Inauguration Inspiration for Birthday Party Dresses

Yesterday was a beautiful day!! Yeah, for America!!! I changed my video from Will.I.Am to John Legend's "If You're Out There", which he performed at the DNC in Denver, 2008. I love this song and had the opportunity a few months ago to see him perform it live! So very touching! He played a slide show of world leaders on the curtain during the song and ended with a beautiful portrait of President Barack Obama. I was so moved that day by what was yet to come!

With all of the events yesterday, the underlying question on the mind of so many women was "What will Michelle Obama wear??" Personally, I LOVED the "day time" outfit with the yellow/citron colored dress and jacket by Isabel Toledo, paired with green Jimmy Choo heels and olive J Crew gloves. It was PERFECT - and warm, since I hear the outfit was lined in cashmere!!! The whole family looked gorgeous, especially the kids, with their J Crew crewcuts coats and dresses, made just for them to wear for this special occasion.

The Jason Wu designed ball gown gave me mixed feelings - one minute I liked it the next I wasn't so sure. In the end, I thought she looked very lovely, and they looked like a beautiful couple on the multiple dance floors.

Now that I'm no longer trying to guess what Michelle will wear its time to focus on me! With my upcoming birthday I've decided to crash my brother's weekly party and make it my own. This means I need a FLY outfit to wear. My latest online search has been for dresses.... the only thing I had decided on was that it needed to be short. Yes, I am all about showing some leg!! While browsing on ShopBop I came across this beautiful dress named "Hyacinth", made by designer Tibi...

 

Unfortunately, its not even available for purchase yet, AND we are in a recession so the proposed price tag of $425 is not quite acceptable for my budget. On another note, the dress got me thinking about the one-shoulder trend (also worn by First Lady Michelle Obama as seen above). The last time the one-shoulder fashions were in, I was not a fan... but I think I never really tried it on myself. So I'm being flexible and checking out some of those too. The only thing I've decided is that the dress must be SHORT and must NOT be black (I guess I do have too many black dresses, huh Gabbi?). The search begins... I will keep you posted on what the end result is!

As for now - I gotta get ready for my trip to Park City - Sundance, Here I come!

Reflections on Friendship

Today was a day of reflections... and while most people are reflecting because of some new years resolution they've made, my reflection happened unintentionally. My "Detroit crew" and I ran across some photos of a girls trip we took a few years ago when I lived in Minneapolis. My girls all flew up to keep me company over the extended Labor Day weekend. It was one of the most memorable trips I have ever had and to this day I look forward to us having many more trips and fun times.

I got to thinking about my "bestest" friends from my Detroit crew and how each has such a special place in my heart. They are all completely different women, on completely different paths who have taught me soo many things in this lifetime we've known each other. I always wish there was something super special I could do for each of them, but until I am making that kind of moo-lah, we'll just have to keep taking our trips, sending daily email updates and enjoying every moment we are able to spend together.

People have come and gone in each of our lives and we've had our own periods of solitude and limited communication, but through it all I have never worried whether one of them would answer my call or have my back. I can recall the dreams and plans we've had over the years - the laundromat, the bar, the inner-city recreation center... so many plans that I still hope will come true someday!

I love my friends and wouldn't trade them for anything in the world! The word friend is an understatement, these are my sisters in every sense of the word. I am wishing all of them, and all of you a blessed and happy 2009!

For the item of the day I was going to post this Tiffany bracelet with the heart charm that says "Sisters" but it won't load the page and Chrome froze up on it so I quit... at $265 its a bit pricey to buy one for each of my sisters right now, but until then I will continue to show them my love in every way I can!