AM~Erica Gets All Gussied Up

So anyway...

If you haven't noticed yet, but I've kept up on my blogging as of lately! It's only taken me 9 months to get in my second hundred blog posts...and only 5 years for my first hundred. Yeah...I'd say it's become quite a habit.

And much like MY 100th BLOG POST, I will make this one a happy one, too! As a matter of fact, I'm getting all gussied up for this one...





*ahem* Did you catch it?

~ This is Blog Post # 200!!!! ~

*glitter & confetti cannon*

Even though hubby & I really FEEL ODD ABOUT VALENTINE'S DAY, we did have a full weekend of date nights! It started out with CELEBRATING OUR ENGAGEMENT ANNIVERSARY. It's always good to have a romantic time to keep the relationship going! Amm-i-rite?

Well, we got invited to quite a fundraising gala by a really awesome & fun couple at church! (Yes, people...they do exist...and we know several, thank you very much!) It was to raise funds for a local university. And, for those familiar with the KC area & downtown, it was held at the Mulbach Tower!
Fan-C! Amm-i-rite?

Black "vintage" (but not actually) thrifted Isaac Mizrahi dress, my PIECE-OF-ART SHOES,
green accent accessories, decorative hosiery & a cocktail ring to match my shoes...
Oh...and a fantabulous metallic clutch

Then my hubby & I took in something we had never done before...
Valet Parking!
That was kind of crazy cool...plus, some random-esque dude (I take it he worked with the valet...but I can't be sure...but we'll pretend he did) totally opened my door, and then helped me out of the car & up onto the curb! He totally carried me! No he didn't, but he did take my hand & helped me while my hubby handed over the car to the guy in an over-the-top hotel bell boy type uniform!

And as we got in there, the school pulled out ALL the stops: the choir sang al la GLEE-style & their Catholic dance team danced to a super sped up version of "Pour Some Sugar on Me." (yep...you read that right) Plus there was an auction. The silent auction happened first, and then the hardcore auctioneering showed up later...

But this is what we saw when we first found our table:

There was a fancy-schmancy salad plate at each place that had bell peppers & pecans set in a red cabbage leaf bowl! And the bowl was a REAL leaf, y'all!! There were a bunch of forks & a couple of knives...and 1 spoon. Good thing I was up on my fancy-schmancy fine-dining knowledge to know what they were all for! Whew-wee!

The salad was superly delicious! Bowl & all! (Ok, my hubby ate my pecans, but whatevs.) We had complimentary antioxidant-fortified Jesus water, coffee, a surf & turf meal that was oh-so-tasty, bread...and a couple of ab~fab desserts! Oh, and actual water, too.

We were pleased with the folks at our table. We already knew the fun couple...DUH! There was also another guy invited that we knew & SO happy was there! Then there were some other folks about our age that were at the table, too. One of the couples looked familiar, but it was the 1st time we got to talk to them. 

Our table was so dressed up, so much fun...and we didn't bid on a single thing. *shrugs* Oops.

But hubby & I got to take in yet another great date night! And looking good doing it!

Yep...totally used an elevator door to get a reflection of my outfit, metallic clutch & black wrap...
Oh...and apparently a creepy guy checking it out. Umm...ew!

Maybe he was just checking out my backward necklaces...right? Amm-i-rite? Geez...

Hubby & I stealing an elevator reflection moment...cuz..."Gussied Up"! DUH!

Hubby & I looking good & enjoying our date night #2 on our Engagement Anniversary Weekend!

We got to take in a moment of dancing to a great band for the after party, plus a "dessert bar" (tarts...that were delicious & adorable) plus a coffee bar. Uh...yeah we were taking that in!

There was also an open cash bar that we did not do...or the photo booth. Bummer...but we have these things at home called "kids"...plus hubby felt he needed to preach in the morning & be coherent. Whatever! hehe

Then we had the valet get the car...and we got to stand under a bunch of heating lamps. Aw-yeah! Then my hubby was handed back the car, and a random-esque dude picked me up & placed me in my seat...no he didn't, but he did take my hand & helped me off the curb & waited til I was all situated on the passenger side of the car...

Hubby said that he'll take in valet parking from now on if he can! Can you say *SPOILED*??

This brought our whirlwind weekend of dates to a close. We celebrated right nice, don'cha think?

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

What's Goin on with AM~Erica?

So, anyway...

I have a few things to put into this post. So, just bear with me.

Let me jump back a few nights ago to our church's annual auction (formerly MUMC Youth Auction, now Missions Auction which still helps the youth PLUS missions). This is an insane, fancy event! My hubby & I went to our first one last year, and we couldn't believe the amount of $$$ being put out there for items. There was a silent auction for a TON of stuff, then there's a oral auction with an auctioneer - a REAL one! We were so out of our league last year, we mostly went for the food & hoped we could participate in the silent auction. We did win a pair of tickets to see High School Musical at the Muny for my daughter's b-day...that was it. We spent the rest of the time eating and smiling & nodding (plus we enjoyed the company of the people at our table).

This year was different...very different. First, it was VERY scaled down & low-key. We are in a recession, so I know that had to hurt this fabulous even quite a bit. Plus there was a lot of other things going on during the weekend, so even the attendance was much less than in the past. No silent auction this year (WHAT...that's how we got to participate last year!), but still an oral auction with the same auctioneer - who, btw, has done the MUMC auction all 16 years it's been in existance. But there was a great change! People actually got to BUY for missions! The 4 major organizations our church supports had booths set up with displays of what they needed - then people could buy one of those things, or give toward it. Wow - it was so much more meaningful to actually see what you were doing for the organizations first hand. In return, you could get tickets, depending on what you spent, to go toward a donation RAFFLE. There was a few neat things we were deciding what to put our tickets toward - including the unbelievable safari package that contained jungle games, books, toys, stuffed animals, A YEAR'S MEMBERSHIP TO THE ST. LOUIS ZOO & BEHIND THE SCENES PASSES TO GO WITH IT. Amazing. We definately wanted to try for that one...especially with the kids. We put in a couple of tix for the "Girls Night Out" package that included 2 tickets to Hairspray at the Fox Theatre. I would take Liz, of course. Then, God Bless Betsy. Betsy is a wonderful woman of God with a GIANT heart. She & her hubby bought several items for the organizations & had more tickets than they knew what to do with...they were GIVING THE TICKETS AWAY!! She gave us about 12 more. So...we put a BUNCH more into the zoo bucket, another in the Hairspray bucket, and then a couple more into one called "All About Me" - a spa package. Why not...

We had a pretty good meal, the oral auction didn't have the money flowing as abundantly (it was all still too much for us), but we still had a fun table & glad we got to participate & get all dressed up. You will love to know that I wore a gorgeous dress that is bright turquoise with a touch of sequin & beading detail - an $8 find at Goodwill. I got more compliments in that crowd than I would have imagined. Glad I wore it! OH...and I, of course, had a scarf for my hair that happened to match.

As for the raffles, I won the "All About Me" package...you know - the "afterthought" one! YEA! Oh, darn - now I have to find sometime to USE it! OK - I have a year. There's bound to be a little time in there somewhere to get a pedicure & a spa treatment of sorts, right? We didn't get the others we were really pulling for, though. Oh well. It was a fun night! And, don't worry, I did thank Betsy for the spa package since it was her ticket that got it for me.

Today is Earth Day & also Administrative Professionals Day. Since I'm an "administrative professional", the guys at work got me flowers (which happend to match my outfit today - FUNNY) & they are taking me to lunch at the Brickhouse. YUM! I love my job!

And, I have caught a bug...the Twitter-bug! Seriously...you can follow @ http://twitter.com/iTweetAM_Erica. And it's connected to my FaceBook status updates.

This is what I have for now. I am trying to work up the courage for a much harder post. Pray for God to give me strength for that post to help with my healing. You will understand once I can get it posted...next time...

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

PS ~ you can follow me on my blog & on Twitter! Just hit the "Follow" button on either if you have an account or after you set one up. It's easy to do on BOTH! See you there!