My town in the sunshine, as I was walking back from the dentist this morning. It is good to be home.
So we've lost a week here, but whatever. I didn't feel like posting last week --- too busy and when not too busy, too tired. Not having good spots for clear photos, I barely took outfit pics.
It was COLD in Memphis and throughout Texas last week --- 14F at night, below freezing during the day for much of the time I was gone. I stayed warm in my Airbnb cabin at the literary conference by cranking the heat to 85F, keeping the space heater going in the bathroom, and turning on the oven. Things in Texas are not made to keep the cold out, let's just say.
Anyway, I was glad I had packed a real suitcase with room for sweaters and warm layers. I didn't wear everything I took, mind you --- I could have left out all base-layer tops except my silk-cashmere-merino tank, which I wore literally every day of the trip, until the end, when temperatures rose a little. I didn't wear my big Eileen Fisher cardigan-coat. I never got around to wearing my Marine Blue Fiona, which is rather a surprise; on the other hand, I wore all the linen dresses I took, even on the very coldest days. They do layer well.
Rough breakdown of dress wears, for my records:
*NPL Emerald Green midi Smock dress: 2
*NPL Cinnamon Rose Leila dress: 1
*NPL Dark Blue-Gray Smock dress: 1
*Wool& Teal Fiona: 1
*Wool& Iris Blue Sierra: 2
*Wool& Black Heather Audrey: 2
I also wore my NPL Oatmeal Bay tank several times under dresses. I wore my Connemara cardigan almost daily, though I did also wear my Pure teal cashmere cardigan a couple of days. Did not wear the pink merino cardigan.
Mostly wore my Birk Melrose boots, because they had room for my thick Devold wool socks, which I wore almost every day. I did wear my brown Keens boots both Sundays of the trip, as part of my Mass outfit.
I had choices, which was nice, and plenty of room in my suitcase. This felt like much more indulgent packing than I've done in a long time, and I wouldn't repeat it for an overseas trip (or indeed any trip on an airplane). But again, it was cold, and I was glad that I'd brought thick, bulky clothes that probably wouldn't have made it into my backpack if I'd been flying.
And now I'm home, with nowhere to go till April. Well, I did walk to the dentist and back this morning, so that's something --- after so much time indoors and in the car, it was lovely to be out in the sunshine and fresh air.
Agenda for the rest of the day:
*Hang laundry that's just finished in the washer
*Finish an essay (maybe . . . it's not due up till Friday)
*Put away grocery order when it arrives
*Unpack suitcase, hand-wash any clothes that need it, put everything away, including the suitcase
Wearing:
The base outfit:
*Secondhand Not Perfect Linen Bay tank in Dusty Blue, first wear
*Secondhand Universal Threads wide-leg lavender jeans, second wear
*Secondhand cork belt, bought two years ago (?)
*Farm to Feet merino socks, Christmas present 2023
*Xero Tari boots, third year of wear
For the walk to the dentist, when it was still a little chilly, I added my Connemara cardigan:
But now that the day has warmed up, on its way to a high of 72F, I've changed my shoes and my top layer to something cooler:
*Thrifted green tencel button shirt, bought December 2023, into a second year of wear now
*Secondhand Birk Rosemeads, third year of wear
These trousers really are kind of too big. You can see the looseness through the hips and across the front --- I don't want them tight, but they really should fit a little more closely. I love the color, but I think I might resell them, especially if I could find the same pair a size down. This would be essentially an exchange --- a new pair would not be my #8 secondhand purchase.
I am doing a no-buy for Lent, more or less across everything except groceries. So if I am going to replace these jeans and put them up for sale, I need to do it this week.
*ETA: Or maybe I'll wait. I'm not sure I feel like looking for a replacement, and these aren't too bad, really, in terms of bigness. I do love the color. And I'm especially loving the cool, fresh, soft springtime color blocking I have going on today.
These NPL Bay tanks are great. This new one, in Dusty Blue, is a Small, and while I kind of prefer the swing of my Medium Oatmeal one, I do like this quite a lot. The fit is comfortable, if a tad closer, and it tucks in nicely as well as looking all right untucked. I think I will wear this a LOT. It could definitely be in the running for part of a no-buy Easter outfit --- i.e. an outfit constructed of things I already own, rather than an outfit that represents a surrender to the impulse to have something new for Easter.
Mind you: there is NOTHING WRONG with wanting a new dress for Easter. But I'd like to push back against that reflexive thing in me that expects new, with the holiday as a trigger for the expectation. And truly, I have enough clothes.
I have sold one more item from my Poshmark closet: my mother-of-the-bride dress and jacket set. Good to move that along.
And now to go hang some washing out in the sun.
PS: Spent all day not noticing that it wasn't Monday. So turned around.