Tomorrow Is Another Day...

A Hair Changing Decision

Well, it's that time of year again.  The time of year in which I waffle for months about whether I want to change my hair color for the 19 billionth time.  At this point, I've had just about every hair color that can be found in nature--I've been very light blonde, dark blonde, light brown, dark brown, Snow White black, auburn, strawberry blonde.  And not all of those colors have been very good decisions.

And yet, here I sit with the urge to recapture my blonde days once more.  But then I also have days that I am perfectly happy and in love with my pretty, shiny brown locks.  Honestly, an arsenal of wigs would be so much more convenient and even economical!

I have my next hair appointment at the beginning of April, so I'm running out of time to make my decision.  I only have a few more weeks to decide if I'm ready to engage in the Re-Blondeing of Angela.  And that's where you, my faithful readers, come in.  As in many previous fashion and beauty decisions, I am turning to the internet for input.
Here, we have blonde Angela, circa 2009.  I wouldn't be able to get this blonde in one appointment, nor do I really want to get THIS blonde, but imagine this color with a few more lowlights and that's what I'm thinking about.

And here is brunette Angela that we all know and love.  The lovely thing about brown hair is that it's cheaper than blonde hair.  But since I've started having it professionally done, only marginally so.  I think if I stick with brown, I'm going to go slightly darker with my lowlights, just for a little change.  But it probably wouldn't be noticeably different from this photo to anyone but little old moi!

So, what say you internet?  Please help me make my decision!

 

Santa Finally Came Through!

Between my parents, Santa Claus, and Colby, I've been begging someone for a cat for the past 27 years, all to no avail.  Who knew all it would take is a deployment, a 13 hour driving distance, and a hot summer day for my wish to come true!

Meet Kitty.

Boy?  Girl?  Who knows!  We like to maintain an element of mystery in our relationship.  Keeps the spark alive.

 
Not such a fan of being camera stalked.  I blame the paparazzi.

Through tuna, we have built an unshakable bond.  Next up?  Trust falls.

I'd say I'm trying not to get too attached, but um, obviously that would be a blatant lie.

Kitty has taken up residence under Colby's car for the past couple of days, and after a lengthy Facebook meeting of the minds with some of my most cat savvy pals, we're all pretty sure she's a stray.  Her fur is in fairly good condition, but she has what looks like some scarring above her eye, she's skin and bones beneath that lovely coat and she's pretty skittish, though she lets me pet her and didn't hesitate to come out when she smelled the can of tuna I brought.  I'm working on building up her trust so that hopefully I can eventually get her into a carrier and bring her to the vet for a check up.

Disgruntled Kitty says, "Aren't your precious with your little plans and ideas."

Housekeeping and a Design Challenge

Oh my gosh, you guys!  I have made it so much easier for you to stalk me!  The other night, I was sitting in my pajamas, drinking a glass of wine, and trying desperately to get into a kind of boring book.  As generally happens, I somehow found myself on the internet.  But then!  A terrible thing happened!

I had no unread email.

No one had updated Facebook for almost an HOUR.

GoogleReader was completely empty.

What is a girl to do in a situation as dreadful as all that!?  Well, start a Twitter account.  Obviously.

I had a Twitter account that I broke up with about a year and a half ago, so it's not like I'm totally new to this ballgame.  But I am starting from scratch as far as followers and people to follow, and I hope to I never find myself in as nightmarish a situation as I was on the Night of the Dead Social Networking Websites.  So far I have Tweeted about wine, Gandhi, Jodi Picoult, and my dog taking a poo in the herb garden.  You can find me tweeting my heart out here.

Also, I have caved to the future of social networking and got myself a Facebook page--not for me, for the website.  If you find that you can't get enough of me here, we can now be linked eternally through the magic of Facebook!  You can click "like" over there on that little box in the sidebar, or go here and "like" me directly through Facebook.  I'm not sure what you get out of this, or even what I get out of this, but it makes me do a little happy dance whenever I see a new face over there.  And DON'T YOU WANT ME TO BE HAPPY?!?  Tangentially related, I really want to see that Facebook movie.  It seems like a surprising amount of drug, sex, and alcohol have gone into its creation.  Facebook, not the movie.

Though, I'm sure the movie too.

And FINALLY.  I'm in the market for someone to overhaul my site design, and in exchange for this service, I will pay them US dollars.  Does anyone have recommendations for someone who does work that is reasonably priced, simple, elegant, and doesn't involve any cartoon characters or pin-up girls?  Nothing wrong with cartoon characters and pin-up girls, I just want something different, and that seems to be the design trend lately, so it's in all of the portfolios.  I found this seller on Etsy who seems to have a pretty good deal running, but I'm open to suggestions as well.

I hope y'all are having an amazing weekend.  I am actually planning to leave the house this afternoon and interact with live humans, so I'm pretty excited about that.  Here's hoping your day is equally as thrilling!

Monday Miscellany and SHOES!

Well, one positive effect that abstaining from Facebook and Twitter has had is my increased blogging.  It's positive to me anyway--I'm less certain as to whether that is true for you.  It is kind of hilarious how I sort of think to myself in little 140 character Tweets now.

For example, I finished my absolutely miserable English Second Language class yesterday, and it felt sort of anticlimactic to not be able to log on to Twitter and blast out my celebration to my Twitter friends and Facebook.  And whenever a kid says something funny or the dogs do something ridiculous, my first instinct is always to craft a semi-witty little sentence and then I leave it rolling around in the empty cavern of my brain, irrelevant and useless once ten minutes have passed.

Anyway, so hallelujah, at last this class is complete!  I have the sinking feeling that this grading period will bring me my first B as a result of my inability to schedule the practicum hours that counted for 10% of my grade.  I'm frustrated because the whole thing felt like it was not completely within my control, but it's not as though I've never gotten a B before.  Though I've never gotten a B in a class that we're having to pay through the nose for, so that's a bit different...

My weekend was incredibly relaxing (read: slightly dull).  I spent all of Saturday starting and finishing a book while Colby studied for a test, and then I did receive a lunch invitation on Sunday, but that's reserved as my homework day, so I spent the day finishing up readings and papers and got them all turned in with time left to spare for yet more reading.  Another perk of my non-Facebook/Twitter lifestyle: I have suddenly discovered all of this TIME.  I had no idea how much of my life was spent reading status updates and wall-stalking.

Last weekend I stumbled across a fantastic dress at White House/Black Market that I determined to be necessary to my attendance at an upcoming wedding, so this weekend I scoured the internet for the perfect red shoes to go with it.  I do already own a pair of red shoes--two actually--but neither are the PERFECT red shoes, so I'm sure you understand my dilemma.  Dilemma #2? I found five pairs of perfect shoes!  And I want them all!  Lo, as we have another tuition payment looming, I cannot have them all, and I find myself simply incapable of making a decision.

Here is the dress:

And here are the shoes:

RSVP Haidy
I love the simplicity with the sassy little cut out--but maybe too simple?

RSVP Hardy
These perfectly reflect the retro look I'm going for, but maybe they're too perfectly retro?  And a little too tap dancey?

Guess Heda Mary Jane
These stick with the mary jane look, but on a sleeker, more elegant scale.  Not sure if they have a retro feel though, and I'm leaning more toward the chunkier platform toes.

Charles by Charles David Pomade
Oh, slingbacks.  Truth be told, I don't own very many of them, and I'm not sure why, because I love the look.  These are once again a little simple, mixed with some sass, but maybe not quite enough?

RSVP Paris
And finally, another pair of slingbacks with a few additional details--the cap toe is a little pointier and the buckles on the slingack gives a little more flash.  But maybe the details are too much?

I've got a couple of them as forerunners in my mind, and I'll probably try a few of them with the dress to see how they look together, but I'd love to know what you're thinking in this here fancy schmancy poll.

 

Because I can't buy them all...
	RSVP Haidy
	RSVP Hardy
	RSVP Paris
	Guess Heda Mary Janes
	Charles Pomade

How I Spent My President's Day Vacation!

Friday and Monday were both no school days for my school district, but of course, being that we are a day care provider, I did have work on Friday because it's not technically part of the federal holiday.  It really wasn't a bad day of work though--I got in at 9:30 and was gone by 4:45, so it was a perfectly lovely schedule, and my few bad apples weren't there, so I actually had a lot of fun.

We kicked off our vacation weekend by trying out a new Mexican restaurant, Playa Azul.  We already have a favorite tiny little Mexican restaurant in the town a little to the south of us, but I'm thrilled to have another tasty option closer to home.  The prices were a smidge higher than our favorite hole in the wall, but I think we'll definitely be making a return visit.  After an amazingly fattening dinner, we headed off to the movie theater where Colby was kind enough to sit through Confessions of a Shopaholic with me. 

Now, this movie is more controversial than I thought it would be.  People who love the books seem to not be too impressed with the movie and people who hate the books hate the movie equally.  I don't know, maybe I'm just not that deep, but I loved it.  Sure, it deviates from the books (that, admittedly, I also love) but I actually felt that Isla Fischer's Becky Bloomwood was more likeable than the book version and Luke Brandon was dreamy.  My only two wishes were that they had kept the setting in London and cast a better actress for Becky's sidekick, Suze.  But alas, Luke retained his Britishness, and Suze made minimal appearances, so I couldn't get too upset.  The movie will definitely be added to my DVD library, and I'm sure it will enter the rotation of chick flicks to watch when Colby is deployed.

Saturday, I woke up to the smell of French toast wafting its way up the stairs, and when I woke up from an after breakfast nap there were a dozen beautiful roses and a heartfelt card, referencing one of our favorite couple jokes--the piguin.  I remained pretty firmly rooted to the couch most of the day, while Colby did some homework, and then I finally got myself all gussied up for our romantical Valentine's dinner at another favorite, nearby restaurant, DeCaterina's.  I made the near fatal mistake of wearing a fabulous corset top to dinner, not thinking about the fact that I was probably going to want to cram a lot of food into my stomach and that may be difficult when dealing with steel girders up my side.  Anyway, I pushed through the pain and managed to eat an amazing dinner and dessert.

Sunday, I had my turn to work on homework and that night we had some other couples over for a supremely enjoyable game night.  We had tons of food, wine, beer, and round after round of Cranium, which I am heartbroken to admit the girls lost two out of three times.  We still managed to have a great time, despite the losses, and Monday I spent on the couch once more, recovering from a hangover caused by red wine and defeat.  Now, it's back to real life as I'm working my way through a mountainous pile of dirty laundry and preparing to head back to work for my afternoon shift.  But the good news is that it's a short week and I've got tons of tasty leftovers to eat my way through. 

Yesterday, I also booked a flight back to Baton Rouge for March 28-April 5, so I've got another exciting vacation to start counting down to, and I can't wait to spend some relaxing time at home with my parents.  I haven't had a trip home just to hang out and visit since the March before I moved to Washington in 2007, so I am way overdue for a vist, and I can't wait to see all of the changes to Baton Rouge that I've been hearing so much about.

Finally, I want to thank you all for your comments on my last post.  I was amazed at how good it felt to get all of that out, and I was overwhelmed by the wisdom and kindess you shared with me.  Y'all seriously are the best, and we should totally eat ice cream and cupcakes together some time.

Question and Congratulations

More to come very soon about our awesome and fairly last minute trip to Portland, but I just wanted to post a quick congratulations to President Obama. I am incredibly excited and optimistic for the future of the United States, and just hope the country can turn itself around. We've got big hopes and dreams and I think it's time for this shakeup in Washington!

On a completely different topic--does anyone know if there's a way to make certain posts private in Typepad without making the whole blog password protected? I've tried searching the help section with no luck.

Oh wow they're swearing in Biden as I type! This is really happening! God bless America, let freedom ring.

Fashion Dilemma: Halloween Edition

Halloween is approaching rapidly, and I'm trying to put together the finishing touches on my flapper costume.  I have the main pieces pulled together, but am still waiting for my back-seamed stockings to arrive and need a couple of other little accessories, which is where you, my favorite readers in the world come in.

First question, I need a bold red lipstick, but I'm having trouble finding a shade that is less five dollar hooker and more Thoroughly Modern Millie.  Keeping my coloring in mind (pale and... pale), does anyone have any suggestions for the perfect red?

Second question, a shoe dilemma.  Here is the dress I'm wearing:

And here are my shoe options:

A) Black Gemma

B) Brown Regina










I'm torn, because I think that the black shoes are a little more dressy, plus they match the black feather in the headband, but the brown shoes have a very nice vintagey feel to them and are a pretty neutral brown.  So, seriously, if I'm going to give Daisy Buchanan a run for her money on Friday night, I really need your help!

The Exciting Results Show!

Um, you guys rock with the fashion advice.  Seriously.  Would you all care to move into my closet and choose my outfits on a daily basis?

Anyway, the winner by a landslide was the pewter dress, and I'm not going to lie, I was kind of crossing my fingers that it would trounce its opponents.  If we are able to arrive at the airport on time, get our luggage without a great deal of standing around and waiting by the carousel, and then make the 2 and a half hour drive to the wedding location by seven thirty in the evening, I will wear the sexy red dress with gold shoes to the rehearsal dinner.

Yesterday I brought the dress in for alterations, and luckily, since I bought the dress at a deep discount, even with a $35 alteration cost, it will still come in under full price.  And honestly, about 90% of my dresses have to be altered anyway, so I've made peace with the necessity.

I'm off to spend my weekend bemoaning the fact that Colby isn't here to enjoy this gorgeous weather with me and trying to work off the entire package of milk chocolate covered mint Oreos that I ate last night.  What do you think--about 17 hours on the elliptical should do it?

Also?

YAY!!!

What to Wear: Part One Million

The time has come again for me to ask you all to help dress me for a wedding that we'll be attending back home over Memorial Day weekend.  You've done such a great job in the past, I just can't bring myself to get dressed anymore without your assistance!

A little background on the wedding.  It is at night, it isn't really extraordinarily formal or casual and I'll be seeing a lot of people from my schooldays, so I think we can all agree that it's quite important in these cases to look as smashing as possible.  I'll also need a dress to wear to the rehearsal dinner, so I'll probably go with the dress that comes in second place.

So, I have three options, and they're all very different styles and two of them will require alterations because women's sizing has just gone completely insane.  Begin tangent:  Ann Taylor Loft, seriously, what the hell is up with your sizing lately?  I know that I'm not a large girl, but there is absolutely no reason that a size 2 should be practically falling off of my body.  I'm not saying this to be all Braggy McBraggerson, because really, I'm incredibly irritated with the fact that I ordered a size that I actually worried might be a bit too small and am now going to have to pay additional money for a seamstress to make it fit.  End tangent.

Anyway!  I don't know how everyone goes about taking these gorgeous self portraits of themselves, because I took about six frillion pictures, and all I could come up with are these blurry hot messes.  (Also, I have cropped my head out of the pictures due to the fact that I have neither showered nor applied makeup today, and no one should have to see that horror.)  I hope that you can find some way to see beyond the completely crap photography, and vote for your favorite dress in the fancy little poll I have set up at the bottom of this post.

Dress #1:  The Classic Look (ATL Black Chiffon Dress)

Please know that I don't typically stand this awkwardly, but I was attempting to pinch about two inches of material to give the illusion that this dress fits.  I think the straps will have to be shortened a little bit as well so that I don't have a baggy bust.  As fun as that is to say.  Also, are the black shoes totally boring?  I could also wear red heels, but I wasn't sure they'd really work with this style...

Dress #2:  The Sexy Look  (Red Stretch Silk Nicole Miller)

Hey, lookie there!  It's the dress you all helped me decide to buy for the wedding that we ended up not attending last year!  I love the dress, but the downside is that I don't know if I'll be able to eat anything without looking five months pregnant.  Also, do you like how I'm channeling Lindsay Lohan in my pose here?  I just need to throw up a peace sign and get a massive boob job, and you'd never be able to tell the dfference!  (Do these shoes make it too whorish for a wedding?)

Dress #3:  The Trendy Look (Pewter Satin with Sequin Detailing ATL)

Again, awkward stance due to the fact that I'm tugging back a wad of material so that the dress appears to fit.  Love very much that this dress is supremely comfortable and I could eat at least three servings of dinner and two pieces of cake and you'd never be able to tell.  Also, I like that the color is a little bit different.  Did I mention that it was comfortable?

And with that, let the voting begin!!

Which dress should it be?
	Dress #1:  The Classic Look
	Dress #2:  The Sexy Look
	Dress #3:  The Trendy Look
	Other: I'll tell you in the comments!
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Well, actually, gone day before yesterday.

BEFORE

(This was the most recent photo I could find where I was wearing my hair down, and it was taken almost two months ago, so try to imagine it about an inch longer.)

AFTER

Horrible self portraiture aside, I really quite like the new hair.  It took about half as long to dry, and now I just have to figure out the perfect combination of styling products.  I really want to try this volumizer to see if it will give my hair a bit more lift, but since I've hit my $300 limit for the month, I'll have to wait until February to test it out.  For now I'll have to make do with the various root sprays, mousses, and serums currently residing in my hair drawer.

I can tell my hair is having trouble hanging on to the color, probably because it's been so blonde for so long.  I usually try to space my hair appointments out to 8 weeks rather than the recommended 6, but I think for the next few months I'll have to go in more frequently than I like until the color builds up enough to not wash out within the first week.

While I'm still working out the styling kinks, overall I'm really happy with how the cut and color turned out.  I really felt like my stylist listened to what I was asking for rather than nodding her head and then doing whatever she pleased.  It took me almost 8 months, but I think I can finally say I've found my perfect Washington hair dresser--YAY!! 

Hey, Let's Talk About My Faults Some More!

Lest you think I sat around for the rest of the day yesterday preening after the compliment hit-and-run, my head growing exponentially larger with each preen (Digression:  Don't you just love the word preen?  I like to say it... preen, preen, preen... it just sounds so perfect!), let me assure you, that was not the case.  In fact, I do not take compliments well in the slightest.  I'm surprised that I was able to accept the remark from the gentleman without stuttering or bumbling my disagreement.  When someone compliments me, I typically suspect that they either want something from me or that they're blind.

So, while I felt all good about myself for about an hour, I eventually managed to burst my bubble by thinking of all of the other pretty ladies in the world with whom I have the pleasure of being acquainted.  And classy?  Since I spend about 95% of my time on the morning train sound asleep with my mouth hanging open, I'm not really sure where I'm exuding class and/or elegance.  Perhaps it's the way I politely close my mouth each time I wake up for a moment when the train stops at each station.  That's pretty classy.

Here's the thing about me and my level of self-confidence.  It's not terrible.  I mean, people don't run and hide when they see me coming, and I've never frightened a small child with my visage, but I definitely don't consider myself to be an Uber Hottie First Class.  I think I clean up rather well, and when looked at from the proper angle, I think I am even passably pretty, but lately every time I look in the mirror I kind of want to scream.

I've never had a glowing peaches and cream, English rose complexion.  I'm pale, but not in that alabaster, romance novel heroine kind of way.  I'm pale in that Casper the Ghost, oh my God, check to see if she's breathing kind of way.  But even with the paleness and the irritating red patches, I was never the kid with the terrible complexion.  I had my fair share of pimples, but in the past couple of years--years that I thought would be spectacularly blemish free--I've inherited the face of a fourteen year old.  On a regular basis I have at least six or seven blemishes on my face, and it's even spread to the dreaded bacne--THE HORROR!!!  I have no idea if it's stress related, hormone related, or if my face just hates me, but whatever it is, it's incredibly annoying and painful.  Many of the pimples aren't even your typical run of the mill type--they're those awful below the skin cystic kind that stick around for weeks and sometimes month.  I manage to cover it up fairly well with foundation, but I won't be caught dead in public without at least a heavy dose of concealer.

Oh my God, that paragraph was so gross.  You can go throw up now if you want, but then come back, because my next paragraph contains a hair question and I NEED YOU.

I'm so sick of my hair.  I was growing it out for the wedding, and now that the wedding is over and the holidays are here I haven't been able to fit in the time or budget for a hair cut.  I love my hair stylist, but the girl ain't cheap.  I can't wear my hair down anymore because it just hangs there looking all limp and thin, and I'm running out of cute ideas for wearing it up--I've done the ponytail, side ponytail, low braid, buns--any tips?  However, in the next few weeks I will be making a visit to the salon, and I'm ready for a big change.  I'm thinking Lexie Grey but without relinquishing my precious side swept bangs.

So what do you think?  I've had short hair before, and it makes my hair look much thicker and healthier, but I don't want to go any shorter than this.  And I'm so tired of being a blonde--it's wreaking havoc on my hair and it's been a few years now, time for a change.  Of course, I've also gone the brown route before, and while it started out kind of lovely, it mutated over time and ended rather horrifically when I woke up one morning and realized, oh my God, black hair does NOT WORK on you.  Although it is a testament to my relationship with Colby that he started dating me in my era of hideous hair and apparently seemed to like me anyway.  So, now, the voting, the opinions--I need the internet to tell me what to do!  I am incapable of making decisions without you!  Do you think there's anyway that my hairdresser could give me Chyler Leigh's cheekbones and jawline!

Um, right.

But seriously, do your part, let your voice be heard:

What should I do with my hair?
	Definitely Lexie Grey--chocolate brown and chin length
	I like the Lexie Grey cut, but a lighter color
	Other.  I'll leave a comment with my opinion on your misguided hair choices
Free polls from Pollhost.com

And The Winner Is...

By, like, a million votes.  I mean, seriously, you guys are very vocal when it comes to fashion opinions!  I was going to tally up all of the votes, but I'm not sure who left comments with votes, who just voted and who did both, so I'll just say that the purple dress won with the blue silk and the black Anthropologie close to tying in second place.  And I'm not sure what to think about the fact that all three of these have actually become my favorite--am I incredibly in tune with the fashion consciousness or am I an indecisive sheep?  The answer remains a mystery, but I'm leaning slightly toward the latter.

Regardless of whether I'm the next Anna Wintour or not, I am so thrilled that this dress won.  I kept imagining all the dresses in my head over the weekend, and when I looked at the actual pictures this one was the only one that really lived up to what I was envisioning.  And I don't think it can get much more perfect than wearing purple and gold on game day, even if we do play as miserably as we did against Kentucky.  Hey, I'm no fair weather fan, and if it gives me an excuse to decide on one of the most expensive dresses out of the bunch, then so be it!

I still really, really love that blue dress though, and I'm considering waiting until my next billing cycle and buying it as a honeymoon/future wedding guest dress.  And hey, maybe it will go on sale!  Or maybe Nordstrom will just be like, hey, you look like you need a pretty blue dress, here, have this one!  And who am I to say no to an offer like that?

Now I'll have to search through my closet to see if I have any shoes that will be appropriate with this dress.  I know I have some closed toe metallic gold shoes with a little spindly heel and an ankle strap and a pair of gold shoes that are pointy toed pumps, but I think that this dress calls for something a bit more strappy, so I'll have to see what I can dig up before I begin perusing Endless and Zappos.

In other news of the weekend, we finished painting the upstairs hallway and loft.  And yes, WE painted it.  Which means I helped.  Colby did all the detail work and I came behind him with the roller and whined about it for the entire 3 hours.  But we got it finished and will never have to do it again.  Until next weekend when we paint the bedroom and bathrooms.

I also seem to have picked up some sort of virulent and deadly disease at some point.  We went out for dinner and drinks with some friends on Friday night and I went a little overboard with the margaritas and martinis, so when I woke up Saturday feeling like death warmed over with a side of sore throat, I just chalked it up to the fact that I do not recover well from the effects of alcohol in my old age.  So I soldiered on and we ran many hours worth of errands, including wedding ring purchasing (yay!) and I felt marginally better by the end of the day.  Then on painting day, when we were halfway through our third wall, I started feeling a bit dizzy and nauseous, but since I had been so vocal about my reluctance to paint in the first place, Colby just thought I was being a wuss.  (Which admittedly, yes, I was.)

Last night a low fever hit, and this morning I woke up with my throat on fire, but I didn't feel comfortable calling in sick to work, because who stays home because of a stupid sore throat?  Not this girl!  (In my old job?  Oh, I totally would have stayed home.)  So, here I sit at work, with the chills and slight nausea interspersed with extreme hunger.  I would go home, except the first train doesn't leave until 3:35.  And I feel bad playing the sick card when I've been here just over a month.

The guilt, it kills!

So, since I haven't felt like I was going to throw up in about an hour and my stomach is beginning to feel like it's going to digest itself, I'm going in search of some soup.  Probably as soon as I've ordered and paid the stomach churning will begin again, but that's a risk I'm  just going to have to take.

Fashion Dilemma: Wedding Edition

**Edit:  Thanks to the wonderful Wordnerd (I'll bet she'll appreciate that alliteration!) this post now comes equipped with 100% more voting buttons!  You should be able to vote for multiple dresses in case you're just as indecisive as me.  I would also love to hear why you chose the dress you did, so feel free to leave a comment about your selection as well.  All of the votes so far have really helped me start to narrow down my choices!**

So, remember when I was all, "I need a pretty dress and I found about 14,000 that I want and now I need you to pick one for me!"  And then you did?  And then I ended up liking the one you all picked for me best anyway?  And so it worked out really, really well?

Well, guess what.

I need a pretty dress and I found about 14,000 that I want and now I need you to pick one for me!

I've been hunting for the perfect dress to wear to our rehearsal dinner, and I honestly just can't narrow it down beyond these six dresses.  I want a lot of things in this dress--I want it to be interesting, since let's face it, all eyes will be on me (and that guy... what's his name... you know, that one I'm marrying) so a little black dress is out of the running.  I don't want strapless because I already have plenty of strapless dresses and I just want something a little different.  And I want the dress to be sexy while also saying, "Yes, I am a demure, blushing bride--now get me a glass of Pinot!"

A few things you should know about my body type if you're newer to my blog and haven't yet seen one of the five frillion pictures I've posted:  I have a generally slim figure, but I do carry all of my weight in my hips and thighs, and I am not what one might call "well endowed" in the chestal region, so, you know, I'm not too concerned about popping out of a lower cut dress.  So really, empire waists and fuller skirts are usually the most flattering.  And my coloring is definitely fair--whites, beiges and other lighter neutral colors tend to make me look like a corpse, not that there's anything wrong with that, I'm just not going for the Corpse Bride look.

So now that we've gotten all the boring blah blah talkies out of the way, let's look at some gorgeous dresses and get our voting buttons ready, shall we!  (I actually don't have a voting button--I am not that technical, so you can just put the number of your dress of choice in the comments and I will painstakingly record the results by hand.)

Dress #1: Maggy London Silk Chiffon Halter Dress (in Absynthe)

Cutaway halter with a high neck is ruched to enhance the fluidity of a silk dress, defined at the waist with a charmeuse bow.

I adore this green--is that crazy?  I mean, yes, it's definitely WOW that's green, but I just love it.  And the bow just makes me all gooey inside with love.

Dress #2: Maggy London Sleeveless Silk Dress (in Galaxy or Absynthe--shown in Galaxy)

Tiny tucks detail a scoop-neck dress, shimmering in silk charmeuse and finished with an empire waist above a pleated party skirt.

I also love this blue, but I have the option of getting it in the green shown above as well.  However, it's a tough call, because blue is one of the best colors on me and this is a lovely one...  Also, aren't those little straps just to die for?

Dress #3: Maggy London Beaded Silk Chiffon Dress (in Regal)

Goldtone embroidery and sequins emphasize the deep V-neck, inset waist and hem of a surplice-bodice dress with gathered skirt.

Okay, how awesome would it be to wear a purple and gold dress on the day of the LSU v Arkansas game?  Plus the beading is gorgeous.  That doesn't hurt.  (And I swear, I looked through the whole of Nordstrom's dress section and came up with these three Maggy London dresses and had a number of others on my original list--I think I need to add that to my list of favorite designers.)

Dress #4: Suzi Chin Maggy Boutique Print Surplice Bodice Dress (Brown Combo)

Sumptous silk waistline centers a cotton print dress, styled with a slightly pleated skirt and a volume enhancing bubble hem.

I know some of you are violently opposed to the bubble hem detail, but I think this one is fairly subtle, and I love the brown and bright blue combo.

Dress #5: Anthropologie Chabana

A delicate floral arrangement upon deep purple silk, inset with black and topped with shimmering gold piping.

Another purple and gold dress--I am so on it!  Anyway, this one is a bit more on the demure side, but I love that it has a hint of a kimono dress to it without being a slap you over the head with a tea ceremony kimono.  Does that sentence even make sense?  I do not know.  Anyway, last one...

Dress #6: Anthropologie Spotlight

All eyes are on this polka-dotted black velvet scoop-neck, sashed with the sunniest yellow silk.

Well, I just wouldn't be me if I didn't have one black dress listed.  But I think the bright yellow sash and the polka dots steer this in a pretty wide loop around LBD territory.

So, that's it--those are your choices.  If I had it my way I really would just buy them all, because I truly do love them all in equal and yet entirely different ways, and I can envision myself wearing any of them to the rehearsal dinner.  Please, do your part, as Diddy would say, Vote or Die!

(That's not a threat, I'm not going to kill you, please don't sue me...)

So, what should I wear to the Rehearsal Dinner?
	Dress #1: Maggy London Silk Chiffon Halter Dress
	Dress #2: Maggy London Sleeveless Silk Dress
	Dress #3: Maggy London Beaded Silk Chiffon Dress
	Dress #4: Suzi Chin Maggy Boutique Print Surplice Bodice Dress
	Dress #5: Anthropologie Chabana
	Dress #6: Anthropologie Spotlight
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Thank God for Family and Wine

It seems such a short time ago that I was cavalierly mentioning how little stress I'd encountered during the wedding planning process.  I've had a nasty encounter with the shop that I bought my dress and bridesmaid dresses from and one mostly exhaustion-fueled "discussion" (some might say "meltdown") about tablecloths at the reception site, but all in all, everything has fallen into place remarkably well thus far.  And actually, everything is still going swimmingly as far as wedding plans go--it's the extra-curricular activities that are starting to give me a headache the size of Texas.  Or Alaska.  Whichever one is bigger.

(Oh, that reminds me of the time Colby and I were walking around campus a when we first started dating and I noticed his RA's car with an Alaska license plate on it.  I wondered aloud how she had gotten her car to Louisiana and mused that it must have been by ferry.  Colby looked at me in horrorified silence for a moment, I presume he was praying that I was joking, and then replied, "Or maybe she drove it here?!"  Because apparently Alaska is actually connected to North America and not, in fact, an island as many maps would lead one to believe.  Who knew?  I am so glad his attraction to me is not based on my geography prowess.  But I digress.)

So, back to the whining at hand.  I'm reaching the end of my rope about the supposedly fun-filled bachelorette party that my blessed sister is trying to plan and am completely ready to throw in the towel and just put the money toward our honeymoon fund.  Colby and I decided months ago that we would have our parties in Las Vegas this summer as our friends are spread across the country, and some even across the pond.  We agreed that we didn't want to have the parties the night before the wedding and the day before that will be Thanksgiving, so we figured we'd do it a little early and pick a fun place as our base of operations.  I talked to some of my friends about it at the time and they were all, "Yay, Vegas, here we come!"  That was then...

Let me insert here that I absolutely hate that I'm complaining about this, because the last thing that I want is to sound like the self-centered bride who thinks the whole world revolves around her and her stupid bachelorette party.  I don't think that, I know that my friends have their own lives, and I respect that completely.  It's just... it's hard to watch Colby talk to his friends about the bachelor party and hear them say, "Definitely, just tell me when and where and I'll be there!" and then of the 14 girls I invite, the only definite is my sister.  I love my friends to bits, I really, really do... it's just kind of disappointing, I guess.

Enough of that.

So, to wrap up my post from a couple of days ago--because Lord knows this blog has enough plot holes as it is--I decided to go with dress #1.  I bought it yesterday, so I'll post a review when I've had a chance to try it on.  The smallest they had was a 6 and according to the size charts I should have gotten a 4, but it looks like it will be able to be altered a bit and at least I know it won't be too small, because seriously, the last time I wore a size 4... well, let's not talk about that anymore.

My reasoning went like this, the turquoise dress was beautiful, and if I were a much richer girl I would have bought it in 10 different colors.  However, like a few of you so kindly pointed out, it will look dated by this time next year and if I'm going to drop some cash on a dress it needs to be something I can wear for more than a season.  The second red dress was so incredibly hot, I still kind of covet it, but I liked how one of you put it--it looked a little too "I'm gonna steal your husband while you're tossing the bouquet" for a wedding.  So, it came down to the LBD and red dress #1, which had been my secret front-runner all along.  But then my decision was made for me when the smallest size of the LBD was an 8 and the red dress was marked down 50% and less than half of the black Vera.  Thank you so much for all of your awesome input--I could see every single point each of you made and it really helped in the decision making process.

Now I'm off to eat some truly phenomenal Trader Joe's cookies and drink some wine... you know, just to make sure I can fill out that dress.

Fashion Dilemma

I've been searching high and low for a new dress that I can wear to weddings and semi-formal events.  I only have two right now that I would deem appropriate and they're both strapless A-lines--very demure.  So I'm looking for something a little different, something a little sexy, but still wedding appropriate.

These are my finalists, but I'm throwing them out there for some feedback.  I have a definite front runner right now, but I am curious about what my adoring public has to say!

We'll start with a couple of gorgeous red Nicole Miller pieces.

#1

#2

#3 A little turquoise Vera Wang number

#4 And another one from Vera... part of me wants to stay away from black, but I don't currently own a LBD and this one is the cutest one I've seen in a while, so I'm a bit torn.  You can't see the back, but it V's and the sash comes together in a sweet bow.

So, those are my choices.  Honestly, I would love to have them all hanging in my closet, but given that I'm not a completely talentless, insipid, blonde hotel heiress, that just isn't an option.  Any thoughts?

Fear not, I'll be back soon with some dishy gossip regarding the Stupid Jerk Boy from one of my ever so brief and ill-advised summer romances last year and his recent engagement.  Life is never boring around here!