Chamber Ball.

Went to the Chamber Ball last night. I was under the impression that it was at the Shaw Conference Centre.

I was wrong. It was actually at Edmonton's new Expo Centre.

Several months ago Don bid on a silent auction item for some boy scouts fundraiser. It was a gift certificate for a one night stay at the Westin in Edmonton plus brunch the next day. Since I thought the ball was just a block away from the hotel, we made a reservation to stay on Saturday night so we could easily walk to the function. On our way out the hotel door we had the following exchange.

Miss Sarah: How long do you think the walk will be?

Mr. Don: On the other side?

Miss Sarah: What other side?

Mr. Don: At Northlands.

Miss Sarah: Huh?

The venue was not one block away. It was far far away!

Don always assumed we were going to take the train from the downtown hotel. Obviously there was a failure in communication. Had I known we would be in for a good 10-15 minute walk after surfacing at Colisseum station, I wouldn't have worn such a huge gown and 4.5 inch heels.

I'm pretty avid to ride the bike when it makes sense, but in this case it really didn't. It didn't even make sense to take the train as I'm sure my dress would have gotten caught in the escalator or at the very least soaked with traces of uric acid from the elevators. We drove. I'm sorry! We don't do it very often, but it made the most sense taking into consideration the destination, time constraints, wardrobe and temperature.

So it was an active transportation failure.

However. Aren't you curious to see my dress?




I went to the same party two years ago and was sort of appalled at the proliferation of stretchy velour dresses. The invitation said the event was black tie, but I was absolutely overdressed. I was sort of afraid this would happen again, but I went with wearing a gown (not to be mistaken with a cocktail dress) anyway. It was cold and I figured I could tone the formality of the dress down with a cardigan.




My favourite thing about the gown are the tiered bustles on the back. I refer to them as my "butt puffs".

Don seems to have this obsession with taking pictures of me where I'm all fish-eyed and fun house looking. UGH.




The cardigan has a pretty ribbon edge and rhinestone buttons! Very pretty to look at. Takes a very long time to do up.




And it wouldn't be a Miss Sarah outfit without a neat hair thing. This one is cute and romantic.




I also wore a new purse my mommy got for me while she was on vacation in Toronto.




Telus was a sponsor at the event and had these hippo toys as centrepieces. I didn't win one, but somebody at the library board table did and gave it to me, for Dexter!




This morning we woke up and had brunch at the hotel. Sort of funny feeling like a tourist in your own city. As much as I like to travel, I still prefer life at the bungalow to any hotel. Even the very very fancy hotels. When we came home we let the Dougal loose and turned on the Wega. Simple things like that just feel like home.