Girlfriends.

Weekend before last, our darling Lisa G. came to town for a visit. She was actually here for almost a whole week working PROJECT with Shelly - and to get to see her three times in the same week felt like the good 'ol days as in when we were 15.

Saturday when she arrived, Lisa and I ran over the Meadows Mall (talk about talking it back old school!) to find a dress for the Travel + Leisure event we were attending that evening. We ate Auntie Anne pretzels in the food court and then got lost in Forever 21 for two hours. Then afternoon was fun of catching up, shopping, getting ready and maybe a margarita or two. Some things never change :)

That evening we hit the Travel + Leisure's World's Best Event put on by Whispering Giants at the Gold Lounge inside Aria. There Lauren, Lisa and I (Dave, too!) sipped on the 'Longitudes' cocktails before heading to Don't Tell Mama for an evening of singalongs and catching up with old friends.

The evening took a sharp turn for the homestead at the Griffin after a few unfortunate last minute shots of Whiskey. Saturday night shenanigans at their best.

Time with the besties is always needed. Even better news? The Wicklers will be in town next weekend along with Lisa and Clayton. Get ready for round two as summer commences over Labor Day weekend.

Club Monster Curtis

So about two months ago, the girls and I decided it was time to dust off our dancing shoes (once again) and hit the club. We needed to shake our things, feel alive, DANCE DANCE DANCE!

Yes, two months ago we picked a date. This is what happens as we get older. It gets more difficult as people have children, husbands and careers. I remember the days when Club Monster Katie would decide to hit the club at 1 a.m. Those days, my friends, are long gone.

I sent out an evite, because that's also what you do when you get old. We need to have it on our calendars, people! or it just won't happen.

Eener and I were discussing what it would be like one night at SSFS. Afterall, it had been about a year since we hit the 'ol club scene. First discussion was if we still have the moves. "We'll be dropping it like it's hot. Wait. Do they even still do that? WAIT. Can WE even still do that?" (And to answer that question, yes, of course, and we will be until we're 84.). I told her that I no longer worried about guys coming up and grinding on us like they did back in the day. "Why not?" "Because we're old now. None of the 22-year-old frat boys are going to want to come up and grind up on this old lady." "No, no, I don't think they will be able to tell that we're old. It's dark in there." Hmmm. "We'll wear our cardigans. And flats. So they know."

So when the Alerts popped up on our calendar and we knew the TIME HAD COME, we put on our new dresses and lip gloss, popped in our GNO Mix Tape (Beiber Fever!) and headed for CityCenter/Bellagio. The Bank was our first stop of the evening.

We brought Club Monster Curtis along for the ride and let me tell you, this guy is a good time. Since, unfortunately, we don't have video, let me just tell you that his voice is that of the background in Luda's 'How Low Can You Go'.

And now, without further ado, Club Monster Reunion + Meet CMC....

Are you there, DJ? It's me, Katie.

So there we are on Girl's Night Out. I'm happy to tell you that it was a total SUCCESS. We started at my place for a few drinks and then headed to Sammy's for a delicious meal. After reviewing our choices, we decided to start at our classic spot...Body English. We knew we would be able to walk in and I knew that they offered free Champagne for the ladies on Friday nights. Bubbly at Body English? I'd never turn that down. We arrived, like when the doors opened, like a couple of old ladies and the place was empty. And stayed that way until midnight when we decided it was time to "move on". But we did get some great shots since we had so much room to work with on the dance floor:

We then decided to head to Tao, which was the polar opposite of Body English. We were like a bunch of sardines on the dance floor there. I'm sure at one point or another in the beginning we were all thinking, "This. Is. Miserable. Who ARE all these people??"

Once we established some room, we had a grand old time and before we knew it, it was 2:15 in the morning and we had been dancing for a solid two hours. Then it was time for some fresh air out on the balcony. Here I captured a great shot of Lile.

I suffered from quite the hangover on Saturday but bounced back after a delicious brunch and movie with Chloe and Alex. Saturday night was spent with LoBo drinking Sangria at Firefly. Although I had a BLAST on Friday night, I think we all felt we got it out of our system and won't need to visit the scene again for another 6-12 months.

I love 22-year-old me. I won't deny the fact that I certainly felt 22 again, especially when we were at Tao. Driving down Flamingo towards the Hard Rock brought back some fond memories. But, more importantly this weekend, I learned sitting at Firefly on Saturday with Lauren, that I also love 25-year-old me. The one who enjoys some good conversation, good Sangria and is in bed by midnight and up at 7 for a walk in the park with her dog.

Turns out, growing up isn't too shabby after all.

Dust Off Your Dancing Shoes, Ladies.

These two ladies are my partners-in-crime tonight. The three of us are dusting off our old dancing shoes and hitting the town.

Watch out Vegas, we're back.

The three of us (that would be myself, Double L and Eener and years ago a few more, before people started running off and getting married) used to be regulars down on the Las Vegas Strip. No joke, several of my friends referred to me as "Club Monster Katie". Most of the time, I don't miss rolling in at 4 a.m. smelling like a nightclub. The crowds, the drinks spilt on your new shirt, the sleazy men who think that humping you from behind is dancing, the $16 sugar-free Red Bulls...but every once in awhile, we'll get an itch, an itch to re-live what used to be a normal weekend for us.

So a few weeks ago, we picked this date as an Official Girl's Night Out. (I remember when it used to be 11 p.m. on a Saturday and we'd decide to hit the club and now we need three weeks notice!) In preperation of this evening, I picked up the current issue of Las Vegas Weekly a few minutes ago and WOW, there I found a complete GUIDE on what to do and who is offering what to local ladies. There are 36 possibilities on this list if you include the gay clubs (which we do). It's a bit overwhelming.

So we're starting with a step one with the girls arriving at my place at 7:30 for pre-dinner cocktails. Needless to say, the next post should be an interesting one.

Oh and don't be surprised if I call you at 2 a.m. for a ride home :)