Six words I never thought I'd say

"I want to buy another dress."  Six words I'd never thought I'd hear myself say.  It was Monday; hot, and sticky.  I was getting ready to head off to a networking meeting and asked the daily question: "What do I wear?"  Usually the answer ends up being jeans, a nice top, maybe a blazer.  I cast aside the 'jeans' option it was too hot for denim; didn't feel right with capris- it was for "business" after all.

So I found myself taking the only dress I own from the closet.  It's black with purple polka-dots, and a skirt that goes just past my knees.  I slipped it on, and matched it with a pair of low black heeled sandals and I was good to go.  And it kept the heat away too; so much so that I found myself thinking later that day "I want to buy another dress."

This is a big step for me in terms of fashion.  I'm the girl that asks 'is this comfortable?' instead of 'does this look good?' when shopping.  I was never really the fashion crazy girl; call it a left-over after spending my childhood playing with the neighbourhood kids; which all happened  to be boys.  Call it a side-effect of being a bigger girl, and because of that having my clothing options severely limited.  I've always let my comfort level override my sense of fashion.

I bought the dress almost by accident.  I was shopping with my mom, and she found it hanging on a sale rack.  I tried it on, and before I knew it I was willingly buying a dress.  It wasn't for a special occasion like Prom (I was also the girl who bought the first prom dress she saw), it was just because I liked it.

I've worn it maybe 10-15 times including to that networking meeting.  And it's been a faithful friend, as I've lost, and gained weight.  And now it's made want to take that next step in a slow style evolution and admit; "I want to buy another dress."

Borgias Series Finale Review

Period Drama "The Borgias" ended its three-season run last Sunday with an episode entitled "The Prince."  This one centred on Francois Arnaud's Cesare, as he successfully took Forlis from nemesis Caterina Sforza (Gina McKee), and her as his prisoner.  Rodrigo (Jeremy Irons) placed ultimate trust in his son, laying out his vision of a Papal empire ruled by Cesare.

Meanwhile, Lucrezia (Holliday Grainger) continued to struggle with finding happiness in her marriage to Alfonso of Aragon (Sebastian De Souza).  The culprit; persistent rumours of her incestuous relationship with Cesare, who upon returning to Rome plots his brother-in-law's murder using an assassin.  He ends up doing the deed himself when Alfonso comes after him with a sword after returning home following a night of drinking.

The final scene is on Alfonso's deathbed.  Cesare arrives to find Lucrezia laying beside her dying husband covered with his blood, and lovingly caresses her face.  "I cannot wash this blood off," she says.  Cesare offers to strip her wash it from her body.

I've read about behind-the-scenes drama, and how it was planned to follow Rodrigo until his death.  Also about how plans for a movie just to wrap up all the storylines were nixed. There is even a #SaveTheBorgias hashtag on twitter.  I'd love to see the tv movie, but I'd be careful of another season.  I think there was a risk of the whole 'incest' angle taking over, and moving it too far towards becoming a 'soap opera.'  It was only rumoured incest.

I'm satisfied with the way it ended.  There was no cliff-hanger; just a single dramatic moment.  I could easily see stopping in to visit the lives of these characters in a year or two down the road.  The one major cliff-hanger moment was with Micheletto; is he dead? Cesare only dreamed he was.  I loved him, and I think he'd make a good character for a spin-off if they had one. 

The way the episode was done from Cesare's point of view left open the possibility they could even go beyond Rodrigo's death with stories told from his point of view, and that could be a direction to take it.

They could go either way, or just leave it as it ended.