Queen of Quirky Takes Manhattan

Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of catching up with Queen of Quirky blogger and galpal Stephanie.

A Kansas City native, Stephanie and I clicked at the big BlogHer conference in Chicago last summer, finding we had both blogging and journalism-to-PR career trajectories in common. It was Stephanie’s first visit to NYC, so we enjoyed an action-packed girls night out on Saturday.

Girls Night Out: Stephanie and me at Buddakan

The evening’s festivities began with dinner at swanky Buddakan, site of Carrie and Big’s rehearsal dinner and one of my favorite restaurants. It never disappoints and this meal was no exception.

For appetizers, we indulged in chili rock shrimp, taro puff pork lollipops and wok hay frog legs. The gastronomic bliss continued with braised short ribs and shrimp and lobster chow fun, and for dessert, a carrot-ginger cake with cream cheese ice cream that was beyond heavenly. Steph is quite the foodie, not to mention a great cook, so I can’t wait to try her take on Buddakan’s braised ribs.

After dinner, we headed over to the Gansevoort Hotel, where we took in the dressed-to-be-seen scene at both the rooftop bar and Tanuki Tavern.

Big Drink: Steph with Tanuki Tavern’s oversized cosmo

Our last stop of the night -- Irish pub O’Flanagan’s, for some final cocktails and the sounds of cover band Planet Groove. We danced to some classic tunes (“500 Miles” and “Sweat--La La La Long” among them), toasted our friendship -- and talked about how Steph’s hometown will figure into my Grand 2010 Plan.

Stay tuned for the big reveal on Friday!

Rubix Cube Redux

Last Saturday, my friend Lauren and I enjoyed a girls night out at O’Flanagan’s my favorite neighborhood pub.

A fellow travel PR maven, Lauren was the first person I connected with in the industry back in ‘04, when I was making the jump from TV news. We hit it off immediately during an informal networking lunch. I remember thinking if travel PR attracts fabulous women like her, this is the business for me.

Girls Night Out: Lauren (far right) and me rocking out to Rubix Cube with our new friends at O’Flanagan’s

After talking shop for a few minutes about representing Australian destinations, we moved onto more pressing matters -- like our shared New Year’s resolution to do more mingling with the opposite sex and make sure we’re having plenty of fun along the way.

To that end, we joined new friends Lori and Jamie on the dance floor to the groovy 80’s sounds of Rubix Kube.

Rubix Kube: The crème de la crème of 80’s cover bands

I first caught Rubix Kube at SoHo’s Canal Room last summer. The band was even more entertaining the second time around, and I was especially delighted when keyboard player Rich Forman made this special dedication --

“This goes out to all the single gals in the city here.”

As Rubix Kube kicked into high gear with classics from Erasure’s “A Little Respect” to Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy,” Lauren and I burned off our holiday indulgence with a little booty shaking.

During “Billie Jean,” I joined a male reveler in the center of the floor and we danced like it was 1985 while the crowd cheered us on.

It was well after 2am when we called it a night. I was exhausted but exhilarated, knowing that this is just the beginning of what is shaping up to be a great year. How could it be otherwise with my 35th birthday later this month and my long-awaited return to Australia just a few days away?

Girls Night Out At O'Flanagan's

Last Saturday, I caught up with my cousin and soul sister Alexandra for an eventful girls night out -- one that offered an enticing glimpse at what the new year might bring.

Over a few glasses of sangria and sublime Mexican food at Cilantro on NYC’s Upper East Side, Alexa and I had (as always) plenty to talk about. Along with the potential pitfalls of reconciling with an ex, we covered the challenges of juggling work and school (Alexa’s pursuing a degree in music education) and the joys of recovering from a physical setback -- i.e., my foot surgery back in October.

Best Friends: Me and my cousin Alexandra having fun at O'Flanagan's

My cousin hadn’t seen me since the weekend of my surgery, so she was happy to see I'm back on both feet again. That, along with her recently completing finals, gave us plenty to celebrate when we moved onto O’Flanagan’s, one of the best pubs in my neighborhood.

In addition to a friendly and attentive bar staff and down to earth, unpretentious crowd, O’Flanagan’s offers great live entertainment. While Alexandra and I were at the bar, she struck up a conversation with one of the vocalists for the night’s cover band, East Coast.

East Coast: An awesome cover band with talented and friendly musicians

East Coast had everyone on the dance floor with their rollicking renditions of hits from the last 40 years. As we shook our groove things to Rihanna's “Please Don’t Stop The Music,” I couldn’t stop smiling -- savoring the delight of dancing for the first time in months.

During a break to catch my breath, a guy leaned over and asked me if I was single. When I said yes, he asked--

“How is that possible?”

“Actually,” I said bemusedly, “That’s a good question.”

I also had the chance to flex my flirting muscles while watching a couple of guys play pool in O’Flanagan’s back room. One of them, an adorable forty-something named Dave, quickly invited me to join the game and proceeded to engage me in a round of TV trivia.

Before the night was over, Alexandra -- a talented singer -- joined East Coast in belting out Alicia Keys’ “No One.” I, meanwhile, offered my more limited vocal talents in supporting the band’s rendition of Billy Joel’s “You May Be Right.”

As we headed home around 3am, I couldn’t help thinking that the night marked a fresh start for me. I’m ready to, literally, hit the ground running now that it’s a new year, and get back into the dating scene. And I will definitely be dropping by O’Flanagan’s again soon. After all, my pool skills could use a little practice.