07/28/08

Girls Gone Mild(ish)

Bachelorette parties aren't what they used to be—or maybe I'm not who I used to be. After spending more than a decade reporting on the club circuit, the last thing I wanted for my own pre-marital sendoff was to run around town with a veil on my head. After all, bachelorette parties—and their accompanying paraphernalia—aren't exactly a desired demographic at most nicer clubs downtown...

07/24/08

This Week's Nightlife Buzz: The It List

1. GQ has named its top 20 cocktails in America, and two are from Chicago: The Violet Hour's Juliet & Romeo and Nacional 27's Strawberry-Rhubarb-Basil-Balsamic Mojito. Agree? Disagree? Post your thoughts in the comments section below.

2. Zocalo and Partida Tequila team up for a tequila tasting tonight...

07/21/08

Forget and Forgive

You know those couples who celebrate their relationship almost as often as they sneeze? I'm not just talking about married people. For these folks, nearly anything is a cause for celebration: the anniversary of a first date, a first kiss, a first joint trip to the grocery store. I find it irritating as hell. It's almost as annoying as some of my female friends who refer to their husbands as "my husband" rather than just using his name—as if I won't know whom they're talking about...

07/17/08

The It List

This Week's Nightlife Buzz

1. Crimson Lounge celebrates its one-year anniversary—a lifetime in bar years—tonight, Thursday the 17th, with an event called Grand Opening 2.0 (we don't quite get it either). Entertainment includes New York's DJ Kiss and Belmont Burlesque. The party runs from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.; RSVP to crimson1year@zapwater.com.

2. It's always someone's anniversary somewhere: Also tonight...

07/14/08

Tune in Thursday

LGS is off today. Check back later this week for the latest from the nightlife front.

07/10/08

The It List: This Week's Nightlife Buzz

1. Relive the 1990s, Peach Pit-style. Bucktown's Silver Cloud goes back to Beverly Hills, 90210 tonight, July 10th, from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. when tapered jeans-clad servers deliver liquid nostalgia in the form of sex on the beach shots ($3) and neon coolers (Effen vodka, Sprite, and a Jolly Rancher, with a glow stick; $6). On the tube: 90210 reruns, classic Bulls games, and throwback flicks like Pretty Woman.

2. Chicago's premier eco-conscious lounge has gone even greener. Mark Klemen just completed an earth-friendly cleanup of his...

07/07/08

SDUI: Saving the Date Under the Influence

Perhaps the most dangerous activity for an engaged couple to partake in before wedding invitations have been mailed? Getting hammered. In the last two weeks alone, I think we've added—and taken off and added again—at least 20 people to our guest list. Thanks to the influence of alcohol, acquaintances become best friends, and before we know it, offhanded verbal invites fly.

That's how I came to invite an ex-boyfriend and his girlfriend to my wedding in September. In all fairness, he's an ex who...

07/03/08

Now You C It

Tuesday night I had the chance to check out C-View, the 29th-floor lounge in the Affinia Chicago. The bar is the counterpart to C-House, the hotel's new restaurant from the James Beard–recognized chef Marcus Samuelsson, but don't expect his full seafood menu in the lounge—at least, not yet. A staffer told me they're still trying to figure out how to bus the food from the lobby-level restaurant to the 29th-floor bar. At Tuesday's media party, just about the only things served were...

06/30/08

Breaking the Rules of Engagement

One thing I've learned since I started writing this blog back in December 2006: I've got to have a thick skin when it comes to readers' comments. Among the most ominous posted last week: "I think you are rushing into everything," and, my personal favorite, "Your marriage is going to fail." Some of these declarations even made The Fiancé flinch. "Why would someone say that?" he asked me the other day.

The naysaying isn't about to break up my engagement, but it did give me pause. It got me thinking...

06/26/08

The It List: This Week’s Nightlife Buzz

Like the Web itself, Last Girl Standing has evolved. I used to mix nightlife news with stories from the singles scene; now I pair nightlife coverage with reports from the road to the altar—and you can always read my monthly column, Nightspotting, in Chicago magazine. But since there's some confusion as to the LGS schedule, here's the scoop: On Mondays, I'll be writing about my engagement; on Thursdays, tune in for dispatches from the nightlife front. I'm off for my wedding in September, but the party's not over: In October, it'll be all nightlife all the time. And if you're looking for more info...