Morning greenway-trail trees. This is just one of the many things I love about my town, planning details that make life pleasant on a daily basis. The trail isn't scenic all the way from end to end, but a good bit of it is wooded like this and really nice. There are always people out walking, and they're friendly and say hello. This is a community resource that doesn't charge a membership fee. Anybody can walk, and lots of people do, every day. It's fun to walk through the seasons, to see the landscape change in its different weathers. My favorite thing about having a dog is that I have no choice except to get out and walk every day. That's really why I got a dog. And although it took us some time to get to the point where our walks became as pleasant as they are, now that we're on board with each other we can walk and walk, and it's great.
According to the pedometer app on my phone, I have walked 5431 steps today, or 2.23 miles. Not bad for not-quite-noon. Because of my age, I guess, this app has given me a daily goal of 6000 steps, which I usually exceed. While I don't think I'm ever going to be a triathlete, I absolutely don't want to be sedentary (see, again, why I got a dog, above).
Anyway, the trail today was lovely, even if the wind was colder than I was prepared for.
Late yesterday afternoon Micah Mattix and I did a podcast interview --- I forget the name of the podcast now, but it's sponsored by the Brigham Young University English department. It was a good time, all of us talking about Christian Poetry in America Since 1940. After we'd finished, my husband came home from work and took me first to pick up pizzas at our local wood-fired place (where, let me tell you, they really do know your name --- you stand there at the counter and they talk to you non-stop while they're making your pizza, which is very enjoyable), then to the pub for beer. I'm still drinking Oktoberfest everywhere it's available, for as long as it's available. Soon enough it will go away, like the autumn leaves themselves, and there won't be any more till this time next year. So go the seasons. It was trivia night at the pub, and we didn't really want to play, so after a while we got tired of the noise level (usually we like to come on Wednesdays, and early, when it's dead quiet) and wandered across the street to a new wine-bar restaurant, where we could sit at the bar, have a glass of wine, and eat nibbles in peace. They had live music on their front patio, but it wasn't loud, and the whole experience was pleasant. I hadn't even really known that that wine bar was there --- it's in a space that was briefly a speakeasy-type cocktail place, which didn't survive the pandemic. More good things in our town . . . that we can have a really nice night out in our own neighborhood still feels like a total novelty. There are things we don't love about the uptick in development in this area, but having places to go at night is pretty cool.
I didn't really change yesterday's outfit for our night out --- I had taken off my pink-striped tee for the podcast interview, since we were Zooming, and I wanted to look a little more professional. I did put on the suede peacoat I had mentioned yesterday, the exception to my I-don't-wear-brown rule.
This outfit would have been better if I'd worn my Tari boots (seen here beneath the drying rack), to avoid being so matchy. But oh well. Brown and blue are a great color combination, and this coat was the perfect outer layer for a cool, dry night. I did Scotchguard it when I got it, but I still don't wear it out in the rain. It's soft and heavy and luxe and I got it for $7.99, all of which are things I love about it. I'm really going to make a point of wearing it this winter.
Wearing today, meanwhile:
According to the weather report, it's warmer today than it has been, but I was not, in this outfit, dressed for the morning's conditions. It's gorgeously sunny out, and warm enough when the wind's not blowing, but the wind IS blowing, and it's cold. I thought I could get away with Birk sandals, as toasty as I was yesterday in what I was wearing, but nope. I was really cold. I still like this outfit, though, and haven't yet changed anything about it.
What you see here are my Wool& Sierra, which I am glad I was wearing, because I'd have been even colder in anything else; plus gray Athleta drape cardigan, whose lines I always love. Magenta leggings came from Aldi several years ago. They are quite cheap --- on the verge of losing their shape, though not totally sprung yet. They are soft and fit well, so even though they're synthetic I do plan to hold onto them until they wear out or lose all their elasticity, which is what seems likely to happen first. I love the color, which goes with everything, providing a pop of color without being too bright. Cold though I am, I like the gray-on-gray-on-magenta-on-blue color scheme, but I'm pretty sure I'm trading the Birks for Tari boots and warm socks before I go out again.
Got my hair cut yesterday. Over the last ten years I've had good luck at our little local Great Clips, but yesterday I finally got her: the stylist who doesn't check the front to see that the sides are even. I didn't realize how uneven they were --- the right a lot longer than the left --- until I got home. I didn't feel like going back again, and didn't really have time before the podcast thing, so I got out my own hairdresser scissors and trimmed the right side. The line in back still looks kind of wonky and not nearly as tapered as I usually have it, but I'm not going to mess with it anymore now. The layers don't seem as well cut, either --- usually, again, I have great luck with cheap haircuts, because what I ask for is really simple, but oh well. Fortunately I was already wearing it back a lot in a half-updo, and mostly just got a trim because the ends were dry.
I love the look of a simple Invisibobble hair tie --- it's just clear silicone, but the loops look so glittery in your hair, like little jewels. I have some off-brand ones in pink that I really like as well, and wish I could find some in blue, which I'd wear the heck out of.
So I'm not thrilled with this haircut, but it's not the end of the world. I'll probably get another trim sooner than later and hope for a better outcome, but in the meantime, it's fine. The main thing is that my hair is healthy --- the stylist did exclaim over what good shape it was in, which of course I'm always happy to hear. And now the ends are at least soft and clean and fresh. I am tempted to buy one of these things (not an affiliate link), which I've seen one of the curly-hair people I follow on Instagram use for a DIY haircut (video here). The tool is more expensive than my haircut yesterday was, but over time it could potentially pay for itself, if I could give myself at least as good a haircut as the one I got yesterday. I have cut my own hair before, in phases, with not-too-bad results, usually using the "unicorn" method. I'm not necessarily afraid of a self-haircut, especially if I have tools to help me achieve the results I want, and getting a less-than-optimal haircut at the price point I'm willing to entertain for my very occasional haircuts makes me revisit the idea of just being my own salon from now on.
But for now, whatever. Good thing I like half-updos. And again, as always, it's nice to have fresh ends. I am resolved to keep them as un-dry as possible for as long as possible, and in general to keep my hair as healthy and well-maintained as it has been. What I lack in style, I can make up for in health, which is maybe a good all-over mantra.
And on with the day.
PS: My birthday dress is due here on Monday. I keep hoping against hope that she'll be here sooner, and that I can wear her to church Sunday, but if not, oh well. My husband is urging me to buy more dresses --- dangerous man! But he says he likes them. More to the point, he likes me in them. I do have my eye on several more options, more than I can or should realistically buy anytime soon. But there are some lovely styles and colors, and they do tempt me mightily. I shall have to consider carefully and meanhile, hope that my birthday dress fits and works for me the way I hope she will.