A date with Oscar: cosmos, PJs and pedicures

By Pamela Sitt
Seattle Times staff reporter

	ROD MAR / THE SEATTLE TIMES While the Academy Awards are shown on a large screen behind them, friends Luvlee Lee, Krista Burns, and Lisa Morris, live it up with robes, tiaras and cosmos at the W Hotel in Seattle.
	E-mail this article Print this article Search archive

Appropriately, this Oscar-viewing event is called a Crave Party, and some 200 women have arrived in their pajamas.

As pampered starlets parade across the screen, women at the W sip pink cocktails, nibble on dainty finger foods and get their nails polished. They wear striped pajama pants and silk bathrobes, fluffy slippers and rhinestone flip-flops.

"We're so busy, we don't take enough time to spend quality time with our girlfriends," said Melody Biringer, 41, who started throwing the themed parties in Seattle last year (www.craveparty.com). "Women love to watch the Oscars together so they can comment on the dresses and hair, so what better thing to do?"

Johnny Depp — who appears larger than life on a big screen as he greets best actress nominee (and ardent fan) Keisha Castle-Hughes at last night's ceremony — elicits a roomful of "awwws." Renée Zellweger's win for Best Supporting Actress gets cheers. Catherine Zeta-Jones' gown wins approval, as does Sandra Bullock's hair and makeup. Naomi Watts is debated — is she too skinny? And what is Uma Thurman wearing? She looks like a pirate.

Commercial breaks are prime time for browsing jewelry and makeup and scented candles, or trying on peek-a-boo stilettos and pastel jelly handbags.

"I'm smelling a bra," said Lisa Morris of Bothell, holding a scented miniature bra — red lace — in one hand and a cosmopolitan in the other. "And shopping and eating and drinking."

Morris, in teal-blue pajamas and a white bathrobe, came to the party with two longtime girlfriends, Krista Burns of Seattle and Luvlee Lee (whose husband's name is, not kidding, Brock Lee) of Sammamish. Before they had spouses and babies, the trio worked in downtown Seattle and met frequently for lunches and happy hours. Now, they settle for e-mails and phone calls and occasional get-togethers like this one.

"We still like our martinis, but we're a little more into the pampering now," said Morris, 37, who planned to have a pedicure. As for the Oscars: "We don't care so much about who's winning, but I do like to watch what they wear."

Burns, a bubbly Carrie Fisher look-alike, gives the finger food high marks, especially the mini lemon-meringue pie.

"I had everything but the chicken, because Luvlee knocked it off my plate," said Burns, 38.
 
Nearby, catcalls greet a Seattle firefighter who has stripped off his yellow turnout pants in order to get a pedicure. (His wife signed him up.) Jason Moorhead, 34 and one of the few men in the room, is here signing 2004 firefighter calendars. He's Mr. June.

By the time Jack Black and Will Ferrell have hilariously serenaded the Academy while presenting the award for Best Song, most women here are sitting down, and some are tipsy.

Burns, the Carrie Fisher look-alike, has had her eyebrows waxed and they are itching. ("Are they supposed to itch?" Yes.) Her friend, Lee, has spilled her drink on her toes and lost her lip gloss. Morris has won a raffle.

Aileen Miles of Tacoma is at the W with three friends from high school. Onscreen, the Oscars ceremony is barely at the halfway mark, but Miles is well past hers.

"I'm drinking and I had a massage," she said. "I'm ready to sleep."

Fortunately, she's already in her pajamas.

Pamela Sitt: 206-464-2376 or psitt@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company