Love in Ireland

/25/

-Friday December 8th-

I woke up to the soft December sunlight streaming through the openings of my curtains. I picked up my phone and opened our group chat, which was blowing up with Happy Birthday texts to Zach.

Declan: HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZACH

Alannah: Happy Birthday Idiot

Zach: Thanks guys.

I typed Zach a Happy Birthday text before hopping out of bed. We didn't have to leave for Zach's party for a while and I didn't have to start getting ready till three. December is a busy month for me. There's the Christmas and New Year's Eve balls which are both big events. So today I am starting on the dresses for the Christmas Ball. And I'll need to finish everything by the 18th to give myself time to make everything for the New Year's Eve Ball.

I walked on over to my studio and flicked on the light. Everything was how I left it last night. Minus the dresses and suits I made for today. They brought those to everyone's rooms. I grabbed my sketchbook pencils, eraser, and colored pencils before I sat down on one of my beanbags. I placed my colored pencils on the floor and opened up my sketchbook. For Christmas, women dressed in ballgowns of different shades of red, green, and sometimes white. Men wore black or grey suits with green or red ties usually. Last year, Zach wore a dark green suit and red tie.

I sketched Alannah's dress and then went back and forth on the color before deciding. Next I designed my dress and Declan's suit and bowtie. Tomorrow I would have Mr. and Mrs. Finnegan come in to talk about what they wanted to wear, and I would have to FaceTime, Bridget, and Owen.

The door to my studio opened, and Alannah entered in a gray, long-sleeve nightgown, and black fuzzy socks. I found it ironic how neither of us had bothered to change out of our pajamas. I was still in my pajamas, which consisted of dark green pajama pants with light green polka dots and an oversized, long-sleeve light green pajama shirt.

"I brought coffee." Alannah said, sitting down on the couch and placing two cups on the coffee table.

"Thanks." I grabbed my iced coffee and took a sip. I'm one of those people who will drink iced coffee in the winter. For some reason, I hate hot coffee unless it's a latte or cappuccino, which I rarely drink.

"Whatcha working on?" Alannah asked, looking down at my sketchbook.

"Our dresses for the Christmas Ball." I replied, showing her the sketch of her dress.

"That's cute." She grinned.

"Mhm. I'm going to make you a matching shawl in case it's cold." I said, flipping to a new page.

Alannah and I hung out in my studio until it was time for us to go and get ready for Zach's party.

I walked into my room to see Carrie all set up in my bathroom. I went into my bathroom and took a seat so she could do my hair. She parted my hair to the side and curled my hair into elegant barrel curls. She pulled half of it back with a white-gold hair clip that matched my dress.

"My hair looks amazing! Thank you." I smiled, looking at my reflection in the mirror.

"No problem, Milena." Carrie said as she packed up her stuff. Carrie left, and I continued to get ready. I put on a little makeup before I put my glasses back on. Then I got into my dress, which was sitting in the corner of my bathroom.

My dress was very elegant. It was an off white color that was just light enough to not blend in with my pale, freckled skin. The bodice was made up of layers of bunched up fabric and had a deep v-neckline. It dipped down to the empire waistline, which was surrounded by tan, brown, and cream flowers made up of a mix of the same fabric the dress was made out of, embroidery, and lace. The skirt of the dressed flowed elegantly from the waistline in a couple of flowy layers and fell to the floor in a pool of soft, elegant ruffles. Underneath the dress I had on matching cream heels. My jewelry was white gold and matched the hair clip in my hair. I grabbed the shawl I made to go with the dress, which was a similar color to one of the brown flowers, Zach's present, and my phone before heading out of my room.