Current status: a little Hurricane Nicole action. You can't see that the rain is coming down in sheets out there, but it is. I haven't walked the dog yet, and am thinking we're going to get some kind of wet when we do go out.
Last night we had dinner at the Vintage House in Hickory, which is my usual birthday-dinner spot. It's changed hands in the last couple of years, and the atmosphere, as well as the menu, are subtly different. Only twelve wines on the wine list, not an entire cellar of hundreds, for one thing. On the other hand, you can really only drink one bottle at a meal (at least, that's our limit), so maybe that's not such a big deal. We just liked talking to the former owner about wine. It was a nice dinner, nonetheless, and I felt very celebrated.
My date-night look:
Basic outfit: teal Wool& Fiona with navy Snag merino tights and my old tall camel boots, getting their first outing this year. I do love these boots. They aren't real leather, but they've held up nicely over some years of wear, and even after a steady diet of Birkenstocks and Xero shoes, they were comfortable on my feet. It was raining last night, too, and I thought I'd stay drier and warmer in tall boots than in ankle ones, which would have been my other choice. I also just like the sleek look of a tall boot, as a dressier cold-weather option. All these colors pleased me, too.
For an outer layer, which I wore all evening:
My trusty ThredUp moss-green Calvin Klein corduroy jacket was a good combination with the dress and boots. I love the colors together, and I thought the structure of the blazer worked really well with the flowy dress.
I washed but didn't really style my hair, just wore it as it came after a day of air-drying, then walking in rain with the dog. It was clean and soft and shiny, and my husband liked it, which is really all I was going for.
LATER:
It's warm out right now, in the low 70sF, though I believe temps are set to drop as this storm system moves through. I went out to walk the dog in the rain in an extremely basic reiteration of last night's outfit:
My Fiona dress dresses down as nicely as she dresses up, with just my blue EVA Birks. One thing I particularly like about the color of this dress is that it's blue, but these Birks aren't too matchy with it. Instead, they make a contrast with my lowest hem, so that this completely effortless outfit gets elevated just a little bit, too look like something more composed and intentional.
If it gets colder during the day, I can just put on some leggings and change from shoes to boots. I can add a cardigan. Easy-peasy. I hate changing clothes, so it's lovely to consider that I don't have to, even if the weather changes drastically. I can just add things and keep going.
LATER STILL:
Raining, raining, raining, raining, raining. Must take dog out again. Do not want to take dog out again. Really wishing dog could go out in yard without supervision, but dog is fence-levitating idiot, so no.
Meanwhile, my husband has just messaged me that we're meeting friends at the pub tonight, so I get to tweak my Team Basic outfit above for a casual evening out. It's still 70+ degrees, so I don't have to bundle up, which I guess is a good thing, although it will cool off once the . . . well, there IS no sun, but once it gets dark.
I do love this dress so very much. She is so versatile, comfortable, and fun. I'm glad I took a gamble on her.
I . . . uh . . . do seem to have a couple more sartorial birthday gifts on their way to me. Stay tuned. Birthdaytide just keeps on giving.
EVEN LATER:
Didn't wind up changing much to go out, just my shoes, plus a cardigan that was already hanging on the drying rack.
At nightfall, it's still 67 degrees, and the low is only 55, so I'm not bothering with leggings. My little purple Oswegos are a fun pair of kicks with a dress. I'm not a sneaker person, but I do like these, and they make a good dark contrast with my teal dress.
Just waiting for the husband to turn up so we can scoot off to the pub!