Peaches & Honey: The Holiday Cocktail (Party)

Once again, I must preface that I am not a fashion monger. I am, however, a gal who loves to get dressed up and go to a good cocktail party. After years of sorority semiformals and overseas soirees, I have figured out what works for my body. Unfortunately since having children and moving to a more laid-back lifestyle in Florida, I ~~no longer~~ rarely sashay around in glitter and tulle to get my kicks. And the fact that I currently spend most of my days covered in drool/snot/vomit-covered sweatpants makes the few fancy occasions that I get extra special and exciting. I have been on a serious hunt for a dress to wear for our squadron's Christmas cocktail party. Finding the perfect cocktail dress is akin to hunting in a deer stand--you must stalk quietly, and you must strike when target is in front of you, lest you miss your chance and it becomes out-of-stock. While hunting, I noticed a few trends for the holiday season. Unique and fancy black dresses, sequins, retro silhouettes, metallics, and jewel tones all seem to be the rage. These are some of my personal favorites:

lace & tulle illusion dress // art deco crystal studs // metal mesh purse (sold out, but similar here) // black stone bracelet // lace heels (similar here) // net & sequin dress // ruby studs // gold & black clutch // lace anklestrap pumps // dotted tulled dress // crystal headband // chevron clutch // rhinestone bow heels

rose gold sequin dress // stalagmite stud earrings // beaded clutch // nude patent pump // black sequin dress // boho crystal chandelier earrings // black envelope clutch // studded heels // bronze sequin dress // ruby drop earrings // fur clutch // red suede heels

black lace dress // deco stud earrings // fillagree box clutch // red sued d'orsay pump // red dress // fur capelet // oval crystal studs // octagon clutch // gold glitter heels // green lace dress // gold glitter earrings // MAC Russian Red lipstick // stalagmite bracelet // nude pumps

pewter strapless dress // gold hammered studs // black & emerald art deco necklace // jeweled clutch // green suede heels // platinum lace dress // bubble chandelier earrings // beaded clutch // metallic peeptoe pumps // bronze jacquard dress // crescent deco earrings // pyramid stud clutch // stud & chain pumps

green beaded dress // fan studs // beaded clutch // crystal bracelet // metallic snakeskin pumps // merlot velvet dress // emerald drop earrings // sequin clutch // rectangle bar bracelet // gold strappy heels // blue & black lace dress // gunmetal statement necklace // sequin crochet clutch // anthracite glitter heels

You will notice that most of the dress picks I was considering are from ModCloth. If you haven't shopped there, I highly recommend it. They have a great selection of dresses (and all clothes and accessories), many of them garnering a vintage vibe. The mobile app is amazing. It is interactive and user-friendly, offering many views of the product and a guide to how each specific item fits. The best feature is that it has tons of buyer reviews, including uploaded pictures from customers, along with their measurements and size purchased. This is helpful to judge what size you will need based on a person with similar measurements. For instance, if a dress runs small up top and you are debating between two sizes, you can look at reviews from people with your measurements and see what size they ordered. I find this really helpful, especially since I have a curvy figure and wear a 2 in some dresses or an 8 in others, depending on brand and fit. I have bought my last few nicer dresses from ModCloth and have adored them.

After much debate and research, I decided to go with a retro, Betty Draper-esque style dress, as those tend to flatter my shape the best. I waffled between the black lace dress and the red off-shoulder dress (from the Mad Med Inspired board), and finally chose the black lace. At first glance, it may look a little goth, but I think it will be lovely in person and once it's on.

I'm also a bit obsessed with all the black, unique cocktail dresses. They're all so fancy. You just can't go wrong with black at a cocktail party or formal. And I'm really digging all the ruby red earrings. I am looking forward to seeing lots of pictures of my friends dressed up for the holidays. It's always so fun to see people looking their best and having fun.

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In other news, I have barely made a dent in the domestic madness that I am wallowing in. I have been working my ass off from sun-up to sun-down, and you can't tell that I've done a thing. Don't you hate that? Cleaning with a toddler is like brushing your teeth with oreos. I get one task finished, and three more have popped up in its place. Yesterday I almost hit my breaking point. First of all, both beasties are teething, and they were both in full-on exorcist mode. Bobby had multiple time-outs, and I had to wear Vivi in the Ergo because she was so miserable (again, this is so incredibly unlike her).

Bobby spilled Cheese-Its everywhere.

Nothing was on the floor when I walked out of the room on the phone with the insurance company. Came back 5 minutes later to this.

He threw all the ornaments all over the house.

When in Rome

I picked up his toys. He pulled his toys out. I put away his toys again. He pulled them out again. It's a fun little game we play.

Glitter is everywhere. Spraypaint is everywhere. Amazon boxes are everywhere. How much laundry can four people go through? The most frustrating thing is that I literally do not sit down all day, but it looks like I haven't done anything when Alex gets home. Our house is normally pretty clean, but it's the return from vacation + Christmas decor chaos with 2 under 2 that is killing me. I felt like a failure and finally said forget it. Once Bobby was asleep, I went back downstairs and got more done in 1 hour than I had gotten done in 2 days. Now I can see the floor and the hope.

Screw the Kate Spade earrings; Santa needs to bring me a rent-a-maid.

Just kidding, those Kate Spade sparkle earrings are everything.

Finally, I took Vivi to the doctor for her well-checkup yesterday, and she is in the 90th percentile for weight (shocker), the 85th percentile for height, and she is healthy as a horse.