Dressy Mix and Match...

Hi, all! Thank you so much for your sweet thoughts and e-mails over the past week or so. :) MUCH NEEDED...I definitely have left Funky Town, its population is now zero. LOL.

Real quick, I wanted to let you all know that I am having surgery to repair my "hole in my heart" on December 14, 2010, which is one week away. I am not nervous, but I am a teeny bit anxious. Some of my bloggie friends have reached out to me and told me their stories of people they know who have had this surgery so I feel great to know that it is usually a very easy procedure, but it is still my heart and all.

Turns out that I have an ASD, which is a birth defect, and not just the flappy opening between the atria not completely closing at birth (which is what we thought I had--also known as a PFO). If you want to read more about the differences between an ASD and PFO, check out this link for more info. The ASD explains why I have continual blood flow between my right atria and my left atria (also known as a right to left shunt, which I explained in great detail at the "hole in my heart" post which I linked to in the last paragraph), and which makes me understand why I have been susceptible to "mini-strokes" and why the cardiologist was willing to get me in for the heart repair so quickly! (I am even having my surgery before BRET MICHAELS!!!)

Okay, enough talk about my health. Let's move onto OUTFITS!!!

Mix and Match Packing List! by dinagideon featuring a vneck cardigan

Above is the polyvore from my trip to Mississippi and Louisiana that I talked about in my last post. For more info on how this polyvore works, check out the post for the info on how I mixed and matched the pieces together to help me have a well-chosen plan for my ten-day trip. Today I will focus on how I mixed the pieces to create dressier outfits (my last post was on the casual outfits).

Worn to church the Sunday after Thanksgiving.  I know that at my church people dress up, but nothing compares to Southern Baptist church services.  Everyone is turned out just so.  It is very lovely to see, the parade of finery and thoughtful, well-cleansed faces bright and fresh.  :)  Love it!

The outfit consists of pieces #5, 2, 9, 21, and 17.  You have seen the jacket, the dress, and the shoes before, but the belt and necklace are new.  I love the way the grey worked with the purple and browns.  I didn't know if the colors would look ghastly together, but in the end, it all worked.  The belt is the suede floppy belt and I bought it in a size small so I could wear it at my waist.  If you want a more "floppy" effect, buy up a size.  I don't want a floppy effect, so I was great with the size small.  The necklace is the knotty pearl necklace and I just love how a fairly inexpensive piece of costume jewelry (I got it on super-sale) can make an outfit look extra-special.  (Well, the velvet Bella jacket helps, too...lol.)

I dress for Thanksgiving dinner.  Something about dressing for dinner speaks to me, so I was happy to oblige, even if I was a bit "over-dressed."

This outfit consists of pieces #4, 2, 9, and 19.  This dress was wrongly identified as the super 120s banquette dress on ebay when I bought it...it is actually the stretch flannel banquette dress from last year, but in the end, I don't really care.  At the price I bought it, I was happy.  This is in a size 8, and sadly this means that the top is very loose and the hips just fit.  To counter this, I cinched the belt REAL tight and wore a cami on top and wore spanx on the bottom.  It was worth it, though, my super-beautiful sister-in-law complimented my outfit, and that made me feel great!  :)  The necklace is the Charlotte Statement necklace by Stella and Dot that I was able to get (FOR FREE) after CW's Stella and Dot birthday party (CW received a LOT of jewelry for VERY good prices).  If you would like to order Stella and Dot, I can put you in touch with Rachel, who is my Stella and Dot stylist.

This is an outfit I wore at the very beginning of the trip when it was SUPER hot and I needed to cool down.  The first photo shows how I took shimmer paisley dress and winter-ized it and this photo shows a nice early fall option.  It does look like I am wearing a top and a skirt, but I actually just layered a cami over the dress.

These pieces are #25, 9, 5, and 18.

Finally, this is an outfit I wore the very first night of the vacation.  We were going all fancy with a fixed price dinner at a yummy New Orleans restaurant and I wanted to match by dressing up.  It was hot that night, so the cashmere and the wool skirt were a *bit* much, but the restaurant was cool enough, so I didnt keel over in my crawfish or anything.  :)

This outfit consists of pieces #24, 17, and 1.  The tee would have made it into the polyvore BUT polyvore has a limit of 50 pieces!!!  (Did you all know that?  And the numbers that I used to label the pieces count as items!  Shakes fist at imaginary owner of Polyvore...)

CW was also dressed up and ready to go.  Love the pink and brown!  :)

You all have a fab night!  I look forward to posting more outfits!!!  (I will be on forced bed rest for a good portion of next week...but guess what bed rest means?  My wireless computer can come with me!!!  Heehee...)