Hurts So Good, And Finally Finding a Dress

Acupressure may be my new favorite thing. Today I got a massage - from the same woman who gave me a massage on my birthday. I shared with her some areas of pain, and she took copious notes. And then I entered a very intense 90 minute session of massage and acupressure. Sometimes, the pressure was strong I wanted to cry (just a little) but I could always tell when she was hitting a pressure point that needed some serious release.

My illiotibial band has been really tight and causing me pain that radiated down my leg (in all honesty, I've had the pain for close to a year, and the severity ebbs and flows ... when I am active and working out it actually feels better.) I don't know what type of voodoo magic she performed ... but the pain is almost completely gone. Bless her, bless her. She confirmed that my decision to get massages quarterly is going to be one of the best decisions of my life. Now, I'm a little sore where I can tell my muscles got some serious work done ... but I'm feeling good overall. Have to love it when it hurts so good.

After the massage, I was back on the hunt for a dress to wear to the black-tie wedding we have in two weeks. I went to the place of doom: Mall of America. Seriously, I typically go to the MOA as few times a year as possible (once for holiday shopping and then only when I have to go to a specific store that is only located at the MOA.) First I stopped at Macy's ... horrible, horrible selection - it felt very rundown and dowdy. I quickly high-tailed it out.

Based on some co-workers suggestions, I next went to White House Black Market ... unfortunately, they didn't have any floor length formal dresses and I vowed that I was only going to shop for this formal dress.

Next I went to Nordstrom's -- and I think everyone else who was attending a wedding this summer was also there. First I tried on this silver dress that had feathers all over the skirt. I fell in love, but then took a realistic examination of the wedding and who my date is. Yeah ... D would not be a fan of the feathers. Then I tried on a cute pinky beige dress. I liked this one, too ... but it was a little too tight in the bodice (and I wasn't a fan of the huge price tag.) So, the third dress I tried on was this one ...

And it's the one. Of course, I tried on quite a few others, but in the end, I felt like this one made me feel like a princess, elegant and graceful. Now ... I just have to find the shoes and any accessories ...