It's My Birthday in 12 Days and I'm On a Mission !!!!

Hi Beautiful People!!!

 

So I'm sitting in the hair shop getting my hair done when it hits me, I should be sharing with my Fab Followers all the stress I've been under these past few weeks!! Who would have thought planning my 40th Birthday weekend was going to be such a pain in the butt?!(Smh)

 

First let's start with the fact that my sister and I were on 2 totally different pages from jump! Mind you this discussion started months ago. When we first started talking about what we wanted to do I explained that I wanted to do one big party and at first she was okay with it and was willing to hear me out (or so I thought). So I did my research, ran the numbers then told her the cost...she wasn't impressed.

Sidebar- I'm a planner! I like to do things in advance and anticipate any problems. I'm strategic in my thinking and I have some OCD (obsessive compulsive) tendencies! So I need things to go a certain way. My sister...not so much! She's more of a free spirit and likes to wing it. Lord help me I had no idea what I was in for.

So every time I would bring up our birthday plans she'd hesitate and would make various suggestions, this became very frustrating. At first she was on board with the big party but the cost was excessive...that was my fault (smile) Then all of a sudden she wanted a small party. I looked at her like "that is not an option" the two of us together know too many people.

Next thing you know she says she wants to go to Las Vegas (with or without me)...WTH??

It got to the point where I just knew we were going to have to celebrate our birthdays separately because I was done!
 
Finally my sister comes up with this brilliant idea on how we both can get what we want and celebrate "our" birthday together. She proposed that we go to dinner on Friday then have all our friends party with us Friday night. Then go to Vegas Saturday through Monday. Sounds simple right.....Not so much!!
 
Now this may surprise you...but I'm not the "social butterfly" I use to be when it comes to going out at night. In addition, I typically don't go out on a Friday night so I have no idea what's the "hot spot" to party at. To make things even more difficult, wherever we go it needs to be able to accommodate a large number of people because we are going to have twice as many guests coming to celebrate with us!

So now I'm on a Mission...

For the past 3 Friday nights I've been going out trying to find a place 

to host our 40th Birthday Party!

 

I'm Excited & Exhausted at the same time!!

(definitely signs that I'm getting old, LOL)

It all started about 2 weeks ago, my destination was Ebanos Crossing in Downtown LA. I receive weekly email blasts from BlackNLA and they have been advertising about a monthly music event called the Sound Edition that features live music at a lounge in downtown L.A. I arrived at about 9pm and had about 30 minutes before the live music started. I bought an alcoholic beverage and then began to survey the place. Their selection of premium drinks was lacking. I'm going to need them to get some flavored Ciroc on the menu....what kind of joint they running without a fully stocked bar?? SMH

BlackNLA had a mixer going on so there was a good crowd of men and women. I liked the lounge set up and they had plenty of seating. As I was observing the scenery I realized I wasn't going to last very long in my heels. I saw there was reserved seating and all the other available seating was full. Then I spotted a lonely seat cushion that I could sit on so I asked the ladies sitting at the table if I could use it. I moved the cushion so I wouldn't be in their way but they were nice enough to invite me to sit with them - Casey, Ivory and Jocelyn. Through conversation I found out it was everyone's first time coming to this event and they were celebrating Casey's birthday that was the following day. The music started and the live band was jammin'. I stayed to hear 3 artists then I was ready to go. 

Sidebar - Stalker Alert! This guy was following me around trying to give me a tour of the club but he was not the promoter!! Wait, What??? When I moved he moved, it wasn't until I sat with the girls that I was safe, Lol. The guys in this place were cool but nothing to write home about.

My Review of this Lounge:

The place was nice but not upscale enough for my party. I planned on dressing up for my birthday and this spot had a more casual and relaxing vibe to it. A good spot to go to with friends (male or female). The music was good but I think the sound system could use a little work. I felt like the band was louder than the performers and drowned them out so I could barely hear them on the microphone singing the lyrics to their song. However, this place has the potential to get better as long as they focus on doing their sound checks before the patrons arrive!

  
Last Friday I went to check out the Sofitel in Beverly Hills at the suggestion of my girl friend Keisha.

I met Jackie, the hostess for the evening and explained what I was trying to do for my birthday. She told me that on Friday nights it was live music by the Latin Kings, but I also had the option of Saturday night and Monday night too. She escorted me to the patio to meet with the promoter Misty who was very nice and gave me a list of the weekend entertainment lineup. I noticed that there weren't very many people in there on a Friday night which was cool and I thought the space and ambiance was great. The inside seating was perfect and I loved the patio outside. The only downfall was the music...I was looking for more of either Jazz, R&B or Hip Hop. I was told that there was jazz music on Monday nights so that might be an option in the future. Unfortunately, this location was a bust and there would be no birthday party shenanigans at the Sofitel. So I headed home!

My frustration has set in people!! I'm not a big fan of going out on Friday nights because I'm at work all day. I actually look forward to coming home to relax, change into some sweats, order take-out food and watch the shows I recorded on my TiVo (smile). So going out every Friday night is not something I look forward to doing...BUT somebodies gotta do it. I refuse to have a party at a venue I know nothing about. As you can see from the research I've done thus far, none of the places have met my expectations. Since I don't like surprises and I don't want to be disappointed...the search continues!!

I was contemplating going to either the Xen Lounge or Hyde Cocktail Lounge on Sunset.

*I questioned going to Xen because it's in Studio City, a little more Hollywood and I'm not sure I can get the space I need for the amount of people I have attending.

*I questioned going to Hyde Cocktail Lounge on Sunset because I read some of the Yelp reviews and the comments were hit and miss. The last thing I need are problems getting in or having to wait when I already have a reservation. Also, I have no idea what kind of music they play. So I put these two places on HOLD for now.

This past Friday was my latest attempt at trying to find a place for this birthday party!

Immediately I met "the promoters" Charles & EJ who were friendly and hilarious. They seemed like cool people so of course they insisted I have my birthday at their lounge. It's small, not a whole lot of people were there on a Friday night and it looks like a spot where me, my twin sis and ALL our guests can literally TAKE OVER!!! And the best part is they had a good DJ playing hip hop music on heavy rotation. Charles introduced me to the General Manager Christina and she was cool too!

 

Now all I have to do is finalize the details of the birthday festivities but...

 

IT LOOKS LIKE I FOUND OUR BIRTHDAY VENUE!!

 

The Adventures of SingleNFabulous'

40th Birthday Party/Weekend

 is going to be a

Glamorous Affair!!

 

 

Stay Tuned...Smooches !!