Adding a little sparkle

Being busy is something that I really enjoy. It keeps me active and makes me feel accomplished at the end of the day. Since I'm not working for another few weeks I've been trying to keep busy with running errands and getting everything out of the way before work starts...today was no exception.

This morning I was able to go to the gym (heck yes!) and get in a cardio work-out. Working out is something that makes me feel healthy and good about myself so it's great to be able to start my day off with it. After the gym I ran a couple of short errands and went back to Phil's house to eat lunch and feed my internet fix. Since I'm going to Virginia tomorrow to see my Boo (my maid of honor), I wanted to make sure to have the color swatch for the bridesmaids dresses so that we could get the paint needed for the centerpieces. I called the bridal shop to make sure they had the color swatch we needed and to see how much they would cost. While on the phone I mentioned to the saleswoman that my dress was ordered in a smaller size and wanted to try one on in that size to see how close I was to fitting in it. She surprised me by telling me that my dress had come in!

Once the call was ended, Phil's mom and I made plans to go down there, try it on, and pick it up. I had promised Phil's Gram that she would be able to see me in it when the dress came in since she wasn't there when I picked the dress, so she decided to join us.

The drive to the bridal shop is about an hour away, so we made our way down there. When we arrived I got to try on my dress to find out that it fit! I had ordered the size a little smaller so that we would be able to get it altered a smaller size if necessary. The new consultant that I had was a little underwhelming. She kept trying to push me to buy things and I was less than thrilled with her lack of attentiveness.

The one good thing about the trip was that there was a brooch that I had wanted to purchase there.

The dress itself is very simple so I thought an accessory would be nice to give it a little "bling" and "sparkle."

Overall, the day ended up being great and we were able to get way more done than originally planned! I'm definitely looking forward to a little "break" from everything and to see my friends down in Virginia.

Saying Yes to the Dress

I thought long and hard about what to do about the dress. Should I just go and try as many on as possible in the next week to see if there really is anything better out there? But, what if there isn't and the dress is sold by that point, then what will I do? I haven't seen anything like it before in the same style and structure and it did look really good on me. What if I regret letting the dress go later on and there is no way to get it?--These were the thoughts that have been plaguing my mind since we left on Saturday and I found out the dress was discontinued.

I was obsessing about not getting the dress and hating my decision. I might not have felt it then, when we were at the store, but there were many reasons why I know that the dress is "the ONE" at this point. No one convinced me of anything. In fact, the people that I talked to about it were supportive and wanted to stay out of my decision because, well, it's MY decision.

After being on the phone multiple times with the store and the super helpful lady who made it so I wouldn't have to "guess" what size to buy (since I'm losing weight), it made it an easy decision. I talked to Phil's mom and my mom to make sure that I wasn't making a rash decision and when they both said that they thought it was a good decision if that's what I want then I called the store and ordered it!

It was apparent how right of a decision it was when all of the anxiety left the second the dress was paid for and ordered. I was so excited when I got off of the phone and was so happy. It just felt...right! This is the feeling I was waiting to get at the store and I now have the feeling and the dress!!!

the dress dilemma

This past weekend my Maid of Honor came up and we decided to go dress shopping with Phil's mom. I'm not planning on buying just yet because I'm losing weight and inches, but we wanted to see what the different styles/shapes would look like to "narrow down" the choices when we do go to buy.

I tried on a number of different dresses and really liked this one. After we were done we found out that it has been discontinued by the designer. If I want the dress, I have to buy it like...now to ensure that I have the dress. They can not guarantee the dress will still be there in a few months when I want to buy.

At the time it was closer to the top of my budget than the bottom and I would have had to blindly "guess" at what size I would need to order.

I called the store today to see what my options were and the sales lady was more than helpful. She explained about the different sizes and recommended one that would be the best to alter if any alterations would be needed for extra weight loss. She even went as far as telling me exact measurements for the dress and told me how many they had in that size and at what locations.

The best thing about it...now it is $300 less than what it was the other day at the store! The new price is in my "ideal" range to spend before alterations and is really close to where my mom lives so she could essentially pick it up for me if I needed her to and they couldn't ship it to the store out here.

The dilemma is that I really, really like the dress and how it looks on me. It is incredibly flattering and Phil's Gram seems to think I need to buy it...right...now. I wouldn't mind wearing that dress for the wedding, but it wasn't that "ohmygosh, this is the ONE" feeling that I thought I would have. Buuuut, I would hate to lose the dress because I didn't realize at the time that it was the one I want to wear.

I'm just not sure I'm going to find anything better than that dress. I'm willing to look, but not sure what to do if I don't find one that I love more than the one we all like.

What would you do in this situation?