I sent intrepid The E List reporter, Shawn Marshall, on a hunt for some unusual ideas for Girls’ Nights (or days) out. Sounds like she discovered some goodies! Here’s Shawn’s list.

Spending time with your closest gal pals is like chicken soup – heart-warming and soul-soothing. And often side-splitting too! This year’s arctic vortex kept so many of us homebound on a weekly basis that it was the perfect time to get a little creative in coaxing friends out of the house for some quality time catching up. Here are some suggestions for a few not-so-ordinary girls’ nights out.

TDP Art Studio, Home of The Drunken Palette at The Shops at Water’s Edge

Please your palate and mix your palette at the same time at TDP Art Studio’s B.Y.O.B. painting classes. Their motto? “If you start to think … take a drink!”  They provide all the supplies, instructions, and drinking accessories (ice, glasses, openers, etc.) and take care of set-up and clean-up. No skills necessary thanks to their just-follow-along instruction. Choose between a canvas painting or wine glass painting class for $35 per person (tax included). Check out their website or Facebook page for the calendar of events and painting themes. Owner Felicia Stevens also has a New London TDP Art Studio on State Street and offers birthday and private parties (for any age!), art lessons, family fun Sundays, and open art hours. www.thedrunkenpalette.com

 Anti-Gravity Aerial Yoga Raffa Yoga, Cranston, RI

Looking for a more active outing with the girls? Head to Cranston, RI for the unique fitness fusion that is Anti-Gravity Yoga.  If you saw Pink’s performance at the Grammy’s this year, you know exactly the silk hammock utilized. Take your yoga poses to a new level with inversion. Instructor Nancy Hallal’s 75-minute beginner’s class (taught 10am Wednesdays and Fridays and 11:15am Saturdays and Sundays) will have you embracing the soft trapeze and attempting Chandelier, Skirted Monkey, Fallen Star, and Swan Dive in your first class – all with zero spine compression. Exhilarating, empowering, and a pure rush (of endorphins and serotonin actually), plus a core strengthening, low-impact, fear-conquering experience – an amazing way to bond with your BFF! Raffa Yoga owner Christine Raffa also offers power yoga, vinyasa flow, mindful yoga, TRX, and more. Rather relax? Try the Himalayan salt grotto, black charcoal sauna, or eucalyptus steam room at Urban Sweat next door. Complete your day with a stop at Raffa Raw for organic juices, cleanses, and café. $20 per class drop-in, $16 for online pre-registrations.

www.raffayoga.com

Sanno at Saybrook Point Inn & Spa

There is nothing better then a trip to the spa. Other than perhaps a night out with the girls. A year ago Sanno brilliantly paired the two to create Girls’ Spa Night Out every last Thursday of the month from 4-8pm. Book a half-hour treatment (or two!) – massages, facials, scrubs, manis, or pedis available for $28-48 – and grab your best gal pal to pamper yourselves in good company. Enjoy a tasting of Middle Sisters Wine at check-in ($5 glasses also available), feast on abundant platters of crudité, cheese, crackers, and fruit; and take in the fabulous, tranquil spa setting. Not ready to end the night there? Head over to Fresh Salt for Girls’ Night every Thursday from 6-9pm and treat yourselves to a 3-course menu for $26.99.  www.saybrook.com

TriviAcademy, The Black Sheep, Niantic, Tuesdays, 8:30pm

Q: What does Paul Dean’s clam chowder, tequila mockingbird, and tardy to the party have in common? A: They are all great names for your next trivia team! Grab your ladies for an evening of testing your knowledge with TriviAcademy. Founders Kevin and Jennifer Larrow and their team of hosts bring light-hearted fun and nostalgia to their trivia games held weekly at some of your favorite shoreline bars: The Black Sheep, Niantic, Old Lyme Inn, Old Lyme, and The Brazen Hen, Westerly (Tuesdays); Harp and Hound, Mystic (Wednesdays); and Margaritas, Mystic (Thursdays). New campus now at On the Rocks at Fox Hopyard on Wednesdays! Categories range the gamut from music, movies, and television to literature, geometry, and science and span in difficulty from grade school to college. Place your wagers, take the mid-term, try the bonus, and make sure to stay for the extra credit. Win or lose, the ladies will love it. If you are a know-it-all when it comes to how many time zones are in Canada, the formula for a cylinder, and what is the devil’s only friend in Don McLean’s classic song American Pie, then this is right up your alley.

Find out more: https://sites.google.com/site/playtriviacademy/about-triviacademy

 The Side Door Jazz Club at The Old Lyme Inn

Intimate. Sophisticated. Elegant. The Side Door jazz club at the Old Lyme Inn embodies all this and more, providing a welcoming venue for your music-loving girlfriends to enjoy a low-key evening of martinis and smooth melodies. After lovingly restoring the Old Lyme Inn, owner and devoted jazz fan Ken Kitchings set his sights on the “side door” space attached to the inn to bring his dream to reality and provide a high-quality sound room for the very best musicians to perform. In May of 2013 his dream came to fruition and now the Connecticut shoreline has a premier jazz venue right in its backyard. With room  for approximately sixty, whether you pull up a lounge chair or a bar stool, every seat is the best in the house. My recent visit was to see Noah Preminger Quartet take the stage – graceful and expressive, Noah’s saxophone stylings were accompanied by piano, bass, and drums for a cool evening of simply relaxing and enjoying great music with good company in a top-notch setting. Doors open at 7:30pm with performances beginning at 8:30pm. $10 food and beverage minimum per person, after ticket purchase. Check thesidedoorjazz.com for the calendar of upcoming musicians including a Latin jazz series for April.

Photo: Nat Reeves at The Side Door courtesy Old Lyme Inn