Took this in Belmont last Sunday, when we went out for lunch. Really looking forward to being back in North Carolina. It must be where I belong, because I miss it so when I'm not there, even when I'm not there for only a few days.
After days of driving (me), and exams and packing and storage-unit runs and more packing and no sleep (them), the college kids and I have had a lazy day today. While my mother was out, first at a luncheon, then at a funeral, the daughter and I went to Target, but that's all we did all day. Well, not quite true: I wrote an essay and then talked on the phone with my esteemed New York Sun colleague, who mostly seemed to want to ask me whether it's only in South Dakota that you can't get suet for human consumption in the grocery stores, or whether that's everywhere. I guessed, correctly, that he wanted to make a Christmas pudding; he said he wanted to make something Dickens would recognize. I said I thought Dickens would probably recognize a lot of nasty food, and we both laughed, but he still wants the suet.
Wearing today:
Basically this for most of the day: Wool& Audrey, thrifted cardigan again. I did put on tights and boots to go out, and a scarf. My hair also eventually dried. This was kind of a nothing outfit, but whatever. I was comfortable.
I continue to love this dress, by the way. It's so nice to have the longer option available to me, and more and more, though I have been dubious about whether a small was the right choice, I like the fit. It's the swing-dress fit, but a little more --- fitted, I guess. It's not tight, like a bodycon dress, but it does look a lot less nightgowny than the website images on the models. Though it's still a relatively unstructured dress, you can tell what curves I have. I'm still dubious about what size I actually am, and of course the sizes for this company really aren't consistent, so you never know for sure. My medium Maggie feels a hair large. My small Sierra fits perfectly. I could wear a medium in Audrey and be fine, though I'm glad this dress isn't longer than it is. Anyway, you can maybe also see in the lighting for this photo how soft the "black heather" color is. It was popular for a reason, and I hope they'll both bring back the Audrey in this color and repeat it in other dress designs. Both this color and marine blue are colors I'd consider repeating in other dresses, though I think my next purchase, whenever that may happen, will be something in either plum or mauve.
Meanwhile, I'm slowly whittling away at Christmas gifts while I'm here. Got my daughter to admit today, as she was freezing in the Target parking lot, that a pair of warmer leggings would be a good idea for winter in Rome. I found some black Allbirds merino-blend leggings on Poshmark and bought them for her, as well as a long-sleeved merino tee for the college son, who might or might not consent to wear such a thing, but might also be glad if he did consent to wear it. Found another tee for the firefighter son, who already has quite a collection of merino tees and appreciates them. I have books for everyone, and I think I'm going to order a bunch of bare-root blueberries for the young marrieds, who will appreciate edible landscaping. I still need something for the girlfriend who's coming --- possibly a piece of local pottery, once I get back home. Oh, and I ordered one of those window-ledge-hammock cat-bed things for my brother, who has three cats and has seemed more pleased by gifts for the cats than anything else we've ever given him.
Anyway, even though I'm not home, a number of things seem to be coming together.