Wrapped Up and Tied With a Bow

It was (is) my birthday today, and it was a really lovely one. My sons woke me at 7:30 by tumbling onto the bed with cards they had made, and they snuggled up on each side while I read them. My almost five year old signs his name any chance he gets, so his had a huge signature, and my two year old had a piece of paper with beautiful scribbles on it, but as my oldest explained, "he thinks it says something." so we all pretended it did. Then Dan brought me tea in bed, made perfectly I might add, and I got to read some of the Stephen Pinker article in the NY Times Magazine section about genomes - really fascinating, then Dan made me Rocky Mountain toast which was totally yummy. Then Walter wanted to make cupcakes for Katie, our babysitter's daughter, since it's her birthday tomorrow, and the two year old needed a diaper change, and the dishes needed doing, and I was trying to get out the house for yoga, and I looked at Dan and said, "Cutie, you're being me." And he said, "I know, and it's really hard." I told him that there wasn't anything in all of Tiffany's that would have meant more to me than what he said. So, I went to a class at Yogaworks (hooray for downward dog) and they figured out how to make the cupcakes on their own. Then I came home and we all went for lunch at City Limits Diner where they have a great tuna melt and fries - my fave meal right now. The boys mostly ignored their pancakes, and ate my fries and played with their trucks. Then we braved the mall. And actually, it wasn't terrible. We found a great coffee table at Crate and Barrel at a ridiculous price (cheaper than the sale price) because it was the floor sample, and we've been needing to replace the steamer trunk we've been using forever, so that was a nice happenstance, and then I found an outfit, also on sale - love having a birthday during January - at J Crew. For some reason, the skirt isn't on the website, but it it's a great, kinda short, but not too, really simple black skirt with a bit of a retro feel to it, and here is the top. Okay, it looks awful on the web, but I promise it is really fun with the skirt. I think they will be great for a cocktail reception I have to go to next Friday in Florida, near Boca, at BookMania, a book festival I am doing. If you are down there, come by. It looks like it will be much fun. I love a lot of the other authors they are having, including my cousin, Alafair Burke. It'll be nice to do that with her. It's 71 there right now. I am SO thrilled to be going and leaving this snow. I am just not cut out for this weather. We're going to stay at Dan's parents in Boca for a week after the festival and I plan to be outside with the boys the entire time. But anyway, the big question is: what shoes do I wear with that outfit???
xo