How Casual Dressing Leads to Shoes, Posh, Bridget and Peanuts...

I have some great dresses. One I bought in London (well, I bought two there but one is more bright and fun for going out. The other is more suitable to a graduation or a summer wedding.) Two I bought for our trip to London (one to wear to the theatre, the other for tea at Kensington. Which we didn't go to because we were having tea at Parliament. So the tea dress was worn to the theatre and the theatre dress is still waiting to be worn. ) And then I have a couple of more casual dresses which can be dressed up or down depending on shoes and accessories.

Now, we live in a suburb of a very casual mid-western city. No one dresses up for anything, it seems. When Doug & I were dating (long distance) and he would come to visit me I would take him to some fabulous places. We went to The Oceanaire, Pazzaluna, Jax and W.A. Frost on New Year's Eve (very romantic).

We've eaten at Lawry's in Chicago and Castagnola's in San Francisco.

And I can tell you that Des Moines has no restaurants that match those in ambiance and class. Which really leaves me no place to actually dress up and go out. Which, to be quite frank, sucks. I like to have an adult evening that I can dress up, feel a bit sexy and have a great meal (and maybe great theatre that doesn't just do a two day run but a two month run).

And there Des Moines falls short. Although I do have to admit that it is getting better...

Anyway, tonight is my sister-in-law's annual birthday dinner. Her favorite restaurant is Ohana. It's good (but not spectacular) and once a year is more than enough for me. But, since it's an adult evening, I am going to dress up. In one of my casual dresses. sigh

So I figured out which dress to wear and then realized that I had no black hose. So off to Target the girls and I go. I got black thigh hi's (sexy, remember?) and then wandered through the shoes. And found these:

Totally cute, yes? So I got them to make myself feel better. Because, really, shoes are one of my best friends. Now I just have to figure out if I am wearing them with hose or without because I have NO NICE JACKETS that really go with the dress. I'm thinking if I go with bare legs I can pull of the cute denim jacket I have.

And for hair... I'm in a bit of a growing out phase. I had that totally cute and funky very inverted bob, very short in the back cut like Victoria Beckham. (Say what you will, I think she is fabulous. Or as she would say, "Major." Not her singing of course, just her being.)

So I also bought a headband and I think I'm going to try for something like this little 'do she wore to meet the society ladies in her reality show about moving to America.

Yes I watched it. And I watched it again on the flight home from Dublin. She was funny! Fooling the paparazzi by dressing a sex doll as her... Truly classic.

So, I bet you didn't see where this would end up, did you? Me either. But it was a fun trip, yes?

It's almost 2 pm. I should go up and shave my legs (which would have been done in the shower this morning except I had two little girls that "had" to join me. One in her PJs.) to see if I can skip the thigh hi's (although I will ruin any thoughts of sexiness by adding these.) It's like the whole scene in Bridget Jones's Diary when she has to decide between the sexy panies which may ruin the line of her dress or the big granny panties which will, of course, guarantee her a bit of naughty fun later.

OK, must break away from this post before I find some way to input "Inconceiveable!" or "Anybody have a peanut?". Oh, yes, I could do it!

PS My original title for this post was "Dress Up? To Go Where, Exactly?" It long ago stopped being about that, didn't it?