I've been lookin at getting some studio monitors for working in the studio... I also would like to get a nice system for playin' house parties. I'm wondering if I could get get some nice monitors and use them for both. I just know the monitors are self powered and easier to tote around. Any thoughts on that?

I like my M-Audio BX8's.  You can now add a sub if you want to.  If you ever consider having separate systems, find a speaker system with just two speakers and sub with built in power amp.  I have a system like that for small gigs and does great.

Well If I understand you right, I wouldn't be taking studio monitors out for house parties.  Just a good stereo system you could rock on, you don't want to kill your studio monitors.  I really don't think there is a good speaker for both, they really require different types of speakers.

jbl my friend  ;)

(http://www.sonostuffs.com/catalog/images/547_image_zoom_JBL_EON15G2.jpg)

eons are too big.
like strobian said, there will be a comprimise. if you want good studio quality, you probably wont want to use them for a party, but if you get speakers for a party, they probably wont perform as well in the studio.
if i were you, i would get some midpriced studio monitors and then look some at some small selfpowered speakers... 10" eons are nice for that, but im not sure how much they are these days.
or you can do like i do and have just a pair of $100 PC speakers with a sub that i bought several years ago. still sounds fine as far as im concerned, at least for what i use em for.

Cool, thanks guys. Yeah, I was kinda wonderin about gettin those nice monitors all trashed up. That wouldn't be too great.

yeah i agree with the above posts. i own a pair of bx8's and i wouldnt take them to a house party.

the reason why you need to seperate sets of speakers, is because studio monitors are usually Near-field monitors, meaning that they are optimized for sounding amazing in within a certain small physical range/angle. outside of that small range, the sound usually sounds dead, and doesnt "fill the whole room" like party speakers do.

these are in my opinion the best studio monitors available and come in many sizes, but expensive

(http://studio229.ca/studio_229_equipment/krk_rp5.jpg)

^KRK are ok, but there not close to being the best monitors out there.  If you mean budget wise, yeah they are an affordable speaker and can sound pretty nice, but they don't compare to a Proac, Genelec, Quested, Adam, or a Klein & Hummel etc when you start looking at quality.