on the new (perfect!) dress...

Okay, I'll admit it. I splurged.

But you know what? This was extra money. And I rarely spend a lot of money on clothes. And I didn't even spend that much money, in the grand scheme of things. (And I'm good at rationalizing things. Amen.) I received an awesome tip at work last night, and decided that I was either going to buy the world's best pair of jeans, or a new dress to wear to our anniversary dinner on Thursday night. Of course, soon I realized that finding a good pair of jeans takes, like, ten years and some serious alterations (I never feel like my legs are freakishly short until I try on designer jeans). I decided, after some thought, that I was definitely in the market for a good dress. Also? It's on my list, #87.

I was totally intent on going to Forever 21 and getting some shoddy little dress that would fall apart after washing it twice. (But I was okay with that, because most of their dresses cost under $20. Which is awesome.) However, as I trolled the racks at my local Forever 21, two things became very apparent to me:

1. 90% of their dresses are incredibly small, and when I put one on, I stare in the mirror for a good five minutes wondering whether it is a shirt or, in fact, a dress. That is not a question you want unanswered in this day and age.

2. The other 10% of their dresses are in some ridiculously vibrant color, are covered in a pattern that makes babies cry, or require a slip, belt or something else to make them look decent. Blehhh. You fail me Forever 21.

So, I stepped out of the store and scouted out my other options. I decided to wander into Macy's. Now, I can't remember the last time I went into Macy's, because, as I've stated before, I'm a Target/Old Navy/Forever 21 girl by nature. But, I decided to go in just for kicks. And then? I found the dress. It was the only one I ended up trying on, actually. After I tried it on, I knew I had to buy it. It ended up being $70 (it's times like these that I'm glad my husband apparently never reads my blog) but I didn't even have any buyer's remorse when I left the store with it. It was exactly what I was looking for, I kid you not:

(Please note that the hair will be seriously more attractive when I actually wear the dress in public. Also, you can't see the front detail as well in this full-length photo. I ran out of time to get a better one. Don't hate.) In any case, I adore this dress. To pieces. I want to live in it, and sleep in it, and go grocery shopping in it. For being a strapless dress, it's very comfortable. I like that it doesn't give me weird armpit pudge (anyone who has worn a strapless dress will know what I'm talking about), that it is not too short, that it makes me feel teensie, and guess what? IT HAS POCKETS. WHAT. I can basically be a correspondent on The Daily 10 now. It's true. (Has anyone else noticed how the girls on that show always seem to be wearing dresses with pockets? Or maybe I just watch too much TV?)

I absolutely can't wait for Jay and I to go out tomorrow night! Yessss! I am so ready to dress up, because I never, ever, ever get to dress up!

My only issue now is that I am so incredibly not a shoe person. I think that two of my other sisters got that gene, and didn't leave any for me. I will find one or two pairs of shoes that I adore (usually one pair of flats and one pair of sandals) and wear them until they, quite literally, fall apart. So, for times that I actually have to dress up, I'm left with whatever shoes are left in my closet. Which are pretty much crap. I never think about it until it's too late, and now? I'm left with either some random retro-ish flats that look decent, or my ghetto Payless heels that I've had for the last five years. I like the flats, but...they're flats. And whenever I put on the Payless heels, I feel like I'm twelve. So, I don't know. Someone mentioned cutting the bow off of the heels, and I think I'll give that a try tonight. What would you guys do? Which are the lesser of two evils?

(I'm wearing the heels in the above photo, so you can see that they aren't too horribly tacky. And I didn't have time to take a full-length photo with the flats, so you'll just have to use your imaginations for that one.)

So, now that I have the cutest dress in all of humanity, next on my list-of-things-I-seriously-need-to-buy-for-my-closet-because-I'm-slightly-fashion-deprived are: the aforementioned perfect pair of jeans, a cute hat, a pair of heels that will go with mostly anything, a dressy coat, an outfit that is interview-worthy, and sunglasses that make me happy. I need to remember that there are a few items worth spending the extra money on. But I guess we'll see.

PS: Thank you to everyone who took the time to wish Jay and I a happy anniversary! I felt so happy and glowy this morning when I went through all the sweet and thoughtful comments. You are all amazing! I would hug you if I could! Thank you for letting me gush and not making me feel like a goober for doing so.