Looking back

And so 2010 begins!

I don't know about you, but I am looking forward to the change. Its been a draining and often frustrating year...so I'm sure liking the idea of a blank page and a totally new decade! Hopefully it'll be lovely for everyone.

Before we step into all this newness, though, I thought it'd be good to take a quick look back at some of the loveliness of 2009. There were certainly some great moments, and I'd like to share some. Enjoy some encouraging stories, and some of my favorites in fashion and music.

Favorite red carpet gown:

Man, this was hard for me!! There were many absolutely gorgeous red carpet gowns, just like every year. I looked through them all and sighed with happiness at their beauty. This one, January Jone's wearing Atelier Versace at the Emmy awards kept staying in my mind.

I love the absolute uniqueness of it...haven't seen anything like it ever before! Its almost white, but barely mint green. It has an intriciate, structured bodice and a dreamy flowing skirt. The gown fits her perfectly.

And so, for it's uniqueness and beauty, I crown it my favorite gown.

I will, however, be posting some runners-up later; there were too many pretty dresses to feature just one!!

A happy news story of 2009:

Woman's Cabdriver donates his kidney

Rita Van Loenen had kidney failure, and was on dialysis 4 times monthly. She had the same taxi driver every time, Thomas Chappell. Their friendship grew through those drives, and when Mr. Chappell found out that her kidney transplant had failed, he offered to donate his own. Still, Rita was touched by her cabbie's life-changing donation offering. Of course, this was no guarantee that the kidney was going to match...

it did!

This year, Rita will receive her cabbie's kidney. The fit was perfect, the doctor's said it was as if they were siblings. What a precious story! I think it's even more precious when you see the two friends: