds. The drinks were within reason, $7 for shots, $6 for a beer.
After we finished our drinks we headed out on the dance floor to do what we came there to do - get our dance on! We were definitely one of the first people to grace the floor and we chuckled in good humor with some interesting people watching. Of particular note was the girl with the size 2 jeans and the size 14 hair (she looked like an 80s Sarah Jessica Parker), slightly intoxicated and freely getting down on the dance floor. Some guy was trying to boogy with her but she seemed more like an elusive slippery fish that he couldn't hang on to. It was quite amusing. Very into the back bends she was.But we spent little time watching other people and quickly got into our own groove. Camille put in an early request for Outcast to get our blood pumping and we cut loose and had a great time. There are few people in this world that are more fun to dance with than Camille. The combination of confidence from her classic training, appreciation for the music, and overall goofy spirit explodes into an infectious energy that spreads immediately to those around her. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen anyone combine goofy and sexy before as well as Camille did last night. Too fun!
I'm glad to discover at 31 that I'm not too old to go dancing. I worried a little bit that I might not recognize any of the music or that the energy of the scene might be too young to get into. But actually, I think I had more fun than a lot of the younger folks there. It's rather funny, but as dolled up as Camille and I were, we were probably the most casual folks there. Lots of women in very short dresses, with great legs in stilleto heels, with a drink in one hand and gucci purse in the other, and trying not to dance too vigorously so as not to ruin their hair or makeup. But that is LA for you. And when I saw one girl coming back from the bathroom brushing her nose, I had to wonder how many people there that night were on coke or ecstasy. Just another reminder how much I do NOT want to raise kids in this town. How hard it must be to be young and single and searching for real human contact here. It reminded me of how grateful I am to be married to my best friend, to have the greatest friends and family on earth, to have a sense of myself greater than what I look like on the outside, to be pumped up on my own natural endorphins, and to express all of that that for one really fun night through music and dance.
Since Camille and I were one of the first ones on the dance floor, it was only fitting that we were one of the first ones to leave around 12:30 when our old ladie knees and ankles gave out. But we left happy, and satisfied, and open, very open, to the idea of going back again sometime real soon. SkinnysLounge has definitely made it's way into my lovely, ordinary, repetitive, routine life.
No comments:
Post a Comment