Reverse Wedding Crashers... aka The Fake Bachelorette Party!

OK I need to make 2 things perfectly clear before I start this post. One. No. I am not engaged. So don't go on and on with your congratulations, and oh that ring is so stunning, and ooo when is the wedding. It's not happening. (And trust me, you will know when it does actually happen.) Two. Yes, the boyfriend was fully aware of our game plan & begrudgingly supported it all in the name of booty.

Now that all of that's out of the way...

One boring night out my friend paused & took stock of her social life.  Every weekend it was the same.  Hit up the same bars, go about casually talking to a few guys, go home. Wash & repeat.  She then thought back to her last few fantastic nights out... all at bachelorette parties.  What made them different?  What made her different at them?

I'd like to think of it as the Halloween Syndrome, put on a costume, a mask of any sorts and it gives you the ability to step outside the confines of your comfort zone thus enabling you to act out your uber confident persona that most people are only privy to after getting to know you for a while. While people love to hate on The Game by Neil Strauss, there's rhyme to his reasoning. People are inherently attracted to confidence.  It's as simple as that.  Girl's at bachelorette parties are confident.  They're also generally intoxicated & to any single guy scouring a bar on a Saturday night, targets.  What does that equal?  The perfect storm.

Now my friend acknowledged that she didn't plan on meeting the love of her life at a bachelorette party (granted she wasn't opposed to meeting him either) but what she did plan on was meeting a flurry of single & cute guys, significantly lowering her bar tabs and having an excuse to walk up to a stranger and feel completely confident in asking him to take off his boxers or give her a lap-dance. So on that one fateful day, the idea of the Fake Bachelorette Party was born.

Rules

Do not talk about the Fake Bachelorette Party. 

until the next day of course when you have to explain to people that you're not really engaged.

Commit to your Character.

beyonce, we're talking to you.

Brainstorm a list of "Games" designed to force you to talk to as many guys as possible.

scavenger hunts are a fantastic idea. get the competition flowing.

Pre-Game.

duh.

Choose a location filled with men you'd actually like to take home for a night.

i.e. do not go to Saddle Ranch or Bar 107

Make sure you know important details like Bachelor's Name, Wedding Date, etc.

justin bobby golden.

Go ahead, get yourself a penis gun.

oh and penis flavored lollipops while you're at it.

I have to say this was a deliciously wonderful examination of the social psychology of what it takes to change a perfectly normal & centered woman into what HIMYM proudly proclaims the "Wooooo Girl."  (Yeah Slick Mahony, deal with all of those adjectives.)  In our little Machiavellian game, being one of the few girls tasked with playing the bride to be, I opted to draw first shift.  Plus (as you've noticed by now) I'm a huge fan of the "Have you met my friend..." and have no scruples about pulling it as many times as needed throughout the course of a night. 

Without going into too many details, I will say this... objectives were achieved, tasks ticked, goals conquered and everyone had a fantastic time.  This was a great little shake-up to our normal routine and do expect to see it pop up from time to time whenever anyone needs a little punch in the gut to their love life. I'll also apologize to those of you who call this little game misleading... actually.  I don't.  It was hilarious and amazing.

FOODIES || Chef Yealang's SOUL Pop-Up

By now you guys are all familiar with that little FOODIES group I'm in with Michael Levinson & Gloria Fan, with stuff like penis shaped pigs tails, live octopus & still moving lobster sashimi, taco truck crawls in Highland Park, some korean fried chicken at the prince in k-town and Gottsui Okonomiyaki in little Osaka.

Well this time around they went for a more hip food adventure, the Moveable Feast of Chef Yealang's Soul Food in a pop-up venue previewing her new menu for her restro opening in October of this year.  Mmmm mmm good.  Being the ironic genius's they are, they were sure to include Frog Legs on this Leap Day edition of Foodies!

LE MENU

 The Green Goddess Chopped Chopped Kale Salad With Pan Roasted Sun Flower Seeds To Live for and Roasted Beets

  New Orleans Sea Food Gumbo

 Smoked Cheddar Mac and Cheese

 Holler Me Veggie Delight.... Brown Rice, Red Beans, Garlic, Onion, Celery, Bell Pepper and a Mouth Full of love

 Fresh Marinated Fried Frog Legs with Chimichurri Dipping Sauce

 The Jamaican Jerk Chicken Experience

 Le Ox Tails Marinated in allspice, scallions,ginger, Onion and ''Lord Have Mercy''

 Hot Peach Cobbler with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

All in all it was a fantastic meal & I can't wait to see what Chef Yealang can do with a professional kitchen!!

Chef Yealang Smith
Facebook Chef Yealang
Twitter @ChefYealang

Weekend Docket: 3/01/12

HAPPY WEEKEND!  Guess what guys.  I'm going to be doing something insane + awesome on Saturday night all in the name of playing master matchmaker :).  What you ask?  It's a secret... but if you're really dying to know tweet me @nicolemiizuka.

Other than that, just spending my last weekend of freedom with some QT w/ the BF, Zero Is A Cat and my wonderfully cozy couch, mickey mouse blanket & tivo.

Oh and I might throw in a weekend Brunch at Mohawk Bend b/c I'm totally craving a nickle bag ;)

What about you guys?  I want to hear all about your weekend plans too! Leave em in the comments below :).  And as always... if you want to connect, you can follow me on twitter @nicolemiizuka or find me on Facebook! 

Friday, 3/2

Old Pasadena Happy Hour Week
March 1st - March 15th
I know Pasadena sounds like a hike for most of you, but with a ton of amazing bars, restaurants & the Huntington Library it's certainly worth a trip, especially for this Happy Hour week with $1 martinis, $2 beers & $3 gourmet sushi! Old Pasadena Happy Hour Week offers something for everyone. Diners will not only marvel in the adventure of taste that Old Pasadena Happy Hour Week offers, but will also enjoy free live musical performances. Participating restaurants include a/k/a American Bistro, Choza Mama Peruvian Cuisine, Haven Gastropub, Pop Champagne & Dessert Bar, Sushi Roku and more. All over Pasadena http://www.oldpasadena.org/happyhourweek/

Saturday, 3/3

11th Annual Lantern Festival
12pm - 7pm
Marking the closing of Lunar New Year festivities, Lantern Festival 2012 will feature a colorful street fair that blends traditional and modern-day Chinese entertainment with a hands-on, educational twist! Admission is FREE! Taking place at the Chinese American Museum, featured activities include stage performances, Chinese lion dances, cultural fan dances, Chinese folk dances, Chinese music, Contemporary/Hip Hop dances, acrobatics, martial arts, magic shows and shadow puppets. There will also be plenty arts and crafts workshops. Chinatown, Downtown Los Angeles http://www.camla.org/lanternfestival.html

Art as an Appetizer
11am - 3pm
Art as an Appetizer, part of the Pacific Standard Time is taking over the Pasadena Museum of California Art featuring an exhibit entitled "L.A. Raw: Abject Expressionism in Los Angeles, 1945-1980, from Rico Lebrun to Paul McCarthy. There will also be a ton of foodie trucks on hand like Border Grill, Casablanca Truck, Go Chew, Flat Iron Truck and Gourmet Genie. There are still cool special menus all around town as well at places like Playa and Rivera. 490 East Union Street Pasadena, CA 91101 http://www.lacma.org/event/art-appetizer

West Coast Premiere of “8”
7:30PM
Who wouldn't want to see this all star cast line-up in support of Prop 8?! George Clooney, Martin Sheen, Matthew Morrison, Jamie Lee Curtis, and others team up for a reading of Academy Award winner Dustin Lance Black’s play about California’s Proposition 8 trial. Proceeds benefit the American Federation for Equal Rights. I think tickets might be sold out via their website... but I'd say this is worth a call or two to that agent who owes you a favor to sneak a few seats. Wilshire Ebell Theatre 743 S Lucerne Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90005 http://www.afer.org/8losangeles/

Sunday, 3/4

LA Weekly’s 4th Annual Gold Standard Food & Wine Event
12pm - 5pm
The Wine House and LA Weekly are proud to present “LA Weekly’s 4th Annual Gold Standard Food & Wine Event” featuring a selection of 40 restaurants curated by Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold. In their fourth year celebrating Los Angeles cuisine, Jonathan has welcomed back some of his tried-and-true favorites, and also invited a delicious array of new restaurant guests. As of this early release, a sample of confirmed restaurants include: Animal, A-Frame, Baco Mercat, Chego, Chichen Itza, Drago Centro, Guelaguetza, Jitlada, La Casita Mexicana, LaOn, Little Dom’s, Meals by Genet, Mo-Chica, Mozza, Palate Food + Wine, Street, Mezze, Nickel Diner, Lukshon, MB Post, Night + Market, Playa, Providence, Ramen Jinya, Salt’s Cure, Sotto, Spice Table, Starry Kitchen and Short Order, among others. In addition to all the great food showcased at the iconic Petersen Automotive Museum, The Wine House will be representing over 30 top-shelf wineries. Tickets are $75 each, or $95 for VIP, which will get you in an hr early. Peterson Auto Museum 6060 Wilshire Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90036 http://www.laweekly.com/microsites/goldstandard2012/

Inside the Mind of the Arsonist
12PM - 4PM
I know we're all a little fascinated by fire, but after the recent arson spree, this sounds like a super interesting lecture... From Nathanael West’s imagined conflagrations to the recent Hollywood fires, our city is no stranger to flames. Visionary Professor Donald Johnson, in association with LAVA and Esotouric, invites you to participate in a special four-hour event at LA’s regional crime laboratory, on the campus of Cal State LA. Space is very limited and pre-reservation required for this unprecedented opportunity to tour the crime lab, learn from working forensic investigators and educators, and discover the real art and science of crime scene investigation. “Inside the Mind of the Arsonist” is an exploration of the scientific investigation of fire-related felony offenses, revealed through methods of evidence analysis, profiling and select case histories. Attendees will also have an opportunity to tour Cal State LA’s state-of the-art teaching and research facilities in the Criminalistics Department of the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center. The Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center 1800 Paseo Rancho Castilla Los Angeles, CA, 90032 http://www.lavatransforms.org/crimelabmarch4

http://www.organicauthority.com

Lucques’ 9th Annual Cassoulet Night
5pm - 10pm
Chef Suzanne Goin and business partner and sommelier Caroline Styne present Cassoulet Night at Lucques, featuring the traditional slow cooked dish of beans and meats that’s become a classic of Southern French cooking. The $45 menu includes a salad of young greens and vernières roquefort, cassoulet de maison with duck confit, plus a gascon almond cake with roasted apples and prune-armagnac ice cream. Lucques 8474 Melrose Ave West Hollywood, CA www.lucques.com

Huntington Meats Demo @ The Farmer's Market
6pm
Suzanne Tracht, chef-owner of Jar, teams with Huntington Meats at the Original Farmers Market for a series of butchery and cooking classes. This first installment with butchers John Escobedo and Robert Ore focuses on pork. Upcoming classes will tackle lamb and beef. If you're wondering what you're in for, check out this Alie & Georgia video where they go bacon hunting... Topics for the class include breaking down a whole pig into primal cuts, talking about the different quality of pork, what to ask your butcher about pork, plus recipes and preparation guidelines, with generous samplings from Tracht’s dishes. The class is approximately two hours. Huntington Meats, 6333 W. 3rd St., Mid-City www.huntingtonmeats.com