Yesterday's cleaning project was simply to dust this mantel. I moved everything off, went over it with my microfiber long-handled duster, and then moved everything back on, in a slightly different arrangement. Minimalist it ain't, but then you know me by now. Anyway, this is a huge honking surface, the gas-fire mantel, and the only way to cope with it, it seems, is to fill the space as much as possible. Nothing else really looks right (mostly because although it is a mantel, its proportions are those of a tabletop, not a mantel, so treating it as you'd treat a normal mantel doesn't work).
There's already dust again, but whatevs. The sun is shining, it's now (checks weather app) one degree above freezing, and eventually I'll need to take the dog out. For now I'm drinking my coffee in my sunny window and enjoying the morning.
Today I need to vacuum, paying attention to underneath furniture --- a thought brought to you by the earring I dropped this morning and had to crawl around on the floor to find. Ping it went on the floor, and before I knew it, there I was contemplating the underside of my chest of drawers, which was revelatory.
Otherwise, I need to write an evaluation of my MFA student for the semester, and maybe cast an eye over my John Donne essay for next Friday. AND buy groceries and consider Christmas orders for out-of-town family who are all having health problems and would appreciate something comforting . . . much to think about.
AND . . . well, I went shopping this morning in my own Poshmark closet, a.k.a. the outbox. Here's what I'm wearing:
*Wool& Willow dress (M/Long) in Ocean Teal. Bought October 2023, last worn October 4. She has spent more or less the last two months up for sale on Poshmark, but nobody has bitten on my asking price, and today I just thought, eh, maybe she stays. I've been breaking up with swing dresses, sort of, and I might ultimately decide to break up with this one, but I do love the color and the easy way she wears. So here we are, reunited. Total wears this year to date: 21. Not actually bad for a dress that just spent two months in the outbox.
*Very old thrifted Eddie Bauer cotton cardigan, bought for a quarter at the shop down the street so many years ago I've lost count. I'm not remotely tracking wears for this cardigan. For one thing, I'm sure it passed the penny-per-wear mark years ago and is so far into negative-cost-per-wear that there's simply no point. I've mended it multiple times, and it just keeps going, especially in Advent and Lent.
*Snag cashmere footless tights, bought new for this season, repeated from yesterday, because if I inveigh against wearing black tights as a default, it follows as the night the day that that is exactly what I will do. (Moral: If I make a proclamation, don't take me seriously).
*Darn Tough Socks (not shown, hidden in my boots)
*Xero Tari boots, bought summer 2022, in their third winter season of regular wear
I'm comfortable and ready for the day, and really rather happy to have reclaimed this dress. I am thinking, on the other hand, that I'll resell my Flax linen skirt, which I seem to keep avoiding wearing. I really so strongly prefer my green Garnet Hill maxi skirt --- if I'm going to wear a skirt at all instead of a dress --- that it seems a little silly to hang onto that Flax one. I think I have enough purple to see me through this season without it, so I might just pop it up in the closet.
While I'm sitting here, I might as well go ahead and sketch an outfit plan for the next week. Haven't done that in some weeks, and it is helpful when I do get around to it.
I don't really want to call my wardrobe right now a capsule, because barring a few things, it's still more or less my whole closet. Still, it might help to list the purple items I own and intend to wear, around which everything else has to revolve in this season.
Purple dresses:
*NPL Grape Wine Smock
*Vintage April Cornell silk maxi
*NPL Caffe Mocha Mama
Purple cardigans/sweaters:
*Eddie Bauer cotton
*Talbots merino blazer
*Ann Taylor cashmere/rabbit hair blazer (sort of --- it's really magenta, but I think it can count)
*Banana Republic lavender merino sweater
Purple scarves/accessories:
*Bright plum crocheted shawl
*Cashmere poncho
*Cashmere J.Jill pashmina
*Linen scarf
This looks like not much, but when you consider that everything in my closet EXCEPT my Cinnamon Rose Leila dress, my Beetroot Brooklyn dress, my floral pinafore, and my red linen skirt goes with at least some of these accessories and cardigans, it really turns out to be a lot.
So, some combinations I might consider in the coming week, mostly to ensure that I'm not neglecting anything:
*For Mass tomorrow: NPL Caffe Mocha Mama dress, Ann Taylor cashmere blazer cardigan [or green corduroy blazer], linen scarf, Snag tights in Sand Dollar [or Thicket, or Hot Chocolate], Tari boots [or Birk Papillio Mary wedges]
*Dark Gray-Blue Smock dress with Dusty Rose Icebreaker base-layer tee, Red Velvet Cake Snag tights, Tari boots, linen scarf
*Garnet Hill maxi skirt with lavender Banana Republic sweater, gray Snag tights, Birkenstock boots, purple cashmere pashmina
*NPL Chocolate-Brown Leila dress with Eddie Bauer cardigan, dark-brown Snag super-opaque tights, Earth Shoes Mary Janes
*Wool& Pacific Brooklyn dress with black cashmere footless tights (or Snag dark-gray merino tights), Tari OR Birkenstock boots, Eddie Bauer cardigan (this might be good for pub night)
*Wool& Washed Navy Sierra worn as a pinafore over Banana Republic lavender sweater, dark-gray Snag merino tights, Tari or Birkenstock boots
*Wool& Aegean Teal Maggie dress, Eddie Bauer cardigan, Snag merino tights in Red Velvet Cake, Tari or Birkenstock boots (really always depends on the weather and my mood, especially when it's an above-the-knee dress that would look good either way) -- NOTE TO SELF: I could wear this Maggie dress layered under my Ocean Teal Willow dress for extra warmth. Mostly I love this Maggie dress as a layering piece anyway, under dresses or skirts.
*Gaudete Sunday: April Cornell silk dress, Ann Taylor magenta cashmere blazer cardigan, linen scarf, merino tights, Birkenstock boots --- we are going to a party the same evening, so this dress could carry me comfortably through the whole day and into the night
And now it's pretty much time to let the dog out, once I finish this last cup of coffee.
AFTERNOON:
Various tasks accomplished, though I still haven't vacuumed.
One thing I have done is add another dress layer --- it's just warm enough that I don't need my puffer vest under my coat, but not quite warm enough to do entirely without another layer.
And anyway, it's been a good while since I last worn my Wool& Aegean Teal Maggie dress (S/Long), bought in May of 2023. The last wearing was November 12, as an underdress with my floral cotton-linen pinafore. This dress works well as a shift --- the Small size makes it fit fairly close to my body, so it doesn't add much bulk under another dress.
It's a subtle addition, but I love layering these teals, and now I can at least go out to the clothesline without needing to put my coat on.