Oh ladies, I want to hunt down each and every one of you individually, wrap my lightly tanned arms around you and give you each a big, huge hug.
I have returned from my cruise and am so beyond happy to tell you that not one of my fears came to pass. Criticism of my overall appearance was nill, and every day brought a new and positive comment on something I was wearing. All tops (including floaty ones) had their moment in the sun, fulsome praise was heaped upon my formalwear, bathing suits and coverup got thumbs up and I've been tasked with picking up a duplicate of my black beach bag for Mom next time I'm at the store. At the end of the week, Mom even made a special point of saying I'd done a great job planning my wardrobe and that I was perfectly dressed for all occasions. I'm convinced part of why it worked so well is because you helped me select only the best items and gave me the confidence I needed to pull off looks I may have shyed away from in my family's presence before. I truly can't thank you all enough - with your help, I actually got to enjoy my trip!! It was a totally relaxing 7 days that did more to recharge my batteries than anything else in recent memory.

*Dispenses those hugs*