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<\/a>An interior space, with a window looking out onto the deck. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n
My co-hort, Alice, (whose remarks are the ones in quotes for the rest of this article,) insisted that we hassle to make it, and we wound-up so glad that we did. She told me that she \u201ckept thinking what a great name\u201d Avocado is, and described the event as \u201ca cool, young, happening party, with indoor and outdoor fun.\u201d She said she could tell \u201ceveryone was having a great time!\u201d<\/p>\n
Most of the guests were from a new set of fashionistas, and everyone looked hip and fashionable. I never wear any form of headwear, but I was cold, so I chose a gray, baggy skull cap, and guess what\u2014so did half the people there! And when I saw similar ones in the trendy athletic-wear boutique, I knew I had chosen well. Even though I’m known as a leader, not a follower, I do love being on the same vibe as the rest of the in-crowd on occasion. And this was one of those times!<\/p>\n
<\/a>Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n
The store is beautiful. Very crisp and fresh-looking, even with hordes of people pouring-through their wares. And we wanted every item we laid eyes on. I might work-out more if I were thusly attired. (And I will have that chance\u2014in each \u201cgenerous\u201d gift bag was a white stretch tank and what Alice deemed \u201cthe nicest yoga capris, which are great for any work-out, or just to go around town in.\u201d Now, if I could just still fit in a \u201csmall,\u201d I’d be all set.)<\/p>\n
Since no party in LA can be about just one<\/em> thing these days, there were a couple of fun activities there. Amidst all the craziness, in one popular area, they had women who were doing mehndi tattoos, (which we both abhor, by the way\u2014I don’t get why people would want to have their hands look all different shades of orange for a couple of weeks until they fade completely, leaving you looking like you have a skin disease,) but in another room\u00a0was something\u00a0we were very interested in.<\/p>\n Katsumi Kasai (with Rich looking on, and a hat similar to the one I was wearing, in the upper left) talking to Alice about her beautiful hair. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n As what I refer to as \u201ctotal hair girls,\u201d Alice and I enjoyed \u201cthe most unique thing\u201d–hair consultations with Manhattan Beach hair stylist\u00a0Katsumi Kasai, and his color associate, Rich. Alice said, “These guys were spot on!\u201d And, of course, we loved that they went crazy over our<\/em> tresses. Rich absolutely came to life when he saw Alice’s rich, thick, shiny hair, and told her he wouldn’t even change the color! And he’s a colorist!<\/p>\n He told me the something similar, saying that my own auburn color goes with my blue eyes, and to not change it, (which is good because I wasn’t going to!) And Katsumi told me the only thing he would change about my do is that he’d fix the bangs (which they’re in dire need of, so he was correct,) and agreed with me that he’d cut my almost-waist-length hair straight across, as I want to do, to get rid of the layers that someone cut in a few months ago. He explained to Alice how to make her layers work for her more, which made her tell me, \u201cI learned so much from them in my one sitting!\u201d<\/p>\n We left those men with such validation that we decided to brave the hordes on the tree-lit back deck, where the food and drinks were. The vittles were catered by Lemonade, a place I’m usually not a fan of, but the little I tried here, of what Alice said were \u201cperfect food choices,\u201d hit the spot. There were three flavors of lovely sandwiches (real<\/em> turkey, mozzarella with tomato and pesto, and a \u201cdelicious\u201d tapenade,) all on \u201cscrumptious artisan\u201d bread. I’m not allowed to eat white bread anymore, so, sadly, I was discarding one half of it. The funny thing is, everyone was doing the same! Mine is for health<\/em> reasons, but, since most guests were skinny girls, we think they were doing it for weight<\/em> reasons! I hated seeing so much food waste, but at least it was only carbs<\/em> (which are meant to be wasted<\/em>!)<\/p>\n<\/a>