Another Frederick's of Hollywood party!

Tonight was another Frederick's of Hollywood flagship store party.  After seeing how busy it got last time, I decided to leave extra early and arrive as doors opened.

Excellent idea.  I got there right at 6:00 and that was such a great decision.  I dressed up more this time: short dress, black stockings, and heels. And it was cold outside.  I'm glad I only had to wait outside long enough to have my ID checked and name found on the guest list before I got inside.  No line, no real waiting.

They were doing manicures this time, so I went right upstairs to that station and waited behind just three other girls.  Within minutes, the line had grown to at least ten people behind me. (Ha!  I win!) I always do my nails red, so this time I went for an awesome taupe color...and already began to ruin it as I left the chair and grabbed my bag. Oh well.  I am not meant to get manicures—the last time I tried, I ruined that one too, even after waiting.  At least it already happened before shopping.  Now I didn't have to worry about them anymore.

Just like last time...discounts!  I got a cocktail, went right to the party dresses, and found two great ones...plus an excellent plaid Christmas corset.  I actually asked the dressing room girls to talk me into it.  I picked up a few more things and accidentally ended up spending half my rent.  Oh well.  Totally worth it. I love Frederick's, and that is why I'm a shareholder.

And again, like last time, I got a gift bag with all sorts of goodies.

Lucy Day at The Hollywood Museum

Today was Lucy Day at The Hollywood Museum.  They've had a large Lucy collection there for a few months already, but today was their big symposium including a panel of Lucille Ball's friends and colleagues. I got there as doors opened so I could spend enough time in the actual museum and see all the displays.

A sample of some of the collection

After a good amount of time in the exhibit, I went upstairs to where they panel would be held.  There, the first thing I saw, was Michael Stern's booth.  He's known as "Lucy's #1 fan" (given the title by Lucy herself).  He signed my copy of his book, and maaaybe I spent a lot of money on an autographed Stone Pillow limited-run posted. (Hey, this was my chance to get a guaranteed authentic Lucy autograph.)  There were several other tables with old magazines and collectibles too.

Bob Schiller, during autograph line

The main event was the discussion panel, and the meeting/autograph line following that.  A few people weren't very talkative (or were busy having conversations with each other, just going through the motions of "meeting"/signing for us...), but there were a few highlights.  Frank Gorey (Lucy's driver/household manager) loves my red hair.  Jimmy Garrett is a top-notch dude. (I hope he or his family Googles him and sees this.) Carole Cook is hilarious and a sassypants and now I want to be her when I grow up.  She said I can be.  Bernard Weitzman (Executive VP of Desilu Productions) was super informative during the panel, and came prepared with extra documents and photos to share—he showed me the first photo of him and Lucy together on his first day of the job.  And Bob Schiller (I Love Lucy writer) was adorable and reminded me of my grandpa, which I told him. "But was he wonderful?" (making sure it was a positive comparison!) Quiet, but so fantastic to have met him.

After going through the autograph line, I hung around to sneak a few more photos.  We couldn't photograph during the panel, so I got what I could after it.  The panelists began to clear out as the lined died down.  Carole Cook was the last one remaining—so I approached her again and asked if I could get a photo with her.

Super exciting day, and some of the inspiration I've needed lately.  I need to be more interesting like these fine people.

Frederick's of Hollywood party

On Wednesday, I received an invite for a special event at the Frederick's of Hollywood flagship store in Hollywood.  As this store has taken a lot of my money (alllll those shopping trips), I had to go: Cocktails!  Discounts! Gift bags!

Emphasis on discounts!  Time for a shopping trip again!

I arrived about a half hour after it started, and there was a line from the door around the corner.  I did not expect that.  I also did not expect the girls in line to be dressed as if they were going into a club.  Little party dresses all over...making my long sundress look lame by comparison. There were a few people in "regular clothes," so that did make me feel a little better.

On all my other trips to the store, there were a handful of other customers, but never anything overwhelming.  Employees were always on top of things and offered assistance, dressing rooms, "let me hold this at the register for you..."—but last night, it was busy.

The staff was definitely doing the best that could, though.  I had a drink in one hand, a few items in the other, and several times I was offered help in finding a size so I didn't have to juggle a way to look through the clothing rack.  The line for the dressing rooms was insane, but the staff there also was good about running out to grab a different size if necessary.  It was very well-organized...just busy.

After an hour and a half, I spent far more money than I should have. (But I'm a shareholder of FOH stock, so eventually they may pay me back...right?) Whatever, I got some fabulous stuff and felt all fancy at the store party/event, so I win.

My shopping bag + gift bag (and all the gift bag goodies)

An evening at La Descarga

Last night, we celebrated a friend's birthday at La Descarga, a Cuban rum and cigar bar in Hollywood.  So.much.fun.  It was a classy affair—ladies in cocktail dresses and men in jackets. And of course, I enjoy any chance I get to feel a little Lucille Ball-esque...redhead at a Cuban rum bar, close enough connection to Lucy/Desi.

First of all, when you get into the door, you're led upstairs to a little room...and enter the main bar room by walking through an armoire, pushing a few hanging guayabera shirts aside. You step through onto a raised platform that reminded me of a theater catwalk, then down the metal spiral stairs to the main floor.  We were a large party, so we had a reservation for a table and bottle service, and we were escorted to our corner.

So.  Bottle service.  It's a Cuban rum bar, so of course we went with rum.  A $300 bottle of rum.  Fancy glass pitches of soda and a glass of limes were also delivered to the table, but the rum was so smooth (with hints of vanilla and cinnamon) that most of us drank it on the rocks.

Every hour, there was a short burlesque performance, and the dancer can really move.  I was so impressed with her quick footwork and swinging of her hips.  She was obviously a trained dancer.  We sneaked off to the cigar lounge after the first performance, and though I didn't partake in that, it was quite a sight to see another retro room filled with dressed up people.

After we finished the bottle, there were a few more cocktails and a lot more fun with friends.  It was such a great group of people, and of course we ladies took turns dancing to the latin music with our birthday boy.  So.much.fun.  We already were asking who has the next special occasion so we can have an excuse to return. Because, you know, you kinda need more reason than "just because" when you order a $300 bottle.

Cocktail farewell party

As far as my 10 Things to Do in L.A. list goes...I'm going to call this "partial completion."

One of my coworkers is moving to England this summer. Her fiancee's visa expires soon, and due to complications and legalities, they can't extend it right now. So rather than fight the system, they're both going to pack up and move back to England.  As the fiancee is leaving is two weeks (to set up a home base over there; my coworker will follow about a month later), they held a going-away party this weekend.

So Friday night, we took over the upstairs private room at Monsoon. (That's on Third Street Promenade, so partial completion!) I've been there before for staff holiday parties, and it's always a good time. The food at our holiday parties was always excellent...but this was more of a cocktail/dance party, so I missed the noodles and salmon goodness this time.

I finally got to wear my favorite summertime dress that's too dressy to be a normal summer sundress, but not dressy enough for formal things. It's a nice in-between, summertime cocktail dress, and I didn't even care that it zips up so tightly that it's hard for me to breathe. (Okay, I cared a little.) I actually wrote about buying this dress last year, and my love for it has only grown.

Aside from my dress joy, the rest of the party was great too! I originally coordinated with a coworker/friend so we'd meet out front and arrive at the same time, just in case no one else we knew was there yet. It ended up not being an issue—I easily bounced between groups, as the room was filled with familiar staff and members. (Perks of working at a fitness facility: 1-Daily friendly interactions with not just staff, but also dozens/hundreds of members. 2-Attractive crowd.) So easy to mingle, and as someone who is usually awkward with groups of new people, I really appreciated the familiarity!  I did have my "anchors" that I would return to more often, but overall, I branched out from my normal routine of sticking solely with one core group.

For the sake of my "Things in L.A." list, I'll return to the Promenade another time to fully complete the task. But it was a successful night regardless.

With one of the guests of honor. She's tiny and makes me look like a giant.