The 80's Prom We Never Had*

This post is best served hot with a side of pictures. 

(drumroll please...) 

Presenting! The Roommates! 

And their lovely thrifted dresses!

Here we have Katie, in her sleek and sequenced evening wear. The well placed hip pleats and poufs only enhance her shapely curves while the sequenced bodice is not only modest but subtly flirty. Miss Katie enjoys playing volleyball (watch out for her spike!), art projects and teaching children how to read and enjoy history. She’s definitely one to snag!

Miss Lisa here always keeps it sassy with her well placed tulle headband. Her fashion sense is never off, pairing a bright patterned top and sleek black bottom, makes it an ideal dress for evenings out or a day at the office. Lisa saves the world from HIV/AIDS  through her melodic karaoke voice. But back off guys! Rumor has it, she’s taken!

Business casual best describes this summer dress with its cheery colors and coordinating necklace. The perfect dress to wear to an evening at the park or to church the next day. Miss Lauren's excellently coiffed side bun only adds to the overall ambiance. And don’t let that stern face fool you! She enjoys cooking, reading and spending time with friends.

Miss Deborah represents our fun and flirty evening wear, the forest green sleeve puffs coordinate spectacularly with the beaded and sequenced bodice. The height of her bangs creates a lovely, enviable silhouette. Debbie packs a mean tennis serve and cooks up a delicious Egg in a Basket. Better snag her fast guys! She won’t be single for long!

The jewel of our show, Miss Holly elegantly transforms this ivory dress turning it into a spectacular spectacle of the 80’s at their finest. Her manicured bangs and French braid pull the look together in a perfectly simple yet gorgeous manner. The beading on the bodice pairs excellently with the hemline, and the angle of the shoulders. Holly enjoys rock climbing, brisk walks and drawn out cinematic romances, she’s looking for her real life Darcy.

*Clarification on the evening:

• done for a Thrift Store dance held by our ward
• the dance was awkward, the music was good, and we were by far the best dressed
• dresses, with the exception of Katie's (DI), were purchased at Unique
• hair done by Lisa
• make up partially done by me
• jewelry courtesy of Lisa's grandmother

unfortunately we only got a group picture at the end of the night and Holly didn't come home with us, but still. we're looking pretty good...

Kirtland

I'm blogging on a Saturday night... I feel pretty lame. But, to redeem myself, I am waiting for a friend to pick me up, so I decided to post a couple pictures from last weekend's trip to Kirtland, Ohio*.

Lisa's old friend is serving her mission in Kirtland, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints visitors center and will be going home next month. We wanted to go before she goes home and have her give us a tour of the Historic Kirtland visitors center, and since it was a long weekend we decided it was the perfect opportunity. (The weather was surprisingly nice, no snow until the drive home day.)

Here are a couple of the highlights. Pictures by Rebecca Reed, my awesome and talented, photographing roommate.

In front of the Whitney store. The Smiths lived here in the upper floor. The store was a meeting place for people in town and a place to do all their shopping. 80% of the house was original I guess technically Rebecca didn't take this picture since she's in it. But we'll still give credit since the picture was from her. And, I have HUGE hair! Wow. I should move south...

School of the Prophets. We sat and listened to the sister missionaries tell us how they begin their missions in this room, dedicating their service to God. It was really neat to be in there and think of the great things experienced there by early church leaders.

The Temple. I was so impressed by the dedication of the people and their hard work. It's a lot bigger than it looks. The second story is just as big as the first and the ceilings were high. Unfortunately pictures weren't allowed inside, it's still a sacred place, but the wood carvings and attention to detail were beautiful and humble.

The visitor's plaque by the temple read: "Kirtland Temple symbolizes the empowerment that comes from spiritual preparation and dedicated stewardship while inspiring continuing efforts to build up the communities in which we live."

We all liked the quote and liked how the early saints lived their beliefs every day and sacrificed so much for God. We came back wanting to continue in that vein and have that same empowerment, knowing who we are and what we stand for and following what we believe.

Needless to explain, the weekend was fabulous. We also hit up Pittsburgh, ate tasty food, visited the Andy Warhol museum, perused the local mall and an awesome gigantic grocery store, saw True Grit, slept for 13 hours in one night, and made a synchronized car dance to Justin Bieber. It was a great and a most needed road trip.

* If you aren't Mormon, Kirtland is a small town in Northern Ohio, close to Lake Erie, where many church members gathered before moving west to Missouri, Illinois and eventually Utah. Moves were necessary since the Mormons were forced out of town by angry and antagonistic members of the community. Kirtland is one place they had expected to stay for a long time, and because of that they built a temple for worship, instruction and for their community.

Jealousy

Have you ever been so jealous of someone you just want to cry? I am. Right now.

Kristen spent her weekend in Italy with. her. husband. (And although that trip popped up in my google reader, she must have taken it off her blog...Sorry for your disappointment! But you can see her other trips to Ireland, Netherlands, etc on the blog.)

I on the other hand spent my weekend at Mormon weekend on speed, aka Duck Beach (or, The Outer Banks).

Although a lot of fun and am nursing a wicked sunburn and some funny tan lines, I'd rather have been in Italy.

(I forgot to take my camera to Duck so I have zero pictures of my own. Maybe I'll get some good ones that someone else took.)

Update

I've been slacking a bit on the blogging. Lets see, what's the quick update:

1. Went to the DC Independent Film Festival last Friday with Debbie. We saw Tenure which I thought was pretty hilarious. Luke Wilson looked cute too. And I haven't been thinking he looked very good lately in those AT&T commercials.

2. Went to the Young Single Adult Combined Ward Chili-Cook Off and Hoe Down. As I walked into the stake center I was shocked at how many people were there. They were getting the dancing started and there were about a hundred people dancing around doing dosey-dos and line dancing. It was so fantastically hilarious. Just so cliche Mormon. I didn't dance. I stood on the side and mocked it with my friend Erin. Did I wish I was out there dancing? Just a titch. But that was only because someone made the off-handed comment that this was how the Celestial Kingdom would be. (Too many women to men.) And that was depressing when I realized I was one on the sideline.

3. Watched the Oscars. Was extra happy about The Young Victoria winning best costume design. Wasn't very happy however about the acceptance speech. It sounded something like, "This is my third Oscar and since some of you will never get one, I'll dedicate it to you." Somehow that just struck me wrong. But whatever. I loved The Young Victoria.

PS. Did you know Rupert Friend is dating Keira Knightly? (It's true, Google it.) Apparently Wickham and Elizabeth get together after all!

4. Went to The Dairy Godmother last night with Erin for their flavor of the day. How much do you just love that name? I love my bus driver too. He stopped at my bus stop even though I was continuing on down the hill to meet Erin at her apartment. Isn't that so nice! I kind of felt bad I wasn't getting off! Now I feel like I have a chauffeur. And that's a good reason to ride the bus!

5. The weather has been so absolutely gorgeous! It feels like Spring! Though there may be some rain coming on, I'm ok with that when the weather is upper 50s and low 60s. It just seems heavenly after all that snow!