Train potty

Cinderella is Going to the Ball

I am so excited.

Breathless.

Giddy.

The start to this year has been so stressful. But things are looking up.

The Husband is having surgery this week...Valentine's Day to be specific. The cat is NOT dying and is responding to his new medication. Yay.  Starman is off of his oxygen and back to being his crazy, spunky, into-everything self. I have a fancy new washing machine, new brakes and a new outlook on living moment to moment.

And....I am going to the ball.

The Husband was blessed with an invitation to his company's blowout 50 year celebration. It is a formal extravaganza at a downtown hotel and I feel like I am going to prom all over again. Who cares if it is amazing or lame, it is a chance to go to "the ball" with someone I love, without the kids and dress up like Cinderella. I feel pretty just thinking about it.

Recently one of my friends had the good fortune of being able to be photographed in one of the Travelling Red dresses from The Bloggess (If you would like to read about that fabulous project you can do it here). The point is to feel pretty, feel empowered, to realize no matter what, you really can own your own gorgeousness. It is the bold act of celebrating oneself and I feel like this event is my own chance to do just that.

I have spent the last two weeks painstakingly preparing for my "outfit." Just like we did in high school for prom, I spent time searching for "the perfect dress." And low and behold, I found it at a second hand store for a mere $35. Score one for the budget. Next I had to have the perfect shoes. With my extraordinary luck that day, I found them in the same store as my dress, $200 shoes for a mere $25 and the soles still looked brand new! The score now was Budget 2, Spending 0! Yay!

Now, the next step was jewelry. I lucked out in this department because while having a fantastic Mommies-Night-In the ladies I had over asked if they could see the dress. I might have dissented, but two cocktails in (which is pretty much hammered for this light weight) and I beat it upstairs and descended down the stairs like Scarlet O'Hara in Gone with the Wind. Like the good friends that they are, they gushed over my dress and then had me model some jewelry. We decided on a vintage piece that belonged to my grandmother.

Now I had a dress, shoes, jewelry and an overall style. The logical next step was to start considering hairstyles. My dress has a vintage style, which will be emphasized with the vintage jewelry, so of course I need a vintage hair style. I have in mind Greta Garbo, Judy Garland or Ginger Rogers. Something classic, loose and reminiscent.

As in any preparation for the big event, doing one's hair the day of is a terribly bad idea, so I have been experimenting with finger waves, victory curls, classic up-dos and other movie star pin-up styles. I am certain the ladies outside the elementary school are starting to think I have lost my mind showing up in strange hair-dos every day at pick up, but I have to make a decision soon. The party is a mere two weeks away.

Last will be the nails, loosing five pounds and self-prescribed mani-pedis. All in the name of looking fabulous. Can you tell I am excited?

I am excited to dress up and look like  a princess (a joy that really shouldn't be relegated only to the under 12 set)
I am excited to get to go to a surrogate prom with my husband who is the best husband EVER
I am excited to escape the house and the kids for a real date
I am excited to kick back and relax after a seriously stressful start to 2013

I am excited to spend the night looking fabulous. The fact is, it won't matter whether there are girls there with prettier dresses, or slimmer figures or more expensive bling. It won't matter if their dates are better looking, or their positions in the company are higher. No, the only thing that will matter is that The Husband will be there looking dapper and he will only have eyes for me. And when I dance with my prince, all that will matter will be that Cinderella made it to the ball and she can take a magical moment to truly enjoy her happily ever after.

Update 2/23: We made it. There wasn't any music and we didn't dance, but we did have a fantastic time and caught up with old friends. I changed up my style a bit to modernize the vintage, but here is a picture of me in the dress that stole my heart.