Forecast: Stylish...Colorado Edition

A couple of weeks ago, I spent the better part of five days in Colorado, a brand new part of the country for me. My darling friend Christy (hi dear!) moved out there with her husband about six months ago, and for six months, I heard fantastical tales about the weather in Colorado, which made it sound more like another planet than another state. I live in Alabama; if we get more than an inch of snow all year, it's the coming of the second ice age. Then there's Colorado. A place where at the end of a week in which the temperatures were all in the low 60s, there was still enough snow on the ground to go skiing and snowboarding, because there was so much of it to begin with that it didn't all melt. Un-freaking-believable.

But naturally, this absurd weather gave me inspiration, and as soon as we started planning this trip, I had all sorts of fantastical ideas about the things I was going to wear. Things that would make me look exactly like a clueless Alabamian who doesn't know how to dress for extremely cold weather (which, admittedly, I am). I started promising Christy that I would be dressed so crazy that she would be embarassed to pick me up from the airport. I started texting her pictures like this suede and fur-trimmed purse. Totally looks like the kind of purse an eskimo would carry, right? I found all kind of fur-trimmed accessories--boots, vests, gloves...I can't lie, I wanted to look as ridiculous as possible, at least for my initial touchdown in the snowy state of Colorado. And if I'd actually had any spending money at the time, I might have actually made it to Colorado with some of the things I found, like these fabulous boots. (I might go back for those anyway!) For my full vision, check out these pictures from Chanel's winter show. The fur knee-high boots, the fur skirt, those Snow Queen coats, and possibly my personal favorite, the purses made to look like ice...So great. But somehow, I managed to make it to Colorado without any of these things. I may not have looked like a ridiculous Eskimo princess from Alabama, but the girls and I still had plenty of fun playing dress-up in Colorado.

Day One

One of the few days I wore only one outfit: my comfy plane outfit. Jeans, my suede boots, and light layers, as instructed by my lovely Colorado hostess.

Day Two

The day of the costume change. No one made it through the day in the same clothes, but of course I was the one pulling the most switcheroos, with a total of three outfits on the day. First up: theme outfit #1. I love dinosaurs. Apparently this fact was not as well-known as I thought it was until I all but begged Christy and Gayle to go to the Dinosaur Depot in a neighboring town. To which I, of course, wore my Gangsta-saurus tee. Don't get me wrong; I'm very rarely a fan of goofy graphic tees. But it says Gangsta-saurus. The little guy is wearing a doorag. It's precious. And I only wear it in goofy situations. Or where it's theme appropriate. But to keep the outfit thoroughly me, I wore it with a cardigan and bright yellow bejeweled flats. The only way to do the goofy tee.

Then we went to a winery. Dressed much more dignified-ly in skirts, and rocking the tights/leggings (in an appropriate way!). Dressed dignified, but of course, never acting it... Life is more fun that way. ;) Which brings us to our nighttime activities, and our respective second and third outfits of the day. First we went out to dinner, then spent some time at a piano/martini bar. It would have been Fabulously irresponsible of us not to dress to the nines...

Day Three
Behold my other theme outfit of the trip, the one that Christy and Gayle joined me in...

Now could we really have gone horseback riding without dressing like real ("real") cowgirls? The plaid shirts, the braided pigtails...classic. After our cowgirl adventure, we went shopping, which meant a combination of cute and comfort and, for the other girls, the purchase of some fabulous hats!

As for me, I bought my landmark 100th pair of shoes. (Not the 100th I've ever owned...there's no telling when that happened...but the 100th that I've owned at one time.) Also, pairs #101 and 102.

Yes, we are so dorky that we took an action shot of the 100th pair being purchased. Our cashier was such a good sport about it! I would say she probably gets that a lot...but she probably does not.

Day Four

A perfect example of how not to dress in Colorado. Lesson learned: don't go anywhere without a heavy coat. It can be 60 degrees in the morning, and an hour later, a sudden snowstorm will hit. No joke.

We were completely unprepared for the weather, but hey, it makes for good blogging! :) Later, of course, we were dressed more appropriately. And although I hate the snow and cold, it would admittedly have been a bit of a waste to go all the way to Colorado and not get to dress like a snow bunny.

Day five we were back in our comfy plane clothes, with the same snow-bunny top layer, so I will spare you from further goofy pictures. Packing was definitely a challenge, but Christy and JD will be in Colorado for three more years (ONLY three, do you hear me? :) ), so I will certainly know better for next time.

P.S. I love you Christy and Gayle!