Frock Fridays: Let's Have A Ball

Note: this post was ready to go last night, but I wasn't sure if it was appropriate to publish it this morning given the chaos in Boston at the moment.  In the end, I'm going ahead as usual because I'm not sure what else to do, but I keep thinking of that scene in The West Wing when the White House hosts a white-tie state dinner while the world goes to hell in a handbasket around them, so I'll borrow President Bartlet's words from the end of the episode: "I'm going to stay right here as long as the radio works, okay?"  Boston, I love you, and I'm thinking of you.  

We often take fantastic flights of fancy for these Frock Fridays posts, but today I'm keeping it real - well, real and kind of unbelievable at the same time.  Sometimes I get comments from readers (here on the blog, on Twitter, and/or on Instagram) saying that they want my life, and usually I laugh it off.  Living and working in DC is exciting but it's also just the way it is, so it's kind of hard for me to keep my situation in perspective to other situations, you know?  I mean, everything's relative, but you all have excitement, too, no matter where you live and work.

That being said, sometimes I realize that things around here can get pretty glam.  Case in point: tonight we have a black-tie gala at work, so I rented the runway for the first time and will be wearing the most gorgeous red Badgley Mischka gown for the event.  As I suspected, I'm between the two sizes I ordered, so I'm taking the larger to be comfortable; even though it hurt to spend $160 (including insurance, taxes, and shipping) on a dress I'll only wear once, the bigger dress won't fit for much longer if I stay on track with my running and eating so it wouldn't have made sense to buy anything!  To make my wallet feel a bit better, I'm accessorizing the dress with old Target jewelry, flat strappy sandals I bought years ago, and a wristlet I "borrowed" from my mother's closet.  I'll Instagram my actual complete outfit later in the day as I get dressed and at the ball as I can, but pictured here are similar pieces: necklace, earrings, rings, clutch, and shoes.  Wish me fortitude, dear readers - regardless of the news that comes out of Boston throughout the day, the next 24 hours until our plane takes off from Dulles for London will be... well, let's stick with exciting!

linking up with {long distance loving}