National Diabetes Awareness Month Day 10

 Recently, I had the opportunity attend a wonderful diabetes event at a local country club. The invitation said that join us for a “casual” event.  What does that mean? A friend of mine thought it meant that it was okay to wear casual business attire. I wasn't quite sure about that because the venue was quite exclusive. 

 

Casual business attire for men is easy. Everyone knows that means nice dress pants and a polo shirt or button down. No tie, no suit. Done. Easy-breezy for the guys.

 

Not so easy for us ladies. We are blessed and cursed to have so many choices in the fashion world!  We have sundresses, suits, pants, skinny jeans, necklaces, scarves, bracelets, headbands and, OMG, the most amazing choices in SHOES!!! Tons of beautiful options in shoes!!! Ahhhh.....

 

When you are a stay-at-home mom, let's just say the fashion thing doesn't usually rate high on the list of budgeted items. When you are driving to three separate stores because toilet paper, toothpaste and napkins are all 50 cents cheaper at each store, fancy, hip attire doesn't really matter. Oh sure, we try. Right ladies? We shop at Target and once in a while splurge on one the cute trendy tops in front of the store and put them in the red cart. But, then the rest of the trip, we add in the toilet paper, name brand snacks, and pop. By the time we reach the chek out, we put the cute trendy top back on the rack... And that's howit happens. Am I right? 

When I worked I had this "what-to-wear-to-a-swanky-evening-reception-even-though-the-word-casual-is-in- the-invitation" thing down. I had a repertoire of options. Enough beautiful clothes to mix and match at a moment's notice.  Wardrobe-wise, I’ve gone downhill from there!

 

First, I had these two.

And I started to look like this.

My closet started to look like this.

My beautiful clothes became out of date.

My hot sexy shoes were replaced by these.

My cute hairdo morphed to a sleek, (read-greasy) low, hanging ponytail.

So, to get the invitation was a thrill, but instead of being nervous about meeting the diabetes elite, I was more concerned about how this frumpy dumpster would transform herself into Cinderella for the ball!

 

I knew that I had purchased some awesome shoes six months ago, albeit on a purple tag sale at DSW. 

They are in style even if they have the purple tag, right? I broke the budget on a whim and purchased these beauties, in hopes of going somewhere really fancy. Well, six months later, when I went to get them out of the closet to take the tags off, I had to physically kick a spider out of his new home. Well, at least he has good taste.

 

Next I decided to wear a skirt. Like the one Charlotte wears in Sex and the City, but not as puffy. Black and flowy.  Now I had to get some sort of top to go with it.

 

I looked in my closet and everything was cotton. Ahhhh... Having a closet full of comfy cottons is one of the only perks to the life of a stay-at-home mom. But it stinks when you need to get fancy. Nothing looked good, so I went to the mall. I budgeted no more than $40 for my new top and decided the kids wouldn't get the name-brand snacks this week. Mama needs a new fancy top!

 

I went into White House Black Market (or is it Black House White Market? I can never remember) and found a great hip-yet-dressy shirt, but it was $79. No name-brand snacks for two weeks? Hmmmm...Nah! Better not.  Let's go to the next store. I tried the Ann Taylor Loft. No, too casual. But, while there, I did make a mental note of something I would come back and get next month when I need a cute outfit to go out with my momsters (mom sisters). Next, I went into regular Ann Taylor. I found a cute blouse. I decided I could put a little cardigan over it. Perfect. I told the lady I needed a dressing room. She took the shirt from me and hung it in the dressing room. 

As she walked out of the dressing room, she looked me straight in the eye and said "Good Luck." 

Really? Am I that bad? I even wore my cute jeans today! Damn it!

 

It fit beautifully. I decided the pink was too bold, but the same one in green was more appropriate.

I went home and tried it on with black pants. Nope. Flowy skirt was better. I had to show off those shoes!

 

I had the boys snap this picture of me to send to my out-of-state BFF for approval.

 

When I got to the event, I was a little surprised to see most of the ladies in full suits. However, there were also pleanty of women in skirts and cardigans. I felt like I had made the right choice.

I had a really great time and made some great connections, but the spider has again moved into the shoes for a few more months. Maybe, I can kick him out around Christmas! Until then, back to the cotton and crocs with bunnies! 

 

Also, don't forget to vote once every 24 hours until November 29, 2012! Thanks !

http://www.circleofmoms.com/top25/Top-25-Family-Blogs-By-Moms-2012

Sidenote: if you want some great practical fashion advice on how to dress trendy as a mom, visit my super hip sister-in-law's website called www.aintnomomjeans.com! It is awesome! Mommy approved!