I dream of Kentucky Derby Attendance

The Run of the Roses is this weekend! Attending the Kentucky Derby is on my bucket list. I want to wear a pretty dress, a big ol' hat, pearls around my neck with a mint julep in my hand.  During campaign season I became fast friends with a few Kentuckians so I'm hoping that will help me get closer to my goal of actually attending. They promised me they would show me a good and proper Derby time someday! I visited Churchill Downs in 2009 with my parents because my dad had an FBI conference in Louisville. The tour is really fun and I highly recommend if you are ever in the area, but it just made me want to attend the full on Derby even more.

In front of the famous spires at Churchill Downs in 2009 with my parents

Until I make it there, I'll just dream of these Derby inspired outfits from Polyvore and watch with K in my parents living room.

Beautiful Blue

Kentucky Derby Contest #2 by angkclaxton featuring a raffia handbag

Orla Kiely dress, $445 / Rupert Sanderson patent shoes / Diane Von Furstenberg raffia handbag / Fantasy Jewelry Box birthstone earrings / Eastex , $100 / Plush Red Rose Bouquet

Daring Red

Kentucky Derby Contest by angkclaxton featuring a box clutch

Full Circle shift dress, $205 / Christian Louboutin / Alexander McQueen box clutch, $1,280 / Pieces bracelet bangle, $7.54 / Lab / Hat, $185

Classic Beige and Black

DOTS AT THE DERBY by happygirljlc featuring a vintage style dress

People Tree vintage style dress, $58 / Oscar de la Renta patent shoes / Givenchy / Henri Bendel bracelet bangle / White pearl earrings, $765 / Wallis round sunglasses

Equestrian Brown

What I would wear to the Derby! by diane-fritz-sager featuring a bracelet bangle

Antonino Valenti mini dress, $775 / High heel shoes / Rebecca Minkoff / Pieces bracelet bangle, $6.97 / Rossana Fani bead jewelry, $170 / J.Crew straw hat / Warehouse leopard scarve, $15 / H&M h m, $3.86

Fabulous Florals

Kentucky Derby 2012 by kellybench featuring a gold bracelet

Sleeveless dress / Miu Miu lace cocktail dress, $635 / Jigsaw gold bracelet, $60 / Astley Clarke gold jewelry, $970 / Bakers straw hat / Straw hat / Nail polish / Buy Kentucky Derby 10.25" Icon Plastic Plates-Caufields.com

Here's to "my ole-Kentucky {in my dreams} home" Happy Derby Weekend!

5 things I'm obsessing over this week:

1. Draw Something: This an App for iPhone/iPad and highly addictive. I had been seeing tweets of people talking about it all last week so I decided to check it out. Now, I can't get enough. It's very simple. You draw a picture and then your opponent is given a group of letters and from those letters has to guess what it is. The more points you get the more colors you get. It reminds me of wasting away time with Paint when I was younger just doodling random things. Check it out. They have a free version, but right now it's only 99 cents to buy. My name is jkclayton if you want to doodle with me.

2. March 1st: March 1st in the District was the most beautiful day. It was the perfect way to start the spring months. Of course, the day before and the day following were cold and wet and not nice at all, but it didn't matter because March began on a POSITIVE note. I loved spending my lunch break eating at the park with the sun beating down on my back. I am forever in love with March 1st.

3. Livia Firth: Okay, so Livia Firth is the wife of the dashing English actor Colin Firth, and until this week I didn't really know anything about her. I randomly stumbled upon her twitter feed through a ReTweet and then was linked to her blog for Vogue and from there linked to her foundation and the love just kept on growing. First of all she's absoloutely beautiful. She's Italian and her and Colin's love story is precious, but whats so great about her is her Green Carpet Challenge. Basically she is encouraging celebrities and designers to use eco-sustainable materials in their gowns or wear vintage dresses, therefore recycling their clothing for red carpet events. This year at the Oscars she and Colin participated in the event with her gown & Colin rewearing his Tom Ford Tuxedo from last years Oscars,  as well as Best Actress Winner Meryl Streep. Here's the link to her VOGUE blog. She's pretty great.

4. Essie's Spring collection: I saw their colors on another friends blog earlier in the week and then went back to peruse them again on Thursday night when helping an awesome friend with nail polish selection via text. I can't wait to get my hands on some of these.



5. Old Lady Movies: This week I watched It's Complicated, Mamma Mia, and Calendar Girls. Maybe it's because I heard so much bad news this week about various loved ones and family members of loved ones, but I just wanted to watch light hearted happy things. All three of these never fail to make me smile.  Have to note the main characters in all three are 50+ women. I'm such a grandma.

What are you loving?

hello march.

I can not express in words how much I love today. It is so BEAUTIFUL. I have been aching for some sunshine and it has arrived. I hope it continues to stick around. I had a wonderful walk around the Hill during lunch, picked up a sandwich and proceeded to sit in the park on the Senate side of the Capitol and enjoy my hour soaking up some Vitamin D. I hope tomorrow I can have a repeat.

Also pumped about the Cherry Blossoms coming towards the end of the month!