Babs in Blogland

On Sundays I don’t set my alarm.  I let my body wake up naturally.  Usually that is between 7am and 730am.  Once I feel sufficiently ready to step out of bed I throw on some sweats and take Roxie out for her morning business.  Then I shower, dress and head out to 8am service at the church.

That’s right.  I get all of that done and still make it to church on time (give or take ten minutes) by 8am.  I know you are all wondering how I accomplish such a magical feat.  The answer is simple.

My church is casual!

I absolutely love attending a casual church.  Even considering the fact that the church is less than 5 minutes from my house, there is no way I would make it on time if I had to get all gussied up in my Sunday best.  In the summer I slip on some capris and a cute top, in the winter it’s jeans and a sweater.  I usually wear my hair in a ponytail and I am out the door.  Only if I’ve gotten up early do I break out the flat iron and cosmetics.

To be honest, I’ve only ever attended the 8am service so I can’t say if the 10am service is dressier.  I doubt I’ll ever find out because 8am service works just fine for me.

When I was home for the holiday, my grandfather and I were talking about what people wear to church.  You see, he is old school.  From top to bottom, he gets laid out for Sunday service.  He likes wearing a suit and hat and rolling up in his shiny caddy.  He also feels that people should wear their best when going to worship the Lord.  I believe that the Lord cares not about what we wear as long as we are there.  I also believe that a church will turn away many potential worshippers (i.e., those unable to afford church clothes) if they put pressure on them for what to wear.

I can honestly say I would miss a lot more services than I do if I had to wear a dress and do my hair every Sunday.

Do you get dressed up for church?  Do you think it’s inappropriate to “come as you are”?

Not the actual dress

I found a dress this weekend!  I need to take it to my seamstress to bring up the hem and have the top altered to properly support the girls.  I also need to determine what accessories I’ll be showcasing, but the hardest part is over. 

And I got it for a steal!

Bad lighting makes my face look like the Predator

Okay, so apparently you all were on the same page and I was over somewhere else eating the best sandwhich ever!  But I digress…

I love this dress.  You know I do.  But it is full length and I need cocktail attire.  Surely you aren’t suggesting I have THIS dress shortened to cocktail length?  I mean I could, but what if I have another formal event to attend?

So are you telling me you don’t like the other dress and I should keep looking?

I have a super fun shindig coming up next month.  Cocktail attire required.  I am really looking forward to this event not just because of the people involved, but because I love love love to wear a pretty dress.

Yesterday I headed to one of my favorite stores to start looking.  They always have a great selection and they are known to have decent sales.  I tried on 10 dresses.  Half of them didn’t fit and the other half just didn’t look good.

I moseyed over to the big girls section.  They only had two dresses that didn’t look like a bedazzled parachute and they were way too big.  I guess I really can’t fit a 14w.

So the pressure is on.  I have 30 days to find a dress.  The dress must be flattering, sex.y and budget friendly.  I will not, I repeat, I will not pay full price for a dress.

Suggestions?

If your pants look like this, they are too short.

I must have seen about 6 of these offenses walking into the office this morning.  I know it’s raining but damn, highwaters are not the hotness!

Just because you are vertically challenged like me does not mean you can buy petites.  You aren’t that short.  You have to buy regular pants and then spend the money to get them hemmed.  It sucks, but it’s what we have to do.

Again, if we can see your entire shoe, your pants are too short!

This weekend, as part of my aimless wondering about Cobb County, I found myself inside of a Lane Bryant.  It’s been years since I was the size of a Lane Bryant shopper, but my emotional overeating and injured knee is causing me to creep back up.  I stopped in LB out of boredom and curiosity.  I need new jeans and am having trouble finding a pair that fit (as most woman do).  I was chagrined to learn that LB has changed their sizing charts on their pants.  A 14 is no longer a 14.  They now have 1,2,3,4,5. 

I asked the girl what size pants I would need and she whipped out her measuring tape and wrapped it around my waist.  After 3 seconds of measuring she declared that I would need a size 2.  The hell you say!!!  I mean, I know I don’t know much about LB sizing, but I KNOW I didn’t go from a 12 at the Gap to a fuggin size 2 at LB.  She handed me a size 2 and I looked at her like b!tch, please.  It was obvious that those pants wouldn’t fit me.  She then handed me a size 1 and I sashayed my sister booty to the dressing room.

I am happy to report that the jeans fit great!  From the back.  They fit me perfectly in the waist and the were perfect for my backside, but in the front there was enough room to fit two small honeybaked hams in all the extra material.

So I am back to square one.  I need new jeans!

It’s a thin line between regular and plus sized.  Either our pants are too tight, or way too baggy.

Ladies, sizes 12 to 16, where do you buy your jeans?

1 Dillards

4 Dresses Tried On

1 Winner

Yay!  I found a dress.  And it is SMOKIN!  And the price? Honey, if I told you the price you’d slap your momma in the mouth.  Matter of fact, I’m gonna slap my momma when I see her this dress is so hot.

I’ll post pics Sunday!

2 TJ Maxx
1 Ross
1 Macy’s
1 Burlington

4 Dresses tried on

0 Purchased

This ain’t gonna be easy.  I hate shopping and I covered a month’s worth of stores in one evening.  I dread going again tonight.

On the upside, I decided I love formal gowns. They make me feel so girly!