Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Making Friends at Neiman Marcus

Color is awesome and all, but I do love a sharp black and white look, too. Now, this dress is a smidge   too short for work, but it's a hot little number for dinner, which is where I wore it. On our first night for the Neiman Marcus event, we ate dinner in the hotel's pretty restaurant. I donned this dress and threw my leather jacket over top because I never know when I'll get cold. 

I have to admit that I worried about this event a lot beforehand. Images of pretentious, too-good-to-be-around-me women danced above my head. Seriously, I'm a high school English teacher who thinks prairie dogs are the best animals at the zoo and talks about poop far too often. Fortunately, everyone involved proved my fears wrong. On the car ride from the airport to the hotel, I met one of the Beauty Department Managers, Pat. Hailing from Florida, she is kind and a good listener. She also appreciates my sense of humor, which is a key factor in my deciding someone's worth. 

When I arrived at the hotel, I met coordinators, Caroline, who was quiet with a nice smile and gams I wish I had, and Dru, a petite fellow gluten-free lady. They were the women behind the scenes of the whole operation. The first winner I met was Jessica, who just graduated law school in South Carolina. We immediately hit it off and both found great comfort in the fact that we considered each other "normal" (not all uptight and persnickety).  I met Ashley, a writer and essential genius from Hawaii. (I'll be honest: she can wear J.Crew like no one I've ever met, and she can rock a pixie cut like a boss.) I loved talking to Gale, a doctor from California. She is the head doctor for Paul Walker's non-profit organization, ROWW (reaching out worldwide). I might just have to visit her in CA. I enjoyed meeting all of the girls, but my Beauty Department Manager, Claudio, takes the cake. That guy knows his way around the beauty department (he'd make a good teacher!) and he truly understood my sense of humor. Possibly to his dismay, I'd be his BFF if we didn't live 8+ hours apart. 

Quite honestly, the free clothes and gifts were awesome, but meeting new people was the best part for me. (Plus, I loved getting my mom on a plane for the first time in 40 years.) Actually, the best part about life is the relationships that we build. Am I right? And our relationship with ourselves counts, for the record. Now, that is the beauty of life, folks. 


The Look:
Dress: Banana Republic via thredUP
Shoes: BCBG via Boscov's 
Necklace: The Limited



The attack of the bumblebees isn't just a song. It's real life. My life. I decided to amuse you with my antics. 

Mom said, "Well, taking pictures of your clothes is most important. I'm trying to get a picture of your necklace. Smile." And I gave her this...
Sweet neck muscles, eh?

7 comments:

  1. Ooh check out those neck tendons, haha! I almost didn't notice because of that gorgeous necklace! And seriously, you look amazing in this dress. If I didn't already like you so much, I'd probably hate you a little because of it haha.

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  2. I'm so glad you were able to have such a great time in Texas. It would have been terrible if you didn't click with any of them but really, who could resist your charm?

    That dress is amazing. You made an excellent choice with that one for the dinner. Sexy but not too flashy while looking classy and elegant at the same time. And that's quite a feat!

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  3. Such a cool experience and I love this dress. You look gorgeous!

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  4. well aren't you just a hottie in this dress! It seems like the perfect ensemble for a fancy dinner.

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  5. You are so pretty - even when all the tendons in your neck are sticking out, haha! I love that dress :) I'm so happy you made some great friends while you were in Dallas. I think that would have been the best part for me as well - I'm definitely the kind of person who loves to build relationships with people!! It's kind of like blogging - sure, getting free stuff can be cool, but it's really the friendships I've built with people like you that make it all worth it :)

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  6. OK this dress is full of sass!! That is all. =)

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  7. Who WOULDN'T want to be friends with you is my question! You exude positivity and humor and I'm sure that all of your new friends loved that about you! And dang girl, you look smokin' in that dress!

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Feel free to throw some witticisms my way.