And to Think I Almost Missed It

“Are you still up for going out?”

The answer to that question was no, but I was going away. I was tired after a long week and just wanted to stay home and relax. I was in a rotten mood. My office move had turned into a cluster-f*ck and my Friday had not gone well. I wasn’t sure if going out would make my mood better or worse. I figured I’d risk it and go anyway. If it got worse, I gave myself permission to leave at any time.

“Yep, just got out of the shower and am trying to figure out what to wear. What time should we meet?”

The plan was to meet Rosie and Liz at Tryst to help our friend Teddi celebrate her birthday. We decided on a time and I started getting ready. I must have changed my outfit six times but it was one of those nights where nothing seemed to work. My hair was not cooperating and because I’d decided against straightening it, it was a mass of not so cute wavy-ness.

Bad outfit + bad hair = bad night.

I was this close to calling the girls back and telling them I’d decided to stay home. As I reached for the phone, I remembered that I’d picked up some dry cleaning that was still in my car. Racing downstairs in jeans and a bra, I went into the garage. Pulling the plastic back from around the clothes, I found my perfect white fitted shirt. Back upstairs, I found the wooden beads and turquoise necklace I bought in Boston and threw on my brown croc heels. I pulled my hair into a messy ponytail and looked in the mirror.

Kinda Boho, kinda Soho…good enough for Lodo.

Driving east on 6th Ave, I was listening to Dashboard Confessionals. Deciding I needed something a bit more festive, I found Jay-Z’s Unplugged and popped it in. “Heart of the City” came on and I sang along as I took the Auraria exit.

I met up with the girls and as we walked towards Tryst, we saw the party. Teddi & Company had the entire front alcove and were already sipping on drinks when we arrived. The waitress asked if we’d like anything and Teddi tells us were headed next door to the Front Porch.

Where?

We were told that we’d love it and we headed over. The bartender made a perfect dirty martini and the crowd was fun. Liz mentioned that she’s going to come to NYC with us in December. I was thrilled and told her she would have regretted not going with us. I reminded myself that I would have felt the same way had I skipped going out tonight.

After a few drinks at Front Porch, we decided we’d head to Samba Room for dinner. It was nearly 10pm but someone managed to get the private section upstairs. Our party of fourteen sat around the huge table laughing and catching up. The pitchers of sangria disappeared quickly. I could feel my cheeks turning pink as my mood became less grey.

As I climbed into bed later that evening, I thought about how happy I was that I'd gone out. I realized I’d forgotten about my bad mood completely.

It’s amazing what some good conversation with some great friends can do for a girl. Of course, a little sangria never hurt either.