The case of the missing date night

Bonjour babes! I hope you all enjoyed your weekend, and for those lucky ducks whose weekend will be extended, I am jealous! So what was on your agendas? Fabulous soirees, wonderfully comfortable movie nights, shopping extravaganzas? Pray tell chicas! You know I love to be in the know. Ok, enough of sounding like gossip girl... I headed up to Philadelphia this weekend for my cousin's baby's baptism!! I was so stinking excited to see the most precious baby girl ever and her fashionista mommy! And it was really nice to spend some quality time in the car with my lovely mumsicle and brother as all three of us made the drive together. Matt goes back to school Monday so this was my last chance to spend time with him for awhile, as baseball will consume his life from the moment he goes back through August! Isn't that a crazy schedule?? He is going to make it big one day though and it will all be worth it. And you can all say you "knew" about him before he made it dears! This is basically my long way of apologizing for not posting on time this weekend and combining Fashion Challenge Friday and Resolution Sunday in this ginormous post. Forgive me you gorgeous little divas you? Oh thank you, thank you- I knew you would :)

So loverlies, I have a confession to make (and yes, I know I make a lot of confessions- don't judge me). I am 100% a total sucker for what I like to call "the date dress". Exhibit A: one of my very first posts. Others may call it a cocktail dress, but when I see a fabulous mini frock it just screams to me "parade me in front of a cute boy pretty, pretty please!!" Nine times out of 10 I answer the call of that most perfect date dress and welcome the newbie into my closet. But that is where the warm reception ends, darlings, because I have not actually partaken in the dating ritual in two years and counting. Alas, these poor, sad little beauties that thought they were going to be taken out for many nights on the town hang limply in a dark closet growing increasingly less optimistic of their chances of seeing daylight by the hour. I know, it truly is an unfortunate plight and I would love to be able to help them out. Trust me, I would. So seeing as the whole dating prospects still appear to be slim to none, I have decided to conquer the forgotten "date dresses" and ensure that if they can't be seen by the suit of their dreams (and the boy of mine) that at the very least they become my latest Fashion Challenge!

Dress: Betsey Johnson, Cardigan/Belt/Tights/Shoes: Kohl's, Necklace: Pearl shop in China, Earrings: Gifted from mom, Ring: Gifted from Aunt

When I saw this dress on Rue la la this summer marked down 75% off retail, everything about it was just screaming my name! The pink, the ruffles, the tulle- I just couldn't resist.

I make every effort not to buy items that I don't have any place to wear, but as I mentioned I have a major weakness for "date dresses" and passing on this one was just not an option. When it arrived I think I literally danced around the house for several minutes, and sadly, that was the last time it was worn- until this weekend.

But as soon as I decided that my latest project was to start incorporating date dresses into my daily wardrobe, I knew this was the place to start. And what better color to wear to a baptism than the color of new beginnings? I had to throw in the shoes to add a little edge to a very girly ensemble.

I am kind of a (total) wimp when it comes to the cold and Philly is even 10 degrees colder than what we have here in DC, so as much as I would have loved to have taken all my photos out here I was too much of a weenie. I love the street my cousin's live on- all cobblestone and you can't even drive on it because it is too narrow.

I have to say that I am kind of obsessed with Kohl's right now, which you probably figured out by the fact that half my outfit is from there! They truly have adorable clothes (and shoes) for unbeatable prices. I love the Simply Vera Vera Wang line (the shoes) and I am seriously considering going back and buying this cardigan in every color they offer it in since it is possibly the best cardigan I have ever owned. I know I was going a little overboard on the ruffles this day, but I was just feeling particularly into ruffles.

Well, since today is really Sunday and not Friday (like I just pretended it is) I think I should start talking about resolutions and willpower and such :) Last Sunday I kicked off my first resolution Sunday by vowing to start the year off on an organized path by engaging in a closet cleanse. I have to say, it feels great! I can see my options so much better now that the closet is divided by categories and I can actually see the floor! It is amazing how much better you can feel when you start off organized. I plan on having a lovely before/after post this week. But enough about last week, let's get on to this week! I am on my own for this week as my mom is traveling on a business trip and I plan to make the best of it by focusing on another area I wanted to work on this year. My weekly resolution will be to cook at least three times this week and they will be new meals that I have never made before! I have been ordering food way too often lately, and that does nothing to help get me prepared to live on my own, nor is it wallet friendly. So this is an all-around good idea and I am very excited to get back in the kitchen, considering I have hardly cooked since graduation. I will let you ladies know how it goes :)

Bisous!