Black tie optional

One week ago, my husband told me that we are going to a "black tie optional" event tonight to honor his boss who is receiving a reward.  How long has he known about this event?  Four months.  It was actually in the newspaper in June, so maybe I should start reading the paper.

Of course, my first thought was - "What am I going to wear?"  So, I went back through my New York photos for inspiration.  With so many people in cocktail attire during the day, New York definitely felt like a party -

Since half the fun of going to a fancy event is buying a new outfit, I went shopping.  Of course, all I found was a cool t-shirt from the Gap.  I never find what I'm looking for.  I have to buy things when I'm not looking for them - like the little black dress I am going to wear tonight.  I bought it 6 years ago on sale at Benetton.  I had a 1 year old at home and no fancy events on the horizon.  I loved the dress, and fortunately the sales guy talked me into it.  I may not have time to take pictures tonight, so if you want to see it, click here.  I'm going to try to dress it up a little with a different belt and shoes.  I'll let you know how it goes...