divine angst

Just found out our homeowner’s association will take care of some of the minor repairs we were fretting about. Seeing as we’re in a condo, and they cover everything outside, and these two repairs were outside, it’s just what we’re due—but it’s still a relief. One less thing I have to worry about.

Now, á la E. McPan, I need shoe advice.

I bought this dress for our cruise:

I’ll be wearing it for the reception (the wedding itself will be much more casual). Instead of the self-material sash, I have a pretty black satin ribbon. My thought is that leather shoes of any variety—strappy or not—are just too casual. (Mr. Angst will be in a tux, as will many of the other men in the family.) Likewise, I despise shoes with an ankle strap. They make me look like I’ve got cankles.

So I’m thinking I’m going to have to find something satin and strappy:

That is, if I can. I went looking at lunch today and found only leather strappy sandals, all too casual. The non-casual ones I found all had rhinestones on them, but much as I love the shiny, no. Plus, the dress has some gold undertones, so rhinestones set in silver don’t seem right. Or are they?

If I can’t find a satin strappy shoe, will closed-toed shoes be acceptable? Something like a satin mule?

This is really my last next-to-last chance to REALLY dress up before law school. Plus, we’ll be on a romantic vacation family trip, sharing a stateroom with my brother-in-law. OK. Maybe I’m fretting too much about all this.

Update: I bought these:

I think they’ll do nicely. They are leather, but I think that will probably just make them more versatile. Thanks for all the input.

Britney, honey, your Kentwood is showing.

Sweet!

Just in time for me to buy my new laptop.

So Denise caught my reference yesterday: we do have a contract on our house. Things happened absurdly fast, in fact; it was only on the market for a week. We’re pretty happy with the deal, if only because it’s going to close FAST, and we’ll be rid of the mortgage payment a month sooner than we thought might be the case.

Still, fast might be good, but it’s also really stressful. In addition to the nickel-and-dime repairs we have to have taken care of, we have to PACK. And pack fast. We’ve got about three weeks from today to consolidate our stuff into boxes, sell or donate the furniture we’re not taking with us, and move into a new place. We’ve already found a short-term apartment, though we haven’t signed anything (gotta wait for that option to expire). We’ll have to round up all our friends for a quickie move, too.

The double move is a good thing—getting out of our house now will save us a lot of money through the rest of the summer. We might even be able to sell one of our cars, leaving only the one WITHOUT a payment, saving us even MORE money (particularly with the cost of gas). Saving money is definitely a Good Thing, but suddenly my life feels like one of those funhouse attractions—the floor is going up and down and the walls are spinning and I feel sort of nauseous. It’s all happening so very, very quickly.

I’m a little nervous, to say the least. I know we’ll manage—after all, we don’t have a lot of stuff to move and reducing our pile NOW is better than trying to figure it out while moving interstate. The car thing won’t be an issue, either, though I won’t be able to go home for lunch anymore. No, it’s just nervewracking. Stomach-churning stuff, this.