As we get ready tonight to embark upon the arrival of the new year, many thoughts come to mind…and they aren’t just about what to wear, although for me, that is always one of the foremost. Hmmm what to wear…

Most of us treat the new year as a new beginning. It is a time to let go of the past and look towards the future. We shed all of the bad that came out of the latest year and focus on the positive…what did we gain, who did we meet, in what ways did our lives change for the better? If you have one answer for each of those questions, well then, that’s a good thing…not everyone does.

As I sit here, with a latte and newly polished nails, which, by the way, I have to thank Z for. I love the way my nails look after I have gone to the salon, but, I have one problem with it…the time. I feel like it is a waste of time. I mean, from the very second that you sit in the chair, you are there for at least an hour and you cannot even do anything because you can’t use your hands. Well, upon a recent trip to Philadelphia to celebrate an oh-so important birthday of our friend R, Z taught me the art of getting in and out in under thirty minutes. Just ask for a polish change. It is cheaper (which is good for those who go on a weekly or bi-weekly basis) and, more importantly for me, it saves sooo much time. Pair that with the fact that I discovered a salon within walking distance from my apartment (and near a café) it’s a dream come true. I will be frequenting there often.

Back to reflection. As I sit here, procrastinating on getting ready, although it is still very early (okay, maybe not very), I can’t help but think about where I was at this point last year. Last year, I was hauled up at the house in Huntington, nursing a broken heart and ignoring this day completely. We’ve all had one of those years, and last year was mine. I didn’t look out the picture windows of the sitting room and gaze at the bay; a favorite winter pastime because in the summer the view is blocked by leaves. I didn’t drink champagne or stay up until midnight. I didn’t even venture outside of my room and down the stairs to join the party that my brother was throwing. I watched a movie, drank tea, and went to bed early. It is definitely not the first New Years’ that I’ve stayed in, and I’m sure that it won’t be the last…but to start the new year with a broken heart isn’t exactly the best laid plans…although, I have to say, my year wasn’t all that bad. And, more importantly, I have no regrets (except for maybe that I have not purchased an end table yet…this must be rectified immediately).

Tonight, I am going out with Z, and we are going to celebrate being young and alive, and, friendship, because without friendship, the world can be a cruel, lonely place. I am lucky to have such great friends in my life. Friends that I can count on for anything, who always tell me the truth, even if I do not always want to hear it. Friends who never judge me or where I came from. Friends who accept my flaws and love me anyway. I would do anything for them.

As for what I am going to wear tonight? I think it is safe to say that I have figured it out, with the help of Z of course. There is no better way to figure out an outfit, then by talking it over with your girlfriends…yet another reason to love them. I have a black sequin dress that I bought over a year ago and have been dying to wear, but I am not going to wear that tonight. It will stay in my closet and keep all of my other dresses company, and you know that I have a lot!

The theme for tonight: classy, sophisticated and cool.