What's the summer garden without blue sage, I ask you? It is the star. I post this to try to remember what sunshine looks like, because we haven't had any, and don't anticipate any for another . . . week?
I'm drinking coffee and have eaten a leftover pancake from last night's dinner. Upon reflection, I think I would have made these with just oat flour, not quinoa or flax, although they're certainly more healthful with the addition of those seed products. But they were pretty good hot with maple syrup last night, and the husband seemed very gratified, which was really my aim. I will eat just about anything, with a strong pull toward whatever passes as health food in a given era.
I have been through about four distinct "health food" eras in the course of my life, beginning when my parents took me, aged nine or so, to a "health food" restaurant in Memphis. This would have been 1974-ish, and on the healthy menu for children was a peanutbutter and honey sandwich, which is what I had for dinner, happily, with carob-flavored yogurt for dessert. I remember a lot of carob in that phase. Then there was the low-fat-vegetarian-tofu-Celestial-Seasonings-tea phase, which encompassed, as far as I can recall, most of the 1980s and 90s, when we were all making whole-wheat bread with honey and feeling very virtuous about it. I belonged to an organic-food co-op in those days, group-ordering stuff from the warehouse that supplied what would eventually become, but was not yet, the Whole Foods empire. We used to have discussions about the licitness of Boca Burgers, because they tasted like meat. There are hours I'd love to reclaim from the mid-1990s . . .
And then there was, like, Paleo, which was the opposite. And that Nourishing Traditions business where everyone was soaking their flour (in what? I've never been sure) and putting entire sticks of butter in their kids' oatmeal. And Keto, with people posting their recipes for roasted marrow bones. At the moment, we seem to be focused on simply eating a lot of protein, but not exclusively eating a lot of protein. This seems like a reasonable approach, honestly, because it's not like the muscle mass is going to build itself as we age. Or the hair spontaneously regrow with youthful luxuriance. This latter thing might not happen anyway, but it sure won't happen at all, to any extent, if I don't eat enough protein.
Anyway, I first learned about quinoa in the 1990s Celestial-Seasonings phase, when I bought a Sierra Club backpacking cookbook: Simple Foods for the Pack. That's where I might have learned about polenta, too. I started making a lot of stuff for camping, where any food tastes good just because it's food, but then I realized that some of it might taste good as just a normal dinner. It's only fairly recently that I've realized that --- hey! --- I can make flour. You don't even need a designated flour mill. I have the little food-processor thing that came with my now-cracked Ninja blender gizmo, which I bought in the summer of 2016 when the Fire Son was having his wisdom teeth out, so that I could make him healthy smoothies while he recovered.
That little food processor has been my best friend. I can readily make smoothies for two in it --- it's small, but it holds a remarkable amount. And I can grind up anything I need to. I make pesto in it. I make pie crust in it. And I reduce rolled oats, of the "old-fashioned oatmeal" variety, into oat flour --- adding quinoa and flaxseed or not, as the case may be. Again, if you want to make berry pancakes with the basic recipe I outlined last night, I suggest going easy on the quinoa and flaxseed, because especially when you're eating leftover cold pancakes, you notice a weird aftertaste, for which the robust health of your digestive tract might not be adequate compensation.
Anyway, it's Saturday. High of about 82F, which should be very pleasant, even with a 91% humidity index. I said I'd help the fiction editors at the magazine read submissions, because they'll be about a month behind if they don't get some extra readers, so I suppose I'll spend a chunk of the day in attempts to access the byzantine mysteries of their entirely separate email, spreadsheet, and system. I really hope this doesn't mess up my access to the poetry spreadsheet and email . . . there's always that danger, in which case I'd have to go through the same byzantine processes to regain access, not that I really have to worry about that until January 2025, because our reading period is OVER. (So is the fiction period, but fiction manuscripts are just that much bigger to deal with, and I think they have only three people on their side, whereas we in poetry have had four and five).
So there's that. I should also probably run the vacuum cleaner and fold some laundry. There will be dog walking as well, and (I hope) some reading. I still need to accompany Socrates to the bitter hemlock end, plunge into Book II of the Confessions, &c. I did get in a chapter of Don Quixote yesterday, so that was something. And I guess I should go to Abyssinia with Evelyn Waugh.
Wearing today for all that (and bear with me; once again, lots of photos of the same basic thing):
*Wool& Maggie (S/Long) in Aegean Teal, bought May 2023, last worn July 6
*Thrifted Crocs sandals (Texasgirl purchase and hand-me-down, when she realized they didn't fit her)
So, as you know, I have two Maggie dresses. This one, bought last year, and my Marine-Blue number, a size larger, bought the previous May. Here, for comparison, is that blue Maggie dress (M/Long), worn in exactly the same outfit combination earlier this week:
I really like them both and wear them both regularly, throughout the year. They both went to Norway with me this summer. They are versatile dresses in their simplicity, and a lot less casual than I think people give them credit for --- I've worn this Marine-Blue Maggie often for dressy/professional occasions.
But I'm always kind of hung up on the differences in the fit. The Medium long feels like almost too much fabric --- the shoulder seams sit right at the edge of my shoulders, not too big, but almost (always an issue, because I'm very pear-shaped with quite narrow shoulders). It's always felt maybe a hair too long, although when I look at photos, it doesn't seem as long as it feels when I'm wearing it. It feels maybe a hair too wide, although again, when I look at this photo here, I like the drape.
The teal Maggie, meanwhile, is a Small Long. And . . . again, I love it and wear it, but the fit still feels a little weird. It's really not too small in the shoulders, in terms of where the seams lie, but it is maybe almost. Meanwhile, across the hips --- because again, I am very unambiguously pear-shaped --- there's always been this little pull, which you can see in the photo above.
Some of it is the pocket placement. I really think this dress would benefit from the stitched-down pockets that the Willow redesign features. I really think all the swing-dress designs would benefit from that tweak, to be honest. It's one of my favorite things about my Audrey dress, for example, that makes a Small size fit more smoothly across the widest point of my body.
It's not actually that there's not enough fabric. I mean:
I'm not even really stretching it here, just holding the skirt out. It's not tight across my hips. If anything, it's a tiny bit tight under the arms, though not enough to bother me. But it seems to fit, basically, through my nether regions:
There's no point at which this dress is straining to cover my body. And yet . . . the fit's a tiny bit weird. Just a tiny bit, but still. A tiny bit is a bit. And I think about it.
None of this stops me from wearing either dress. I think if I were going to buy another (and I very well might at some point), I'd probably buy a Medium Regular, to hit a little more clearly above my knees, but with the easier drape that I find in my blue dress.
Anyway, this is something I think about every time I wear these dresses. This is one of my favorite styles in many ways (they're all favorites, actually). I love the short sleeves. I love the scoop neck. I love the basic line. I just think that maybe this style, like the Willow, could use some refinements.
Meanwhile, the other day I rescued two button shirts out of my donations bag. This is becoming something of a joke. I have outboxed and retrieved the shirt pictured below more times than I can count at this point. But here it is today, part of a bid to style my dress instead of just wearing it:
I keep outboxing this shirt because it's cotton, and it wrinkles --- not aesthetically like linen, either. But this time I said to myself, What if I just didn't care? It's going to look wrinkled after half an hour of wear, so why stress about it? I did wash it and hang it up wet and smooth it out with my hands while wet, so it's not actually crumpled.
I bought this shirt in the first place, at Goodwill four or five years ago, because I thought the color was delicious. I also like the collarless style, and the tuxedo pintucks in front, although ideally one would iron them down, and I, as I have said, am simply not going to bother. I really like this soft duck-egg blue against my teal dress, and I also like the rather full cut. Buttoned up, this shirt looks like a maternity shirt. I don't think it actually is, but it's very blousy. But worn loose, it's quite nice as a top layer.
As I've noted, I'm really liking these big shirts as a top-layer option in the warmer weather. They're light and airy, but they add a certain finish to a plain dress. I could see pursuing this look into the fall, when it's still hot here, but I want layers so that I don't feel like the last rose of summer. I could easily wear this outfit with a pair of boots and light tights. The shirt color feels summery, but not so much when I layer it over a darker dress.
So for the time being, once again, I've decided to keep it. Why not? I already had it. Might as well wear it.
Here's the obligatory 2024 coffee-mug pose:
This one's an Artgirl make from last fall. I love these soft earthy colors and the cicada-wing detail. Looking forward to seeing her face for a long weekend this coming week, when we're going to make a jaunt to Memphis to see the grandmothers.
Still hanging on tight to my no-buy, though there are things I have my eye on. I might revisit the no-buy at the end of this month, at least for shoes and boots --- I'd kind of set myself an every-other-month rule, as well as a no-new-dresses rule (causing me some pain, to be honest, but I do. not. need. dresses), so I might rethink the vague no-buy-whole-summer idea. Overall, I'm proud of myself for reigning it in a bit. I feel that I'd been a little overindulgent in the spring, even though I observed a Lenten no-buy, and largely a no-buy in May (with the exception of the silk kimono that I bought with credits won in a name drawing, that I had to use right then). As I've said before, my husband worries when I set these rules for myself, because he wants me to live abundantly. But if I'm having to work to wear the clothes I own --- and not because I don't love them --- then drawing some kind of line just makes sense to me.
I have resolved that I'll get a dress for my birthday: birthdays are always the exception to any rule. Haven't decided whether it will be another Wool& dress (that pine Willow is calling my name pretty hard, but it might be sold out by then) or a Not Perfect Linen. I might actually order a new NPL dress for my birthday, if I decide on that option --- I would love something in their Emerald Green (really thinking dark green, in case you couldn't tell, for Christmas and beyond). I might ask for a second dress as a Christmas gift --- if I could pick up something used in NPL's Dusty Lavender color, that would be great. I'd love more purple, and of course, Lent will be coming . . . I keep seeing things on Poshmark that tempt my eye, but I'm not buying them now. With great reluctance I'm not buying them . . .
Anyway. Time to walk the dog.
LUNCHTIME UPDATE:
Yeah, well, other Wool& dresses I'm currently tempted by, while I'm thinking about it . . .
I hate the fit of this long Rowena on this model --- like I think that if this color and style haven't sold out, this image is WHY. She is beautiful, and the dress is beautiful, but it does. not. fit her. Nevertheless, if the pine Willow sold out and I had to choose something else, I would seriously consider this dress in a regular length (36" instead of 39", which would swamp me at least as much as it seems to be swamping her). Of course, now that I've written that, I see that the regular length IS currently sold out, but maybe they'll restock it. I really love that color.
They're also introducing the same dress in Wild Orchid, and it's lovely. Trying to think what I would layer with that color all winter, but I do really love the color. What would be cool, now that I think of it, would be a tencel Audrey in a heathered version of that color . . .
I also like the new-ish Purple Fig color and would consider a Maggie in it.
A lot of decisions might be made for me by November. But it's good to have a number of options in mind. And again --- I might buy a linen dress instead. I am really finding that I love wearing linen, and it works as well in the winter as in the summer. So if I'm going to spend that kind of money (or ask someone who happens to share my bank account to spend that kind of money on me), I might lean that way instead. We shall see. I do like to live in the planning part of my brain.
PS: I think my top choice, honestly, for a birthday dress, would be the NPL Midi Mama with short sleeves, in Emerald Green. The price point is lower than an analogous dress from Wool&, and I think that would be a very versatile dress, winter and summer. I might ask for a second for Christmas in Dusty Lavender . . . and those might be my dresses for the next year . . .
LATER:
Well, I was going to spend some time reading fiction submissions for the magazine, but so far haven't coordinated with the editor-in-chief (who has to get an access code via text and relay it to me) to log in to the fiction Gmail, spreadsheet, etc. So here I sits.
Here, while I twiddle my thumbs, are some things I've saved lately to my style mood board.
These people. They post their outfits of the day every day, and every day they are just adorable. How she talked her husband into doing this with her I will never know. My husband would rather be shot. But these posts delight me every single day. The dog is a whole bonus smile.
Christy Dawn dresses. I love this look so much. For a while I was deluding myself that I would buy ONE investment dress next year, and that it would be a Christy Dawn dress, but something in me simply will not pay $300 for an everyday dress. Half that, yes. But after $150 I start to ask: WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT THIS DRESS (that I would presumably be wearing to the farmer's market or something)? They're so pretty, but I just can't. I'd rather buy two dresses for that price.
But this dress, which the poster made: YES. That's a very perfect dress. A dress like that I could actually wear all day and not be hyperventilating every time the dog jumps on me because I'm wearing a major investment.
Here's an NPL dress in Dusty Lavender. I am kind of dreaming of it. I'm not sure which style this is, and it seems to have some modifications, but it's a basic style I'd love to live in.
And here's Emerald Green, which is the color I am dreaming of even more. Again, I think I want a dress with short sleeves: easier to layer over in the winter (and I can wear a whole wool dress underneath when it's really cold), and a little sun protection in the summer. I have three sleeveless linen dresses, and I love them, but it's nice sometimes to be able to take off your cardigan or jacket and not have bare shoulders.
I don't see myself actually wearing and walking in wellie boots, but I love this look.
I would really also kind of like some overalls like these, but I have to ask myself: What does this style offer, other than difficulty in the bathroom, that a pinafore dress would not offer me? For this I do not have a good answer.
A little happy Wool& Brooklyn styling. I need to remember my cranberry-red cardigan to wear with that dress, even when it isn't Christmas.
Still no word from the editor. I guess I'll go read for my own edification for a while. Socrates still has a lot left to say about welcoming death before he actually does welcome death. And I didn't read a Milton poem yesterday. Must remedy.
EVENING UPDATE:
Sitting on the porch with my husband, who is napping after mowing the lawn, and Dora, who is sunbathing. I have read Plato, Augustine, Milton, Dante, and Cervantes, and I have ordered my groceries (now chatting with my shopper). The sun has come out (hence the canine sunbathing), and it's a lovely early evening full of cicada noise, but that's just another species of silence around here.
I am really hungry and looking forward to having food to cook for dinner. We have eaten pretty much everything on hand at this point --- I was trying to scrape bottom before I bought more groceries, and I think we've done all right in that department. Tonight we can have a little Vigil-of-Sunday feast, once it all shows up here.
And I'll just say this: I've had on the same outfit all day, and I have really enjoyed it. Nothing about it is new, except the combination of elements, but I have really enjoyed my clothes today. This is by way of a gratitude post. It's so draining to feel not-good in what you're wearing, and so energizing and life-giving to feel good. Clothing isn't trivial.