Cruising a Hurricane...

DH turned 40 this week, so I surprised him with a weekend cruise (last weekend) from Miami to the Bahamas. The only problem? A little witch named Sandy. She was blowing north when we flew into Miami, so I thought we were in the clear. But, being first-time cruisers, we didn't realize that the seas were still pretty churned up with all the wind trailing in her skirts. Rough seas, high winds, closed decks, and no port for 24 hours made for a bad start. But, Saturday afternoon we pulled into Nassau, and finally started to have a great time. (See photo above!)
For our formal dinner on Saturday, I whipped up this dress!
Simplicity 2252

I had 2 yards of navy blue silky something (probably poly from Joann's, but I seriously don't remember buying it) that had the right weight and drape. Not enough fabric for floor length, but I loved the halter view (A), so I shortened it. DH requested a sexy slit, so I obliged and opened the left side seam up.


I made up the size 14, which was perfect everywhere. The instructions say to open the stitching lines in the midriff "pleated" area, but I was happier with the appearance and crispness of the folds/seams with the stitching in place. I didn't have time (or resources) to get a flashy buckle, so I opted for a decorative brooch/pendant from Joann's.


Underneath the bodice is a corset that stops just above the hips. The dress is not lined. I used some navy blue cotton for the corset, but when I inserted the boning, everything curled up and it looked terrible. I removed the boning, since it's not strapless I really didn't think the inner structure was imperative. It was much more comfortable this way, also.
Sorry, no back view. We were running late for dinner, headed straight to the Captain's reception afterward, then changed to party the night away at the pool deck dance party. I used an invisible zipper at the center back, and it came up to a normal height, covering my normal strapless bra strap, so not a low-back.

I highly recommend this pattern, as the instructions were good, and the construction was very straight forward. Not a million pieces, and went together pretty easily.
As for the cruise... I thought the end of October put us in a "safe zone" for hurricane season, but apparently I was wrong! The first 24 hours were terrible (dramamine made the rough seas slightly easier to deal with, but everyone was getting sick and it was too windy to keep the doors to the deck open, so it got pretty gross at times), but Nassau and the Atlantis resort was quite a lot of fun. Smooth sailing back to Miami, but you know how it is when a trip starts off wrong... you can't quite reset the mood, you know? Majesty of the Seas was ok, but I think we'd like to try a newer and larger ship. Met some nice people from North Carolina and Alaska, and enjoyed some sunshine and warm temps on Saturday and Sunday. So many people on the ship couldn't get home because of the airports closed on the east coast Monday, but we were able to make it on time back to Michigan, although it was a little turbulent. Seeing all the devastation on tv and hearing the first-hand accounts on facebook and twitter reminded me how lucky we were to be safe and i keep all of you "east coasters" in my thoughts and prayers. Definitely the kind of trip that we will never forget, for both good and bad times... and "adventure" that will go down in history...