Day 629 A Night in the Tropics

 

Playing make believe with a Night in the tropics on a cold New England Night, music, friends, plastic pink flamingos and of course dancing.  Selecting tropical attire, while freezing added a bit of challenge, but we all know I'm always up for a challenge! I first selected a skimpy, parrot print sundress but exposing too much pale white, winter skin wasn't a look I was ready to rock. My tried and true favorite, Lilly Pulitzer to the rescue with a fabulous coral print maxi dress. I was warm, comfortable, looked fantastic and the bright print distracted from my pale skin tone.  The only glitch in preparation was the fact that I had taken the hem out  to lend this dress to one of my tall friends and never had a chance to put the hem back in. Rather than sewing it again, I dug through my summer shoes until I found a pair of 5" heels, saving me the task. Tim had his own struggles finding a tropical shirt, came up with one at the last minute, finding it in the trunk of his car. He shook it out, sniffed it and spritzed it with cologne and it all came together for him. Oh, how the stories behind photos make me laugh! The themed event was a fundraiser for our local High School Athletic Boosters Club and my neighbor, Bethany serves on the party committee, so I had two great reasons to show my support. To my delight, my daughter was there with her friends, who had convinced her into going, partly by telling her I would be there! I teased her, saying we should have worn matching mother daughter outfits, the suggestion always makes her cringe and me smile. No matching outfits, but we did manage to get a few great photos together, proof she gets out once in a while. She's in the midst of raising my two grandsons, ages eleven and thirteen. Busy ages for parents, with sports, school activities and pre-teen social outings, although little does she know, they will be grown up and on their own in the flash of an eye. We had friends follow us back to our house for a post party gathering, little did we realize our company would stay until almost 2am! With a fire in the wood stove we were all warm and toasty as we nibbled on snacks that we had smuggled out of the party...yes, we are those people! Next time I play pretend tropics, I hope Mother Nature gets the memo!