Here's my front-yard planter with hyacinths, lupines, evening primrose, (also some weeds), and a solar light obviously knocked over in the rain the other evening. I have set it back up again, so it can soak up energy all day and glimmer all night.
Talked to the TXgirl early this morning --- she had been up all night at a city zoning commission meeting, where after hearing eight hours of negative feedback from community residents, including her, at 2:30 this morning the zoning commission granted permission for a casino (pending a change to the state consitutution to allow gambling in Texas) to be built on land adjacent to the university where she works. She gave a good and impassioned speech --- her husband videoed it and posted it to the family chat loop --- and got mocked by a commissioner for her pains, but she was on the side of truth.
I've been out with Dora in the cool sunshine --- the projected high today is 73F, which is quite nice. The morning still feels a little chilly, but I didn't need more than a cardigan and something on my legs to be comfortable, and I'll probably lose both those things later on.
The Artgirl is off to Greensboro in my car for her appointment, so I am comfortably encsonced here and not going anywhere. I plan to work on my various writing projects, getting up and down periodically because that's good for you. Maybe I'd be fitter if I were a 30-minute-workout kind of person, but honestly, I think I do all right being a get-up-and-lift-dumbbells-for-15-reps-several-times-a-day kind of person, as well as a go-out-and-hang-laundry/garden/walk the dog/do some cooking/fidget kind of person. The husband works late tonight, so depending on the Artgirl's evening plans, I'll either watch a movie with her or Vera by myself --- happily either way.
Here's a gratuitous picture of a pretty girl enjoying the sunshine on the back steps this morning:
And some redbud spam:
Every spring I'm so glad I bothered to plant these volunteer trees. They have divided trunks and do not look like nursery specimens, but they are so beautiful. And unlike forsythia, they continue beautiful, with their heart-shaped leaves that are coppery when they first unfurl, and golden again in the fall. I love having a grove of them in my backyard.
It's the last day of my capsule wardrobe challenge, and I have to say, I'm not sorry. It's been fun, but I look forward to a little something different tomorrow.
Wearing today (a little timer-challenged there on the front porch):
*Secondhand Not Perfect Linen Mama dress (S) in Caffe Mocha, bought fall 2024, last worn March 14. Wears in 2025: 4
*Secondhand Banana Republic beige/oatmeal silk-cotton cardigan, bought February 2025, last worn March 17. First year of wear.
*Secondhand Devala bamboo-cotton leggings, bought fall 2021, fourth year of wear
*Secondhand Birk Mayaris, bought April 2024, first year of wear
I'm glad to have a reason to put this dress on again --- not that I really need a reason, but it's good to have added to the number of wears. I can easily overlook it, and I don't want to. It's such a nice, comfortable, graceful dress, in this gorgeous soft muted lavender that I can't get enough of --- as I remember when I actually put the dress on. This is a perfect transitional-weather dress, in linen with 3/4 sleeves, heavy enough not to let the wind blow right through you, but light and breathable enough to wear into the summer.
ETA: Challenge Thoughts
I've really enjoyed organizing a capsule around a color that I haven't used as my central theme in quite this way before. My travel capsules all tend to be teal-oriented, for example. Building a small wardrobe around a rota of purple dresses has been fun. Granted, I was wearing purple anyway, because it's Lent. But it was nice to spend a period of time being more intentional, and carving out a tiny wardrobe from my already-not-large closet.
I'm confirmed in my continuing preference for dresses. I will keep two of the three pairs of jeans I've bought this spring, but I am going to move the lavender ones along. They're just too big, and I don't need them.
I've enjoyed seeing how many shades of purple that Evening-Blue-dyed linen shirt works with.
I've enjoyed seeing how many shades of purple these herbal green leggings look nice with.
I've enjoyed wearing my Iris Blue Sierra as a default dress --- basically I've alternated between that dress and a linen dress every day of this challenge (with one evening out in my purple silk dress).
I've noted that in a capsule wardrobe, it is still OK to have dresses you wear more and dresses you wear less. I wore my Sierra most of the time. First runner-up was my Grape Wine Smock dress. Then this Mama dress, and finally the silk dress, which I wore only once, but am not sorry to have included in my capsule. I had planned to wear it to church Sunday, but the rain made me rethink that plan. And that's really all right. So often I think people panic if they're not wearing something into the ground, all the time --- honestly, you need some special-occasion dresses, or just items to relieve the monotony.
So I am not sorry to have included that silk dress. It was a good inclusion. I PLANNED, in thinking about my 9-piece capsule, for going out on my anniversary. That was part of the real life I was going to be living in those 9 days, and I made room for it. I think this is one reason why the challenge was pretty easy, and why I succeeded without a lot of stress: Rather than bending my life to fit the limits of my wardrobe, I planned for every element of my real life over 9 days.
After today, I will be glad to turn to some of my more neutral dresses for the rest of the week, but I am really glad to have done this challenge.
Now I want to eat some lunch --- and then I had better get to work.