This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending a Masquerade Ball in Chicago. We heard about it through my husband's work. They offered to pay for any employee who wanted to attend the affair, so we decided why not? Since our friend Dan lives in Chicago, and well, he's a blast to hang out with, we decided to ask him and my sister if they would like to get all shnazzed up and wear some masks for a good cause. Here's what we ended up with.
I was really happy with how our outfits turned out. Since being out of college and not able to attend formals or high school dances anymore- it is always fun to find a reason to buy a new dress and get prettied up. So I decided to go all out. I found a fabulous dress on sale at the BCBG Maxxaria Outlet, found the boys' masks at Party City (they don't need fancy ones being boys right?), and found the masks for my sister and me at Pier 1, surprisingly. Although the price for the masks was a bit more than I wanted to spend- it was definitely worth it to feel like the bell of the ball.
When we arrived, I must admit the event did not seem as elaborate as I expected. But maybe I have watched a few too many episodes of Gossip Girl and was expecting far too much. With that said, immediately upon arrival there were cameras flashing at the guests arriving- so it was fun to walk through the doors and feel like you were someone special. After walking in, we scoped out the room to find silent auction items lined up along the left wall, a dance floor and DJ in the middle, and a photobooth and later hot dog stand (random) along the other side of the room and then of course, there were two bars in the back. Naturally, being an event with an open bar- the bar areas were quite crowded. We decided to grab a glass of wine and make our debut in the photobooth right away. Here are a few of the shots that made it onto the website.
After hitting up the photobooth and wandering around a bit more, we decided to visit the bar again to grab a new cocktail. [I must be honest and say that open bars can be a very tempting thing. I'm sure they're not as alluring for everyone, but being that in college I may or may not have gotten caught up in that "fun world" of drinking for longer than I'd like to admit- there's a small part of me that jumps out and says OPEN BAR? woohooo! Even though it doesn't have the same draw that it did in the past, because God has transformed that area of my life, I'm still human. I mean, free drinks? there's got to be a small part of everyone that finds that tempting.] Okay- enough said... now back to the fun.
One of my favorite things to do at a social event is people watch. To simply sit back and observe (without being creepy), wondering what people are talking about, where they came from, what they're drinking, it can be so much fun! My sister and I are practically pro-people watchers. In the midst of one of our spurts we noticed a cameraman following around a couple girls throughout the night. After some time, our curiosity got the best of us and my sister got the full scoop. Have you ever heard of Jerseylicious? Apparently it is a reality tv - Jersey Shore-esque- type of show. And now they are starting one called Chicagolicious. Apparently they decided that a Masquerade Ball would be an appropriate environment for the debut show. Man, that was interesting to find out. It definitely answered my question as to why the cameramen were only following the two girls who were wearing the least; one of them was basically wearing some form of a leather jacket with it zipped up halfway to reveal her lacey bra and not so modest fake breasts.
After a lot of people watching, some dancing, a second visit to the photobooth, the event was coming to a close. So we grabbed a few more pictures- to make sure to capture the fun of the evening and headed on our way. Attending this Masquerade Ball made me realize how much fun it is to attend events like this. It also makes me wonder why we don't do things like this more often? Why aren't there more balls? In highschool and college, there seemed to always be fun events going on- someone was always planning something. Why does this seem to slow down quite a bit when you're an adult? If I could have it my way, (and money were no issue) I would plan lots of fun events: from Masquerade Balls, to Murder Mystery Dinners, to Trivia Nights, to Black-tie Galas. But I guess, until I either win the jackpot or find myself hired by a fabulous event-planning company, I will have to scrounge the internet to find fun events going on that I can attend.
For now, I will admire the photos, and fondly remember the fun night we had- and do it all over again when I find the Next Big Thing.
Here's a few more photos... Enjoy
