Welcome to the party, my dearies.. it's happy blogiversary day! There are a few personal milestones that I treasure especially more than the rest, and I'm filing this one under that special set. Miss Minus Sized has turned a whole year old, and unlike the lamenting bawls and alarmed life urgency that my own recent birthdays have brought on (Please tell me I'm not the only one!), nothing but feelings of delight, pride and excitement surface on this happy occasion! What started out as a stress-buster and distraction from the otherwise single-track academic life of a PhD student in Pharmacology has truly become a labor of love.. love that's been given and received. Fashion is only another word for self-expression, and I feel so happy that I get to share a small but sincere slice of myself with you in this space every time you click your way over. :)

The writing of a fashion blog can so easily turn into a narcissistic way of life. Let's see.. When it's time to shoot a blog post, I look at myself 1) in the mirror as I dress up, 2) on the camera when we shoot, 3) on my computer to check the photos out, 4) on my computer to edit the photos to make me look better (Hey, my Photoshop's Picasa.. go easy on me! :|) , 5) on my blog to make sure AGAIN that it's all fine. And then there are the social media channels to update...
Shut the front door and stop the madness, right?! Here's where my sappy thank you speech begins, because it's impossible to not stay humble when I've been lucky enough to have a loyal audience that checks back in despite my not being the model kind and my constant display of self-deprecating humor. ;) Thank you so much! I've had a trusting group of people that I've gotten to work with, and a most enthusiastic group of cheerleaders in my family and friends. Most importantly, I've had an ever patient and supportive partner-in-crime in Kushal.. we've run the blog through what's been an intense academic year for both of us, a most brutal, six month long northeastern winter and on our <$50/month student blog budget .. we did it, K! (Also, he makes so much fun of me and my fancy clothes and this whole blogging thing that it's not even funny anymore! :|)

We planned a small summer soiree in our own backyard to share the occasion with you, and in true MMS (and Buffalo!) style, the sky got all dark and grey exactly when we started clicking pictures! So we did what we always do.. we cursed the weather, laughed at our curses and made the most of the cake + Rose situation before the downpour, in that exact order. I wore a dress that Kushal surprised me with (It's from Etsy, you guys. Can I get an awww?!) and even convinced him to get in front of the camera for the first time.. can't think of a more perfect way to celebrate. :)