Ball recap

I don't know if you guys heard, but I went to a ball this weekend! (Heh.)

Yes, I did make it, and I did not infect the entire population with my nasty pneumonia. I had a great time, really all day. I started off with a mani-pedi at my favorite corner salon; I tried the no-chip manicure which was pretty cool even though I didn't love the color. You can't use regular colors so I had OPI's Chick Flick Cherry on my toes and a pinker red on my hand.

After the manicure I wandered over the consignment store in the same plaza, and absolutely fell in LOVE with a pretty cuff. Burnished gold, black stones and rhinestones -- something about it just worked perfectly with the dress. So I did end up listening to Angie, Sheila and Laura, and went with a cuff and earrings instead of a necklace. Who knew?

Red no-chip nails:


Cherry toes:


I would rather have had the darker cherry red on my hands. Boy, that is going to bug me!

I also seem to be incapable of taking a clear photo of the jewelry. This is my third attempt!





Anyway, then it was a quick pitstop at Von Maur where I picked up the Prissy Naturalizers -- the same black shorter-heel shoes I had before -- in a half-size bigger. So smart, they were much better that way.

Then it was off to my hair salon, where I got my hair styled and blown out. I didn't go for a fancy style, just my regular style but done corretly and bigger. I LOVED it -- it lasted two days!

My last stop before heading downtown was the Laura Mercier makeup counter at Nordstrom. I needed help with my eyes and I wanted a new lipstick. The girl did a spectacular job on my eyes and sold me on their new eyeliner thingie (Tightline Cake Eyeliner). It's like watercolor paint; you dip the straight brush in water, dampen the color pot with the brush tip and then line your eyes. It works perfectly; I have done it myself for the last two days and it's been totally smudge-proof. Damn.

I also found a great light pink-brown color for my lips; we were looking at reds at first, but finally I said, "My mouth is too small and my lips are too thin for red. A bright color like that just makes my mouth look so small!!" It was a revelation for me; I never can find the right strong lip color and now I know why. But the pink-brown tone makes my mouth look so much prettier. Bingo! It was Brown Sugar from their Stickgloss line.

Then it was off to the big city. My girlfriend and I were sharing a room, so we spent the rest of the afternoon getting ready and catching up on life. We headed out for a pre-party at 5pm then it was off to the reception, and then dinner, and then entertainment, and then finally a martini bar and some dancing.

The entertainment started off very strangely, with these cocooned dancers doing some bizarre interpretive piece. Now, our logo is a butterfly, and the name of the ball is the Butterfly Ball, but still. We are a Catholic healthcare organization; the cardinal was there. And a lot of nuns!



It was pretty, though.



Later dancers were a little more traditional; one couple did a stunning acrobatic act. The last bit was set to Katy Perry's Firework, and they passed out lighted flickering butterfly wands to all of us. I am going to annoy my co-workers with it for weeks.



Then they shot confetti out of a cannon 20 feet away from us. HA! (The look on my tablemate's face is priceless. She has no idea in that moment what is about to rain down on her head.)



And that was that.

Oh, right! Guess what I forgot to do?

TAKE PICTURES.

Seriously. I forgot to get any good pictures of myself. I did have my girlfriend get one shot of me before we left the room. Here was the final outfit!



I had a great time.

Details:
Dress: Adrianna Papell, Lord & Taylor
Jewelry: consignment store
Shoes: Prissy Naturalizers, Von Maur
Bag: Tasha evening bag, Nordstrom

Sunday was my birthday. We woke up and ordered pancakes from room service, then headed home. I was exhausted from everything the day before, plus having pneumonia, so I stayed home and lazed about. But I bought a cupcake to celebrate!



LOL!