What to Wear to the Ball

I shot this photo out of the car window last night, just before the light changed from red to green. If there hadn't been any cars behind me I'd have lingered to gaze into all the windows at Mary Linn's Bridal shop at the corner of Fair Oaks and Green Street. The whole place is a Cinderella fantasy right now (complete with glass slippers in the lower left corner of the photo). The windows at Mary Linn's are always beautiful but right now they're especially spectacular.

Maybe it's because Valentine's Day is coming up (or looming, as some people might say) but I'm primed for a fairy tale. I don't expect I'll ever wear one of Mary Linn's amazing dresses, but it doesn't hurt to fantasize.

Mary Linn's Bridal

When you've been snorting and coughing for five days--when you've barely managed to get dressed each of those days and (you're not sure, but) you might not have managed a shower every 24 hours--when you begin to fear you're going to be a mouth-breather for the rest of your life--that's when you need a pick-me-up.

Food will not do. I've been lying around for five days getting no exercise. And for those who've been following my alcohol- and caffeine-deprivation saga, I've got nine days left to go to make it to six months. I'm not giving up after making it this far.

My cold clings to me in a much less attractive fashion than this dress clings to the mannequin, and the mannequin's not even real.

I just need something pretty.

I don't have the energy to go out and take a photo, so I dug through my archives and found this one. It practically satisfies my sweet tooth. We're peeking into the window at Mary Linn's Bridal shop at the corner of Green Street and Fair Oaks. We might even be drooling a bit, which is partly why this is perhaps not a perfect photo. But does it matter, when it's such a perfect dress?

I've never been inside Mary Linn's, but it would be fun to wander through their collection and daydream a little. I think I'll plan for such an excursion as soon as I've beaten my cold and started drinking coffee again. I promise to take a shower and get dressed before I go.