Brush with Fame

The hubz and I went to see Gavin DeGraw last nite at a local venue- Bogarts. Bogarts isn't exactly the, um, classiest of joints you could say- decent, but not somewhere you dress to the nines. so we stand in line for probably 15 minutes- probably longer but i was eavesdropping on the girls in front of us, so i was entertained.
we get up to the door to find out what the hold up is- they're searching EVERYONE- and i mean searching. they were taking hair barrettes, pens- yes, writing pens, sharpies, bobby pins, cigarettes and lighters. they would go thru your bag, find the naughty items and ask "how much do these mean to you?" and you had to decide whether or not 3 hair barrettes and an ink pen were worth taking them back to your car and waiting in line again. apparently some girl was stabbed with tweezers there a few years ago , so they take everything that could be anything. it's quite possibly easier to go through airport security than it was to get into the venue. luckily, i didn't bring my big bag otherwise we would have been there for hours. they give you a quick pat down- and may as well given ya a tab on the ass and move you to the ticket guy and then the wristbanding guy.
the hubz and i sit down at a table in the back- prime people watching area- and just wait for the opening act, marie digby, pronounced MAR-E-A, to come out. i noticed this chick walk in with her friend and thought- holy mother they are way too dressed up for Bogarts. The one was in a black button down short dress with super cute boots on and the other this silk short dress and heels. needless to say, they stuck out like sore thumbs, but no one really gave them a second look, except maybe to think the same thing i did. so they were over talking to the merchandise guy and hanging out around that table for the first act and in between sets.
the hubz saw a guy he went to school with, went to say hi and they chatted for a bit. he told us that he was really good friends with Gavin's manager, Jeremy (super nice guy, by the way) and had come to see him while he was in town. they parted ways and in the meantime a few people had stopped the two girls and took pictures with the one in the black dress. the more i looked at her, the more she looked familiar but i never thought twice about it.
the hubz friend came over to us and was like, do you watch extreme home makeover. we said we didn't watch it but know about the show being in town to rebuild for a local family. he said, the girl over there is paige. PAIGE! yes- that's why she looked so familiar! i told the hubz i was going to be "that girl" and go over and say hi.
she was so nice and so was her friend. she said the reveal to the family was today and they were really excited about it. i told her i saw them when they came in and that i thought to myself, "those girls are WAY too dressed up for Bogarts, so that explained it all." they both laughed and said "well, the two LA girls stick out, i guess. it was either this or the toolbelt, so we opted for this!" i told her i didn't blame her and then said my good byes/nice to meet yous and went back to our table. i definitely would not have put two and two together if i wasn't told who she was- she looked nothing like she does on TV, but maybe that's because she was all done up last nite. either way, she was extremely nice. turns out her assistant on the show (the girl in the silk dress) is married to or dating the merchandise guy they were chatting with all nite. small crazy world.
i wouldn't say i run into famous people often (Muhammad Ali at the LA Cheesecake Factory, Bryant Gumbel in our hotel after our wedding) so I'm not one of those that asks them to pose for pictures or anything. but it was still kinda fun!