To shrug or not to shrug?

So finding the perfect dress to wear to Eli's wedding reception has been near the top of my list of tasks since he and Amanda announced their engagement in December. I've even experienced anxiety dreams related to the hunt. In my dream, I'm in the fitting room of a department store, dozens of dresses surrounding me. On and off, on and off they go, but each time something is terribly wrong. The dress is too big, the dress is too tight, the dress is too short. I look fat, I look frumpy, I look mom-ish, I look blah!!!!

The reception is in one hour (or so it was in my dream), and the dresses going on and off over my head are wrecking my hair and makeup, but still I press on because what else can I do? Frantic and desperate, I run in and out of the fitting room, over and over, wearing only underwear (yep, dreams are dumb) to gather different sizes and styles. Finally, I wake in a cold sweat, still with no dress.

Fortunately, this hot mess ended a while ago when in a calm, quiet store, fully clothed except when I was safely in the fitting room, I found the dress. I seriously love it. It is exactly what I wanted. Well, almost exactly. Which begs the question: "To shrug or not to shrug?" And the only answer in this case is a resounding "shrug!" because the dress has no sleeves. The dictionary defines the word "shrug" in this context as "a woman's short jacket or close-fitting cardigan." In my case, I want the latter: a small, close-fitting cardigan that is barely noticeable but provides the needed sleeves.

Turns out finding the perfect shrug is even harder than finding the perfect dress. The color is a shade of navy, but not the most typical shade, so more difficult to match. I have the exact style shrug I want in black, the one I wore to Shulamith's reception, but obviously black won't do. A friend lent me a cream-colored, lace one, which I'm keeping as a backup, but I haven't given up hope of finding exactly what I want. I've searched every store in both malls, so today the plan is bridal shops. Surely in Utah, bridal shops would stock a variety of shrugs in different styles and colors, right?

So don't worry. Because I'm sure you are. I still have a week. I will find it!

To shrug or not to shrug?

SHRUG!