The Art of Dressing Up

Is it a lost art in modern America? Certainly not in my mind but I have been stunned on several occasions on what others chose to wear to what I would consider semi-formal events.

Last weekend hubby and I attended a bull and oyster roast put on by the PTA from our children's elementary school. The event was held at the local Elk's lodge (not necessarily formal but can be dressed up) and we paid $35 per person for dinner and unlimited drinks.

This is what we wore and we were by far the most dressed up people at the event:

Here is what the other people wore (not actual pictures of people from the event):

The dressed up jeans and t-shirt. I don't have a problem with this look if you are picking your kid up from school or taking them to soccer but to a $35 per person event? (Photo credit Google images)

There was one other guy wearing a sport coat and tie besides hubby. The third best dressed guy had a dress shirt on and cargo pants and army boots. I am not trying to rag on anyone, cargo pants and army boots are ok but for a $35 per person event? And he was the third best dressed guy in there. (Photo credit Signal One)


The woman were especially lacking. I don't think anyone else was even wearing a casual dress. I saw 2 women with outfits like this, dress slacks, nice top, accessories, well pulled together. This I can live with for the type of event we were at. (Photo credit Express)

Is fashion like politics were everything is local? I didn't grow up here so maybe no one dresses up but I have run into this all over the country as well. When I lived in Colorado I was appalled how few people wore dresses to annual work Christmas parties, although everyone did look very nice and no one wore jeans. Last year hubby and I spent a long weekend in New York City and while there saw a Broadway show. Hubby wore almost the same outfit, I substituted a knee length black halter dress with gold shoes and accessories. We were some of the most dressed up people at the show! On Broadway for goodness sakes. If no one dresses up for a Broadway play these days, when do they dress up?

It isn't about cost either. Both the dresses I described cost $20 each, 1 from Dress Barn and 1 from Target. With both outfits I spent more money on my shoes, $40 each pair from Off Broadway. After investing say $80 total with dress, shoes, and accessories, I have worn each outfit at least 5 times and will continue to wear the outfits for years to come.

So what is it? Am I old fashioned? Has dressing up gone "out of style"? I feel like in my everyday life as a mom and nanny I don't spend much time on myself. I relish the few opportunities a year that I get to get dolled up and truly look pretty. Do other people not feel this way?

Don't even get me started about people wearing jeans to weddings and funerals. That also makes me crazy but is a whole other blog post.

Rekindling That Spark

Hubby and I are approaching our 2 year wedding anniversary in May but have been together for 4 1/2 years. I know many of you have been married longer and I love hearing about couples who have been married 25 or even 50 years.









When hubby and I married in 2008, we both had kids from our previous marriages. We both married young the first time and while I loved my first husband I did not have the same connection with him that I have with hubby. The connection we have is something hard to describe, especially if you haven't experienced it. It is this electric type, deep emotional connection. It is not infatuation or just purely physical attraction, it is more. We are just totally in sync with each other and when our connection is there we can both feel it.









Hubby and my relationship has been an interesting ride. We were both pretty serious, pretty quick. We were exclusively dating within 2 weeks and in less than 6 weeks I knew I was in love. When we had been dating for 3 months we took a trip to Vegas together and from there on out I knew I was going to marry him. The first six months of our relationship was really something out of a storybook. We never fought, we never even bickered. We just genuinely enjoyed the time we got to spend together and longed for more.









We slowly began spending more time together with the kids and while we didn't live together, we had to deal with more day to day things such as schedules and discipline. It is probably safe to say our first fight was over a parenting issue although I don't recall the actual fight.









Fast forward to now. We live thousands of miles from our families and close friends and spend almost all our time together. Do we get along perfectly? No, of course not! Do we often get to go on dates? No, and it makes me sad. I long for that time we had at the beginning of our relationship where we could set aside the bills, and laundry, and discipline and just be us. Just enjoy each other's company outside the chaos of day to day life.






This past weekend my dad was in town from North Carolina on a last minute visit. Saturday afternoon he offered to watch the kids so we could go on a date. Needless to say, it was a welcome break. We had no set plans, no timeline, the weather was great, and we could just walk hand and hand and just be. Sometimes even our weekends away are filled with such stress, planning, and expense it is hard to enjoy them. This was different. We went to one place we had wanted to try and it was closed. So we drove to the next town over, with a cute historic district with independent restaurants and bars, and stopped at one with a patio that had been recommended. The patio was closed and we were somewhat under dressed for the dinning room but we stayed anyways and the food was delicious! We had a great time and when we got home we sat down to watch the Time Traveler's Wife, which I had been dying to see. It was such a good love story. Hubby even liked it and it again reminded me how lucky I am to have a such a great husband and partner in life.





All it took was a few hours to rekindle that spark. It is so easy to get busy and caught up in the day to day but for yourself and for the health of your marriage it is so important to take that time on a regular basis. It really reminded me that setting up weekly date nights, even if date nights at home, is an integral part of a healthy marriage and a happy life.

All You Care to Eat Dessert and Coffee

Have I died and gone to heaven? No, but hubby and I went on a fabulous date last night. We went to this wonderful dessert restaurant in Little Italy. Little Italy is this cute part of Baltimore, adjacent to downtown, full of independently owned delicious restaurants. For our anniversary in May, we ate at Tavola another restaurant in Little Italy and we were not disappointed. I am excited about all the new restaurants for us to try in Baltimore.



Last night our dessert for dinner date was at Vaccaro On Monday nights for $15.50 they will serve you all the coffee and dessert you care to eat. This is not McDonald's sundaes here but fine Italian desserts! Yum!



Max put me on the spot, ready to order when I was not, so I made a split decision for a cafe latte and taramisu. Max had already ordered a cappucino Vaccaro style and a cannoli. Taramisu is good but usually I like cannolis better. I had to try something different since Max already snagged my first choice.



My coffee and dessert were delicious! Max's cannoli was delicious. My taramisu was huge but I had to save room to try something else.



Round 2 consisted of the most amazing pound cake I have every tasted topped with the best vanilla gelato I have ever tasted and whipped cream and strawberries. Have a said yum yet! Max went for rum cake, their "speciality". It was good but I am not a big fan of the flavor of rum and he quickly helped me devour my delicious pound cake.



In the beginning I fully intended to order a second coffee and probably try a cream puff. I was SO stuffed at this point it was ridiculous.



We kept sending the waiter away, telling him we needed a "break". Finally he brought the check and we figured we better get our money's worth and order one more thing. We asked the waiter if there was something little he would suggest. He said he would bring a sampling of his favorite cookies.

This was all we managed to eat of the cookies. The powdered sugar one at top was delicious!

Hubby looking full but happy!

So full I was uncomfortable!

We walked around somewhat aimlessly hoping the over-full feeling would subside. It did not really. We finally wandered into Whole Foods. Hubby had never been and was amazed at the deliciousness found in the Whole Foods prepared foods section. He bought a deli sandwich and I bought some chicken salad I eyed last time I was there. And as a loving gesture hubby bought me an organic tomato plant. I don't have much of a green thumb but hopefully I will have some cherry tomatoes this fall to show for our fun date.

And today I will be starting my diet and exercise plan to work off all these extra calories. BTW did I mention I love sweets!