Mission Accomplished!!!

As I have mentioned before, Ed's daughter, Anita, will become Mrs. James Allen Casey on November 6, 2010.  (Okay, nobody ever calls him anything other than "Jimmy", so I had to go look at the invitation to get his full given name....)  

What an exciting time in this young couple's lives!  

My dilemma has been....what to wear to their wedding!  (In case you missed that post, you can click HERE to read it.)  

Well, this past Saturday, my dear friend - Barbara - and I tackled this dilemma head on!  With no particular color, length or style in mind, we decided to make our first stop at David's Bridal.  All I can say is..... "THANK GOD WE DID!!!" 

Once there, we quickly searched through the racks of ready-made dresses and pulled four selections for me to try on.  Three were black.....one was red; all were around knee-length, sleeveless and very simple.

The first two black numbers were "no brainer, no way"....

The third dress was a definite possibility.  It was a classic "little black dress" and would have required only minimal alterations.  I started to get excited!!!  This wasn't going too badly....but, I still had that red one to try on.....

Before it was even zipped up, I was IN MAJOR LOVE!!!  I knew, without a doubt, this was THE ONE!!!

Barbara got excited when I stepped out of the dressing room.  Allison, our sales assistant, got excited.  I was grinning ear to ear.  It was unanimous....the red dress was going home with me!  

Having forgotten my digital camera, I pulled out my Blackberry and had Barb snap a couple of photos for me.  It felt awkward to be in front of the camera....ugh.  

But, as I twirled in front of the mirrors, she snapped this photo that captures my joy and the dress beautifully.

 

I gotta tell you, I was beside myself with how well the dress shopping went.  We left my house at 1:00 pm; we walked out of David's Bridal at 1:50.  And I haven't even told you the most amazing thing about this dress....it was marked down to $79 on the clearance rack!!!  This was a cause for celebrating....and so we did!

After a nice lunch, we hit Dillards in the mall.  We decided to go with something metallic - really hot this year and a little different from the routine died-to-match shoes or basic black.  It didn't take long to get the same feeling of euphoria when I slipped on this pair....

With the pressure off, we spent the rest of the afternoon looking for just right accessories.  We were in agreement that a shimmery metallic gold-toned pashmina from Dillards would be just perfect....they had a few in stock, so I plan on returning tomorrow to make that purchase!  And, as we looked at display after display of jewelry, we decided that I would need EITHER a "statement" necklace with simple earrings OR "statement" earrings with no necklace to complete the ensemble.  I am still on the search for this element.  (And I would love any suggestions you might have on the subject!)

Today, I spread the dress out on our bed and snapped photo after photo of the dress....

of the dress and shoes....

the detail along the neckline....

the "bling" on the shoes that takes them beyond ordinary....

Like everyone kept telling me - I just KNEW the right dress when I found it.  I couldn't have asked for it to go any smoother!!!

Thanks for all the encouraging words so many of y'all had for me....I especially loved the one suggesting the personal shopper approach at Nordstrom's.   Believe me, if I lived anywhere near a Nordstrom's, I would have tried it!!!

Hugs until next time....

Jane

Wish Me LUCK!!!

As I have mentioned before, Ed's daughter is getting married next month.  November 6th, to be exact.  This wedding will be very special, I have no doubt!  Anita has been hard at work planning it for nearly 1-1/2 years!!! 

Now, I have to find an absolutely-drop-dead-gorgeous-suitable-for-the-stepmother-of-the-Bride dress to wear! 

I admit I've been dreading shopping for a dress.....yes, I have.   Mostly because I hate shopping for clothes!  I hate trying on clothes!  I can browse through antique and second-hand shops all day long, but I get nervous thinking about shopping for a piece of clothing such as this.  (Remember what an ordeal it was when I was shopping and preparing for a simple weekend trip to Bowie last month???)

Of course, when I started working out, it was easy to put off the shopping because I was in the process of losing weight and toning up.  I was hopeful that anything I picked 6 months in advance would be too large by the time the wedding rolled around.  (Excuse #1)

Also, it was the wrong "season".....I wanted to wait until the "Fall line" was out before making a selection.  Right???  (Excuse #2)

Well, my weight IS less than it was 6 months ago.  YEA!!!  But, it has pretty much stabilized now that I've gotten to this point.   And my body does LOOK different and I LOVE that!   So....this is no longer a viable excuse.  So long, Excuse #1. 

And, I think we are well enough into the season for anything new to be out there in the stores.  Adios, Excuse #2. 

So, when a girlfriend called earlier this week and suggested we get out and about for a little "Girl Time" this weekend, I jumped all over that!  She can HELP me shop for "the dress"!!!  And one of the things I love most about this friend is that she will always be brutally straight and honest with me.  So, I totally trust her to tell me if something looks great....or awful. 

Although I am still undecided about length, color, style, pretty much everything....I am hopeful that I will be successful when we go shopping on Saturday.

So, wish me luck in this "adventure"....Lord knows, I certainly need it!

Thanks and a big ol' hug!

Jane

A Day Off With Eddie....

What a wonderful day off - right here in the middle of the week.

My Husband is one of the hardest working men I have ever known!  Since he works in the retail industry, he has to work a lot of weekends.  Bummer!  But, it also means he has a day or two off in the middle of the week....a day we get to enjoy together while the rest of the world is working.

For those of you who don't know him, this is Eddie.

 I truly look forward to these days off!  Of course, there's always something that needs to be done....like today, it was the yard that needed mowing.  But, we worked together on that and, I must say - we make a "bang up" team!  I mow, sweep and clean up; he edges and does the "weed whacking".  When we were all done today, our little house sparkled like a gem!

Just look at that professional edging job!

Once we get the "honey-do" list done, we get to play some.  Today, we decided to hit the local Farmers' Market.  Pepper bounced and bounced, begging to go....so, we gave in....

Pepper always loves to ride along!

The market was smaller than I expected in a town this size, but it was still fun!  We saw alot of squashes, black-eyed peas and cantaloupes and watermelons.  One vendor even had some fresh figs, persimmons and a trio of early pumpkins!  I wanted one soooooo bad, but decided to wait until the real harvest comes in here in a few weeks.  It's early in the season yet.

After the excursion to the market, we headed to the barber shop for Eddie to get a good grooming.  It's a little backyard barber shop - literally, it is in a little building in the barber's backyard!  If he is in the house having a cup of coffee, you just ring the little doorbell on the shop door and he comes out the back gate to the shop.  It was amazing how fast he worked - I think it took all of three minutes for him to clip Eddie's (remaining) hair!

We finally ended up at Lowes to look at garage doors.  Ours is in a sad state of decay - no saving it!  While we there, we played the "Let's Pretend We Have All the $ in the World" game and looked at doors for the front and side entryways.  From the entire selection, we both picked the very same doors for both places!  Guess you could say we are totally in tune on such things.  (Thank goodness!)

Our choice for the front entry....

....and for the side entry.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent with some quality "down time".  The heat from yard work and all the running around had finally zapped us.  For me, this meant curling up with the dogs for a nap; for Eddie, it meant working on his blog.  (If you haven't had a chance to check it out yet, just click HERE  for a sample - the man has Passion and an Opinion.)


As evening approached and the temperature outside started to cool, he fired up the grill and cooked some pork kabobs and grilled the summer squash and zucchini we bought fresh this morning.  Oh, gosh, it was wonderful!  How LUCKY am I to be married to a man who LOVES TO COOK?!?!?     

And now the moon has risen, and our day is winding down.  My heart is filled with Gratitude for this day.  It's been a good - no, make that a wonderful - day!  We didn't do anything "special", but we enjoyed working and being together.  That's what made it "special".

I'm linking up with Heart and Home for Wednesday Gratitude and Chatting at the Sky for Tuesday Unwrapped.  I hope you will check out both of these blogs for some wonderful inspiration! 

Did something Simple make your Heart sing today?  I sure hope so!!!

Jane