Yes, we are a forsythia stan account, but the tulip tree in its glorious brevity deserves some love, too. This is literally the view from where I'm sitting, in the Ikea chair in the corner of my study, and on a gray day, about ten degrees colder than yesterday, it's a beautiful vision.
Also pictured: the garage which apparently sits about five feet across our property line. I'm assuming the wall is not actually where the property line is drawn. Small towns, old neighborhoods, weird stuff like this. We're signing a waiver granting that property an easement, which seems simpler on every level than having the line redrawn.
Now, of course, I kind of wonder whose responsibility that wall is. I'd always assumed it was whoever owned that house. I'm certain that a former owner of that house had it built --- our yard is all chain-link fence. But possibly I'm wrong, and maybe I ought to be doing something about the ivy.
Yesterday evening the temperature dropped fairly steeply. Even before the sun went down, a stiff wind had sprung up, making the air feel colder than it was, and I did wind up putting on leggings with my Sierra dress and wearing a jacket to walk to the pub. We had a nice evening out, and a good walk with Dora in the dark before bed. This is the weekend when we lose an hour to Daylight Savings Time, so of course I didn't sleep well at all, but here we are, an hour later, with the more lingering evening light that I do love at this time of year.
Today's high is 60F, not bad, but if the weather remains overcast, not really as warm as all that. Considering how to dress comfortably for Mass . . .
And here's what I chose . . .
WEARING:
*Secondhand vintage April Cornell silk dress, bought summer 2024, first wear in 2025. A more or less special-occasion dress that I didn't buy to wear often, but to have for years for those times when I want to wear a silk dress. These wrinkles should fall out with some wear today.
*Secondhand Pure cashmere cardigan, bought spring 2024, first year of wear
*Devold wool socks, bought in Norway, summer 2023, second year of wear
*Secondhand Birkenstock Melrose suede boots, bought summer 2023, second year of wear
I did leave off tights under my dress, since it's so long that my legs don't show anyway. I hope I'll be warm enough without a big coat --- though my big parka is still in the back seat of my car, left there after my frigid Texas junket three weeks ago.
Teal, especially a greenish teal, is still a natural complement for purple. If we're doing color "seasons," these shades are probably better for someone whose own tones are more autumnal than mine --- a bright redhead, say --- but they're okay on me. The plummy purple does well with my own pinkish skin tone, and although this teal is greener and brighter than my absolute ideal (represented by Wool&'s Aegean and Oceal Teals, and even their plain Teal), it's still in a range that I wear pretty well. I could have opted for my aqua alpaca cardigan, and I might try it with this dress at some stage, but this cashmere cardigan is so lofty and cozy that it seems like a good choice for today.
I might, if the weather stays dry, wear this dress out for dinner in Blowing Rock tomorrow night, for our anniversary. 35 years . . . is not as long as it might be, but it still seems like a lot of years, by which I mostly mean: man, how did we get this old?
Time to take the dog out before we leave for Mass.
If I think about it, this afternoon I'll make another outfit plan for the week. For the time being, I'm really trying to wear my purple dresses, though I may cycle some other colors into the mix so as to wear purple accessories with them. Stay tuned, but don't hold your breath.
AFTERNOON UPDATE:
Nice Mass at the Abbey this morning, with an emptier-than-usual church --- possibly due to the time change, but mostly, I suspect, because it's spring break.
Brunch after at Floyd & Blackie's in Cramerton, our new favorite after-church spot.
Came home and changed clothes, because gardening in a silk dress is not a great idea.
Yesterday I said that gardening in pale lavender jeans was not a great idea, and this is true. But all I was doing today was transplanting one more lupine and two more sprigs of evening primrose into my big front-yard galvanized container, then transplanting some daffodils from that container into the ground in the front border. None of this was a very messy operation. While I was out there, I noted peonies coming up --- the real harbinger! Can't wait for my big lush beautiful peonies this year. And maybe I'll actually put in some more pale-pink ones to offset the hot-pink ones that predominate.
Anyway, it continues pretty chilly, and I'm glad of my wool-blend pullover (merino-mohair-cotton-viscose, I think), which is both lightweight and warm. It's been a good travel sweater two years running, and it's perfect for this unpredictable time of year at home. I really like the texture and variegated yarn against my lavender trousers. I still think the trousers are kinda too big, but they are comfortable for knocking around.
While I am lounging on the daybed with the snoozing dog, here's a tentative outfit plan for the week, maybe utilizing a little of that 9x9 capsule idea:
I mean, for grins and giggles, let's say this is my capsule, for a period when the forecast includes one day of temperatures in the low 50s Farenheit (tomorrow), followed by days of highs in the 70s and high 60s Farenheit.
The items are as follows:
*Wool& Iris Blue Sierra
*April Cornell vintage silk dress
*NPL Grape Wine Smock
*NPL Caffe Mocha Mama
*Snag black cashmere footless tights
*Green patterned bamboo-cotton leggings
*Banana Republic silk-cotton beige cardigan
*Eileen Fisher silk-rayon pink cardigan
*Chico's blue linen button shirt
So, I thought I'd anchor this capsule with all my purple dresses --- a move that makes sense if the weather is not requiring lots of warm layers. Tomorrow I can wear a coat for extra warmth, but I don't really need wool sweaters, base layers, or a lot for my legs. And outerwear for cold weather doesn't count in the capsule, so that's a bit of leeway.
The capsule also doesn't include shoes/boots, so I have a good bit of leverage there as well. I can wear socks with boots and they won't count, because the socks won't show.
I can wear the Chico's linen shirt under things or as a top layer. The soft duck-egg greenish blue looks lovely with pretty much any shade of purple.
Monday (daytime, high of 52): Wool& Iris Blue Sierra, black cashmere footless tights, Melrose boots with socks underneath, pink silk-blend cardigan. Coat for outdoors
Monday (evening, out for our anniversary): April Cornell silk dress over cashmere tights and boots, pink silk cardigan, coat for outdoors
Tuesday: Wool& Iris Blue Sierra, green bamboo leggings, Melrose boots (for the morning in Blowing Rock), beige silk cardigan --- once we get home and it's warmer, switch out boots for Birk Rosemeads
Wednesday: NPL Grape Wine Smock dress over Chico's button shirt, Birk Rosemeads or Mayaris, depending on what I feel like. Bamboo leggings and beige cardigan if I get chilly.
Thursday: NPL Mama dress with pink cardigan, bamboo leggings if needed, Birk Rosemeads
Friday: NPL Grape Wine Smock dress with pink cardigan, Birks, leggings if needed
Saturday: Wool& Iris Blue Sierra, leggings if needed, Chico's linen shirt as top layer, Birks
Sunday: April Cornell silk dress, beige cardigan, Birk Papillio Mary wedges --- change into Iris Blue Sierra again after Mass, with green leggings if needed
Monday: NPL Mama dress with Birk Rosemeads and beige cardigan
Tuesday: NPL Grape Wine dress, beige cardigan, Birks
That's 9 days, a little boring and repetitive, maybe, but then wearing purple is supposed to pinch a little, and this capsule really takes me through a cycle of purple dresses, fasting from all my dresses in other colors. I could, I suppose, carry on like this for the rest of Lent, truly fasting from all those other clothes. Normally my MO is just to give up not wearing purple, which has meant that I must have some purple item on my body. It hasn't meant that my dress or other major clothing item must be purple. But I might try that for a while. It's what I've done since Ash Wednesday --- even now, fully have of my body is clothed in something purple. This isn't just your add purple scarf kind of discipline, not so far. Let's see how this goes . . .
I do really like this spectrum of purples, by the way. I should do a side-by-side, just as I did with all my pinks. But except for my jeans, which are on my body as I write this, you can see all the purples for yourself: the very grayed periwinkle of my Mama dress, the intense blue-purple of my Sierra, the very rosy-pink plum of the silk dress, and the slightly darker plum of the Smock dress. All these purples work well for me.
What I don't have are bright, loud electric purples or very dark eggplant purples. I could do a muted, grayed eggplant, I think, that would play as a kind of dark neutral, in the same territory as a navy, but purple. Not so much anything very vivid, which would just wash out all my moderate coloring and contrast, like a too-bright light. I now wonder if there's some correlation between my dislike of very bright colors (my Beetroot Brooklyn is right at the edge of too bright for me) and very bright overhead lighting . . .
So, I guess I'm doing this little challenge, and why not? It's not really a Lenten penance, but it does accord with a particular minor penance. And if it helps me make my penance a little more defined, that's not a bad thing. You get a $20 gift card as a reward for completing this challenge, but I wouldn't be able to use it until after Easter, which is fine.
I do have one more new-item slot in my purchasing allotment this year, and it would be nice to have a discount --- which I would need to apply very wisely, because this is my one shot. We'll see what might be available when I'm ready to buy again . . . I might re-try the Sofia, if they still have it in the Spruce Green in Small. I tried a Medium last time I went for this dress, and the bodice was just weird and gapey. I thought a small skirt might be too small, but I've lost a few inches since May 2023, so it could be worth trying again. I'd also consider an Isabelle, if they have it in my size in a color that isn't black. Possibly the Marin? It hasn't appealed to me, but I do want a dress with a waist, unless they decide to bring back the Audrey in more colors. Buying new, I'd want a dress that could travel and also be wearable year-round. We'll see. (Like I need a new dress, really . . . maybe I should look at non-dress items, too).
Anyway. Very Lenten thoughts, but at least I have the next week's outfits more or less sorted and a nice little capsule to work with. Nine clothing pieces x nine days. Let's do it.