countdown

So in less than a week I depart for 10 days in the Galapagos Islands.  Whoa! you might be saying because I somehow managed to keep this a delicious secret all to myself, which is incredibly un-like me.  Well, I mean, not ALL to myself.  But I haven't blogged about it, which seems something like the same thing.  The reason for this inadvertent discretion is actually very simple: it doesn't feel real.  I'm hoping it starts feeling real sometime around the time I board the flight to Miami.  That would be ideal.

Anyways, last weekend I went to the (relative) metropolis of Charlottesville, VA to meet my mom and do some trip shopping.  Up to that point, my trip preparations consisted of ordering a pair of last-season Tevas (Tevas have seasons--who knew?) for half-price on ebay.  Mom figured I should get some shorts, which was probably wise on her part.  Partway into the shopping trip, I realized that what I really wanted was a simple, summer dress that I could wear on the boat.  Since I am notoriously bad at finding everyday dresses (whenever I go looking, I somehow end up with a special occasion dress), this was a tall order.  Happily, I lucked out.

Meet the Maritime V-neck Dress from J. Crew.  A bit pricey on my budget (which is generally limited to thrift stores and clothing swaps), but an attempt to walk away from it ended up with me driving back across town hours later to snag it.  It's cotton, lightweight but not insubstantial, and it has POCKETS.  Perfect cruise dress?  I think so.

I should note that the only way I can afford this trip on my (again nonexistent) budget is through the generosity of my fantastic aunt.  Thanks to her, I'm going on a 10-day expedition for the price of the round-trip plane ticket.  Now that's awesome.