Last night I attended an Italian dinner dance at the Peninsula Italian American Social Club in San Mateo. My mom’s uncle is one of the longtime members of the club (for over 30 years), and he had purchased a table at the benefit. (The funds raised were going to benefit the Italian school (scoula) associated with the club).
When my mom first mentioned that I had been invited, I wondered what I was going to wear. I wasn’t sure how dressy the event was going to be, since my aunt said that people go in everything from pants to glitter. I found a really charming a-lined, 50’s-esque dress that was black lace over a black satin slip dress. It accentuated my waist, and flared out over my hips and butt, which is a perfect style for me. I paired it with pearls and red lipstick, completing what I thought of as the 50’s theme of the outfit. I got lots of compliment on the dress, and I just felt good wearing it. I love it when that happens.
We arrived at the club and I found that many of the people in attendance had dressed down, although everyone at our tables were dressed well. I mean, if you can’t dress up at a dinner dance, when can you? We made a night of it, and enjoyed the Mardi Gras theme.
The best part of the night was the dancing. They played a lot of old, Italian songs, including a few polkas. Who knew there were Italian polkas? I certainly didn’t. I danced with my cousin, a few girlfriends (for the faster, non-polka songs), and my dad. By far my dad was the best dance partner. We polka’d, we shimmied (to a 50’s tune no less!), and we danced. It was so much fun! I found myself laughing while we were on the dance floor from the pure joy of being with my dad and having such a great time. My dad is probably very sore this morning, since his dance card was full all night between my mom, me, and the aunts and cousins he danced with.
Another nice perk of the evening was that I knew many of the people there. My cousin, FavoriteCousin, had her own table, filled with many of the ladies who go to the dining out dinners. It was great knowing almost everyone at the table. A new face in the mix was a guy that FavoriteCousin knows, L. L was not only personable and talkative, but a really good looking guy. Hmmm… I have no idea if he’s single or not, but I would be very interested in finding out. I think he’s around my same age, and he had a lot of interesting things to say last night. Who knows if I’ll see him at an event in the future, but I hope so.
The night was so much fun, and filled with lots of new memories.