Girls' Night Out - Pride and Prejudice

I know I'm not alone in my girlish adoration of all things Jane Austen. (In case you were wondering, I am Marianne Dashwood of Sense and Sensibility - who are you?) I've read most of Jane's books (plus The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler) and seen many of the Hollywood movies (plus Becoming Jane, which I loved.) Only a few years ago was I made aware of the A&E versions, when my sister-in-law Michelle got Pride and Prejudice for Christmas. Dave and Michelle both raved about it, and I caught a glimpse of the darkly handsome Colin Firth on the cover. I got it on Netflix a few years ago and watched it in spurts while feeding Ginger; it was totally fabulous and I was so sorry when it was over.

I was reminded of its awesomeness when Michelle recently wrote about staying up until 4am to watch the whole thing. Really wish I lived in England and was there for that.

So you might guess how I felt when I was approached by Shanna and Genevieve, two new friends here, and asked, "Hey, Kari, do you like Pride and Prejudice?" Duh. "Yes!" Whatever the screening purpose of this question, I definitely want in on it. Turns out they were putting together a little girls' night out. Talk about being in the right place at the right time; I really needed this.

Saturday night we met at Shanna's house. The husbands and kids went to Genevieve's house for a BBQ, and we gathered in Shanna's basement with heaps and mounds of food and watched the entire 300 minute series nonstop. Shanna disappeared for a bit to put her baby to bed but I don't think we even took a bathroom break. Several women were invited but couldn't come for various reasons. Which was fine because it was more couch space and food for the rest of us.

Let me just mention that we all brought several dishes meant to feed a crowd - southwest salad, chips & artichoke dip, chicken penne alfredo, 2 bean salad, caramel corn, apples & caramel dip, and chocolate chip cookies. I was stuffed to the brim and blew my weekly weigh-in, but it was worth it.

Lydia was an idiot, Darcy was the most unreadable ever, there was something weird with Jane's face/neck shape, Wickham can kiss my butt, Mrs. Bennett was exhausting, Mr. Collins was perfectly creepy, Mr. Bennett most excellent at dropping the sarcastic lines, and Lizzie, dear Lizzie, always perfect in expression and reaction to all situations. She wins the best-usage-of-eyebrows award, and most beautiful smile.

A couple of my favorite moments/scenes, in no particular order:

• Elizabeth firmly shutting down Lady Katherine and her objections to her alleged engagement to Darcy
• Mr. Collins explaining why his staircase is just perfect for a clergyman like himself - neither too steep nor too shallow
• Elizabeth & Darcy meeting by surprise on the Pemberly grounds
• Darcy's cutely anxious expression as he rushes back out to see her after getting dressed
• Darcy telling Caroline Elizabeth's eyes are the ones that have charmed him, not her own
• The first, and second, Darcy proposal conversations
• The conversation/banter-while-dancing

We had started about 5:30 so we ended about 10:45pm - not too bad for a Saturday night. Unless you get home and your husband still hasn't done the dishes like you thought he might and you have to do them yourself. Even so, it was wonderful. Genevieve is a get-things-done kind of chick (after my own heart) so she's already planning some kind of spa/pampering night in November, and I do hope we can do another movie night soon. Probably not so long, but a nice 2-hour chick flick - some of my favs are Chocolat, French Kiss, Moonstruck, Strictly Ballroom and Enchanted.

What would make a great girls' night out for you?