The Coat, The Vote, and Some Mimosas

Had a wonderful time this weekend. Went to brunch with two good friends. We went to a "Jazz Brunch" at a restaurant near the Water Tower in Chicago. Great music, food and mimosas!

Then we went to the bar at the Weber Grill to check out the second half of the Bears game. We should have gone shopping right then- da Bears no longer are undefeated. Sigh.....

I mentioned to the gals that my upcoming dinner with my high school boyfriend (HSB) and his wife is turning into something a little more involved than I thought. HBS and spouse are driving about 7 hours to come to Chicago for an event. They want to have dinner with me on the day of their arrival, Friday. I suggested a casual place-good food, relaxed atmosphere. (I was all set for the event with a brand new pair of one size smaller jeans, nice top and J. Jill jacket- I should note that I am not going for a "God, she looks good!" reaction. I am just seeking to avoid a "Dear God, what the hell happened to her?" reaction.) They suggested a small upscale restaurant they found on the Chicago metromix website. Okay, I took a deep breath and pulled together a pair of black dress pants, high heels and sweater set. (I couldn't believe how much I was stressing over that- thank goodness I am not seeing The Crush or I would have stroked out by now.) One problem- I haven't owned a dress coat in 10 years. Leave it to my gal pals. With only 20 minutes before my train left to get me home we ran into a store on State Street named Annie Sez (their motto is "It's not shopping. It's an obsession.----LOVE IT!!) and they found me a wonderful black fluffy velvet like car coat with fake fur trim around the sleeves, around the collar and down the front. Everyone at home went "Wow!" (and it was on sale for $132!!) So I am good to go. Return to breathing normally. The one good thing about going to a fancy place will be seeing HSB dressed up- I don't think he owned a shirt with a collar in high school!

On a final note--tomorrow is election day here in the States. Hey, Americans- you know what's at stake, you know what you need to do----so go vote!!!

Taffy