My Princess Evening

I have a very nice life.  I am content with how things are, but let's be honest -- things are simple.  My days are trips to WalMart, swiffering dog hair and laundry.  I love when the grocery store has a BOGO sale on something I use, and while we aren't going wanting, I know *exactly* when payday is, and I plan things accordingly. We have a good life, but it's not a glamorous existence.

This weekend was the annual office Christmas party at hubby's work.  They do a big, fancy, no-holds-barred bash every year.  It's at the Hilton Downtown, in the ballroom, and they encourage employees to get a room and stay overnight.  They offer us a substantial corporate discount and most people stay.  We do.  

I already knew what I was going to wear, a silver floor-length evening gown but everything else was up for debate.  I decided I wanted to do something special with my hair, but had no idea what.  Thanks to dedicated friends and Pinterest, the unanimous decision was made that I needed this:

I 

I showed the stylist this picture and she came up with this:

I was very, very pleased. I hadn't come with a comb or a clip or anything, but she had a string of silver beads she wound into the 'do ... very, very nice!!

I had my gown, my Princess hair, silver glitter nails and jingle bell earrings. I was set!

We got to the hotel around 3:00, plenty of time to check in and get settled before having to get ready.  Because of the excessive amounts of travel Hubby had done this past year he had accumulated enough points for an Executive Upgrade.  Well, if you *insist*!  We got an upgraded room, access to the Executive Lounge, and various complimentary upgrades.  Wow!  We got to the room ...

and the first thing I noticed was the REAL coffee pot with REAL coffee mugs and REAL creamer (not that powdered junk) and complimentary water bottles

Then I opened the closet.  Robes!  Thick, fancy, luxurious robes!

And free slippers!

The view from our window was nice -- downtown Houston isn't the most spectacular of things but it was nice:

We were next to Discovery Green

and if you looked around the corner, you could see the Toyota Center

We unpacked (I put on the freebie slippers!) and I started to throw myself on the bed, but I remembered my Princess Hair.  She used a bunch of bobby pins and a bunch of hair spray, but I didn't want to risk it.  I made Hubby roll around on the bed, tho, and he declared it plush. 

We then went down to the lobby to look at the decorations. (I debated going down in my freebie slippers, but since this wasn't Walmart, I thought I shouldn't LOL).  They had a huge, life-sized sculpture (?) made out of chocolate.  It smelled so good I almost wept. 

We then wandered to the ballroom to see the decorations, but we were met by Hotel Manager who was very, very polite and very, very apologetic ... but the ballroom was off limits.  

So we went back to the room.  Since we had time to kill I flipped thru the Room Service menu.  Dear Heavens. 

We stuck with the complimentary water bottles!!!

We did wander over to the Executive Lounge for complimentary hors d'oeuvres and sodas.

And then it was time to get ready.  I was already sporting my Princess Hair and my makeup was minimal so all I really had to do was get dressed.

I brought these shoes

but discovered that I couldn't walk to the end of the hallway without looking like a drunken newborn calf, so I wore my backup pair of shoes

By this time, the ballroom had been transformed into an elegant sea of black and white:

There were 3,000 people there, luckily Hubby's peeps had staked a claim on a table.  What a fun, lively bunch of people!   I felt like I had known them for years!!

They opened the doors to the buffet -- there were five identical stations, one had salads and fruit, one had warm side dishes (potatoes, risotto, grilled veggies, etc), one had meats (chicken, salmon) and one was desserts. 

They also had carving stations for roast beef (those were WILDLY popular, I myself went back twice) but the true objects of lust were the shrimp towers:

After we ate, we danced, we chatted, we laughed, we drank, we talked, we took some obligatory selfies

And one picture of us coming off the dance floor

And before we realized it, three hours had passed. 

Oh!  See that ring?  It was an early Christmas gift from Hubby:

In an adjacent ballroom, they had set up a casino and given us $3,000 play money but the tables were all so crowded we never got a chance to gamble. So we went back to the buffet stations and ate more!!

We have been SO lucky to find a wonderful dog sitter who comes to our house and lets Killer outside while we are gone, she texted me pictures. Poor Shadow, looks so traumatized and abused LOL!

After a few more dances, a few more glasses of wine, a few more trips to the buffet tables and LOTS of laughter and good times, it was time for the Princess Evening to end.

The view at night was nicer:

I was sorry for the evening to end -- it was magical.  I truly felt like a pampered and indulged Princess.

We did linger over coffee and newspapers in the morning (in the Executive Lounge), but the Princess Hair was gone and I was back in Capri pants. It wasn't the same. This is all that's left of my Princess Hair -- 

Except for the memories. Everyone deserves an occasional evening of luxury and glamour, and every woman deserves to be treated as if she were a cherished Princess. 

Next week, it'll be WalMart and laundry and BOGO sales on cheese again, but I'll always remember being indulged and cherished.

After all, I *did* bring home the free slippers, and I can wear them any darn time I want to!