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Have you ever been invited to a birthday dinner party at some chic, restaurant knowing that you'll be buying yourself a $35 meal minus drinks because you don't have a boyfriend to bring along and pay for it and at the same time you know you are tight with cash since everyone in the office just got a 10% paycut? Also, you know about 90% of the dinner party will consist of couples, which would not include yourself. But, you know you must attend because it's your good friend's sister's birthday. Plus, the sister happens to be your friend, as well.

And it's not just the dinner thing. You must dress nice and bring along an impressive gift because you know that with this group of people, there will be some nice gifts. Oh, and just a note: When I say impressive, I mean as in, "really cute or awesome impressive" that everyone would think, "Oh, man, that's so cute, I want it." as compared to impressive "cost-wise."

I had less than half an hour to find a present simply because I took so long getting ready. Panic started to set in, but I quickly reassured myself that all will be fine.

I got in my car and drove two blocks down the street to the local mall. Once inside, I walked as briskly as I could in my long, narrow skirt and 3-inch heels. I felt like a little torpedo speeding by the stores with everyone watching, thinking I must be some sort of nut. I made a quick-stop at The Body Shop and almost bought the cool little foot treatment kit in a tin, but thought better of it when I remembered that it might be an odd gift for someone just turning 30. I mean it's a nice gift to give, nonetheless, but I wanted something that was more meaningful.

The next stop was Papyrus, which was two doors down. I knew they had some nice picture frames there. You know, the glass ones with real dried daisies in it? It was a bit pricier than I had intended to spend, but at that point, I had less than 15 minutes to buy a gift, wrapping paper, gift card, and get to the restaurant. So, I bought the frame.

My next dilema was picking out something to dress the present. See, for me, you not only have to buy an impressive, yet not so expensive, but truly cute present, but you have to wrap it or pop it into something just as impressive. That means really cute, yet cool wrapping paper or a gift bag that even the guys would be in "awe" of. It took me a good 2 mintues before I chose this textured, lime green paper with silver daisy flowers and vines decorated on it. Perfect. It matched the picture frame.

I asked the cashier if they could wrap it quickly for me. He said there was a charge, plus I didn't have time to wait around. Luckily, I was prepared because right before I left the house, I grabbed one of those pre-cut 3M scotch wrist dispensing tapes that I took from work.

So, I speed-walked back to the car and drove off. At every stop light, I wrapped the present, as dangerous as it might sound. I had it all perfectly wrapped by the time I got a parking spot. I made it to the restaurant in good time.

This restaurant, which I'd like to name, but won't for good reason is a landmark Italian/Chinese restuarant located in the heart of Westwood. The place is so deliciously awesome and aesthetically arousing that the next guy who wants to take me out will have to take me there. Not only that, but he'd have to get us a balcony seat or window seat. Hahaha.....good luck Rach. [Anyway, the reason I don't want to name this restaurant is because people I know may look up the name of this place and get linked here through google, so I'll just say the name in parts: "Euro" is the first part and "chow" is the second part of the name. I hope this works.]

I want to describe the interior of this place, but I'm having a hard time picking the right words. It's trendy & contemporary, yet cozy at the same time. The service and hosting is excellent. My water glass was constantly being filled before it was empty. Square-shaped Fuji water bottles were placed in metal holders atop the light-box-like table tops. Embossed vellum was used as placemats. Quilted silver vinyl covered the chairbacks. Colorful martinis in so many colors decorated the bartop. Ok, I'm exagerrating a bit with the colors....but it's true, they really have all those different colored martinis, one for each flavor, like Lychee Martini, Apple Martini, and even Kama Sutra Martini.

We were served pouched chicken salad atop spinach, huge honey glazed prawns w/walnuts, thin crust gourmet pizza topped with tomato & mozzarella cheese, spicy glazed prawns, sauteed veggies, and this amazing medium rare steak atop vinegared spinach. Oh-my-god, it was sooo good.

After dinner and dessert, we watched the birthday girl open her presents. I snuck away to use the ladies room and as I walked by the bar, I heard someone call out my name. It was Bao, my friend, Keith's younger brother. A second later, I heard a voice on the other side of me say, "Thanks for saying hi." It belonged to Peter, their other brother. Then, I noticed their sister Margaret was there, as well. I was so surprised to see them I gave them each a huge hug. I hadn't seen these guys in probably about 2 years. The funny thing was that I had been staring at Bao throughout dinner from across the room since he looked so familiar, but I was afraid to go up and just say something in case it wasn't him. They told me they saw me when I first walked in. Wow...I must have made a grand entrance....afterall, I was wearing my infamous chocolate outfit.

I finally made my way to the ladies room, only to find out that they were cleaning it and I was told to come back in 5 minutes. As I made my way back to the table, a waiter/chef all dressed in white walked by and complimented me on my outfit with a "That's a great outfit you have on." I just beemed. Then, I looked up toward my dinner party across the room, only to notice that everyone was looking at me and trying to tell me something. It turned out that the birthday girl had just opened my present and she was telling me how cute it was and how much she loves it. The lime green paper was a hit, as well. Her boyfriend ended up carefully peeling off the tape and saving the paper, muttering, "It's really awesome paper." Heyyy, see how good I am? Heh.

By the end of the night, I was feeling pretty darn good. What I almost didn't want to attend due to price limits & lack of a boyfriend ended up being completely worthwhile. I got a great meal with some wonderful folks, I ran into some old friends who I haven't seen for awhile, and I got compliments on my outfit, the present I bought and the paper I wrapped it in. What more could I have asked for?