First Impressions

Last night, I went to dinner with a group of moms from my neighborhood that I'd never met before. Well, I'd met one of them before, obviously, because a group of moms from my neighborhood wouldn't just invite me to dinner if I didn't have some sort of 'in', I guess.

I mean, I am awesome and amazing, of course, but you can't tell that just by looking at me. It only comes out when I talk.

(And by it, I mean the insane amount of social awkwardness that actually makes up my personality. And the fact that one glass of wine with dinner is all it takes for me to start talking and NEVER SHUT UP AGAIN. So...who wants to hang out with me now?)

Anyway, it was fun. The women were ridiculously nice, they told funny stories, and all were work-outside-the-home mothers, so we could commiserate on those lovely days when you see your kid for all of fifteen minutes because of some work related disaster or another. And not one of them gave me anything remotely resembling a side-eye for the unshowered mess* that I was, thank goodness.

Not that this means they weren't judging me for it, of course. It just means they were very, very skilled at passing that judgment in secret. Which is a skill I can get behind, you know?

I just hope I made the cut for next month's outing...

Tank Top: Target

Sweater: Loft

Jeans: MICHAEL Michael Kors (via Macys)

Shoes: Nine West (via ShoeWoo.com)

Bracelets: Mango Tree

*As mentioned on Twitter last night, Steve was out of town on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Unfortunately, this meant that when I turned my alarm off in my sleep on Thursday morning (which happens more than I'd care to admit these days), I didn't have his alarm going off an hour later as my back-up plan. And that, in turn, meant I didn't get up until a full two hours later, when my mother-in-law showed up to watch Brigid. So, I left the house, showerless, to get to work. I thought I could squeeze in a shower between work and dinner, but that didn't really happen either.

Do I know how to do first impressions, or what? Seriously...you totally want to hang out with me, don't you?

A brief break...

Yesterday marked the first day of Lent, and as I've done for the past several years, I've given up what I enjoy the most...shopping.* And since I'm just now coming off of the 30x30 no shopping rule, this year is going to be especially tough.

But since I cheated a little during the 30x30, maybe it won't actually be any different than normal...

Anyway, taking advantage of my brief break between self-imposed bans, I made an appearance at the Macy's one day sale last weekend and picked up this little dress on deep, deep discount. Hopefully, it can tide me over until Easter.

Dress: INC 

Cardigan: Express

Shoes: Nine West (via Shoe Woo)

*On a side note, I donate the money I'd normally spend on myself to various charities every couple of weeks until Easter, and while I have one or two in mind that I plan to give to this year, I'm also open to suggestions, if you have a favorite in mind.

Short Stuff

So, my mother-in-law bought me this skirt for Christmas, and I loved it.

I loved it so much, in fact, that the minute I opened it, I started planning my NYE outfit around it.

And once NYE was over, it went back into my closet, never to be heard from again.

Ok, that might be a little dramatic, but this is kind of a hard skirt to style. It's a little short for work, but I don't dress up for much else, so if I wanted to wear it, I had to try to make it work appropriate. I went with a looser sweater, shorter heels, and my typical tights, and all in all, I'm pretty happy with the way this came together.

And I'm thinking flats and maybe a long cardigan or a loose fitting tee might just take this into spring. Thoughts?

Skirt: Banana Republic Outlet

Sweater: Ann Taylor Loft

Shoes: Bandolino (from Shoe Woo) 

PS: I don't normally do this, but this was an outtake I just couldn't pass up...it's just a good thing this is a still picture, because you don't want to hear how shrill I got when Riley came at me and my tights!