101 in 1001 #30: Hardcore clean out my wardrobe.

You didn’t really think I bought a bunch of new clothes without doing a major closet refresh, did you? I’ve had #30 on my 101 in 1001 list in my sights for months now, and with a move coming up, what better time to do a deep cleanout of my closet?

The problem, campers, is that I am a clothes hoarder. I inherited the Mariani woman shopping gene with a vengeance, but I also got the Schwegman sentimental/practical gene…meaning I could convince myself that there’s definitely a reason to keep all the suiting dresses I wore to EY in 2011-2013, the five different white buttondowns, or the (admittedly egregiously excessive) 27 different striped shirts I’ve amassed over the years.

I didn’t do a full KonMari thing, but prior to the move, I worked my way through every segment of my closet and drawers and did a deep cleanse. Criteria to toss:

• Is this item damaged/stained/worn out in any way? If so, BYE. (I went through a phase of convincing myself I’d figure out how to fix hems, stitch rips, etc, and let’s just say that never came to pass and never will.)

• Is this item from college or earlier? If so, BYE. Unless you truly truly love it (hello, Anthropologie watercolor silk top from 2010 that I will legit never get rid of).

• Does this item fit? If not, BYE.

• Is this top polyester? If so, you know you will NEVER EVER EVER WEAR IT because you are legitimately incapable of wearing a polyester top without being disgustingly sweaty, staticky and uncomfortable, so, BYE.

• Is this skirt shorter than 19 inches? Because that’s the limit for being able to wear in public without worrying about indecent exposure. If so, BYE.

• Do you have this item, basically, but newer/nicer/cleaner/etc? (I’m looking at you, five different navy/black cardigans.) If so, BYE to all but the nicest.

• Do you actually like/wear/feel good in this? If not, BYE.

• Finally, and this is a weird one, is this an item of clothing associated with a situation that made you sad? (This sounds weird, I know, I know, but bear with me.) I have a lot of clothes from the period of my life when I was dating Jon/freshly single and grieving that relationship, and some of them are, as silly as it sounds, kind of viscerally associated to him because of things that happened or pictures that were taken or what have you. It’s ridiculous, I know that. But anything with those associations - boy, BYE. Life’s too short and he sucked/sucks.

I ended up with three shopping bags and two boxes full of stuff to donate or trash, and ran several loads to our local donation drop box - clothes go to shelters, foster kids, and other organizations, so I felt decent about the donations. I freed up a whole bunch of space in my new California Closet - I can actually see all my clothes, I actually wear more of them now, and I figured out where the gaps in my wardrobe were so I could fill them!

Total win! For more 101 in 1001, go here, and for more shopping-related chats, check out yesterday’s post here.

Cheap and chic shopping lately...

There are few things I love more than an affordable product that looks and feels high-end. I’ve been really trying to curtail my shopping habits lately, focusing on replacing worn-out basics (goodbye, beloved Liberty London ballet flats from 2007!!) and spending my money on furnishing a new apartment instead (stay tuned!). Lately, though, I’ve found a few total wins for less than the price of a few pumpkin spice lattes…

• Target is smashing it out of the park lately in pretty much all departments…I’m particularly impressed, however, with their “A New Day” line. I got a beautiful, mid-weight olive-green belted sweater that I’m bringing to Italy with me for sure, along with a bunch of basic t-shirts. I usually stock up on J.Crew or J.Crew Factory t’s when they run those crazy sales over the summer, but I’ve been underwhelmed by the quality of their knits lately - it seems like the hems unravel or I get little holes along the seams after just a few washes/wears. Target’s t’s are a heavier weight (less see-through!) and, clocking in at around $10, I can’t complain.

• I do tend to love J.Crew Factory’s shoes, however. I’m notoriously hard on my footwear…I have narrow heels and high arches, so my stride is weird and I wear the heels of shoes out like nobody’s business. I’ve purchased and re-purchased Factory’s classic ballet flat for years - it’s polished, inoffensive and basic enough to pair with just about anything - but I recently bought a pair of their new leather loafers in light gray during a 40% off promo, just to shake things up a bit. They’re a gorgeous color, incredibly comfortable and versatile.

• I badly needed new workout gear - especially while moving, I realized that my leggings have absolutely passed their prime, and I’m getting really sick of the “oversized white V-neck Hanes cotton T” approach. I got rid of legitimately everything in my workout drawers and replaced it with Old Navy’s leggings - high rise, 7/8-crop, and full crop. I’ve been a long-time devotee of Target’s basic C9 sports bras, so I bought a rainbow assortment of those, and also purchased a few new yoga tops at both Target and Old Navy. To cap it all off, I had a promo code for Nike and got myself an utterly obnoxious pair of Frees - they’re the most heinous shade of neon coral, they’re comfortable as sin and they make me incredibly happy every time I wear them.

• Old Navy in particular has been running insane promos lately - in addition to totally redoing my gym gear, I also bought a couple fresh pairs of pants (all I wear to work, I swear, is their ankle-length Pixie pants in a variety of colors, usually with a buttondown and sweater layered up top because I am oh-so-boring.).

• Another entire category of clothes I sorely needed a refresh on was underwear, ooh OOH. Victoria’s Secret did a promo for buy 2, get 1 free bras, and 5 for $25 underwear, and yours truly literally threw out all her old undergarments and did a full refresh. And THAT is all you need to know about that, you creepers. ;)

• I don’t know if I can call it cheap, but Anthropologie just did an Anthro Day 25% off weekend and I went NUTS. I really love longer pullover sweaters, and this one is the perfect combo of cozy and lightweight (I bought it in the emerald green, because I’m currently obsessed with that color). I also treated myself to a gorgeous silk top for Tuscany, because, really, why not?

Inventory: October 2018

Before I hop in, HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my Papa Bear!! Check out a quick little love letter to him from years past here…can’t wait to call him and serenade him (badly) with my froggy/phlegmy cold voice!

Making: time this weekend to write in earnest, per yesterday’s personal call to arms.

Cooking: soups and chicken in the Crockpot – hopping back on the meal prep train with a vengeance. 

Drinking: green tea with honey and lemon by the quart trying to kick/ameliorate this heinous cold.  

Reading: “Everyone Brave is Forgiven” by Chris Cleave, and it’s luminous. (I’m on a serious World War II fiction kick right now…why has all my reading lately felt so thematically driven?)

Wanting: more hours in the day, or fewer lines on my to-do list. Either’s fine with me.

Looking: forward to catching “Waitress” and maybe “Tosca” this weekend – I caught the performance bug again after Tuesday’s spontaneous trip to “Miss Saigon” with Dave!

Playing: catch-up on life in general after the frenetic September and October I’ve had so far.

Listening: lately, to a playlist I call “morning music” that’s heavy on Norah Jones, Lake Street Dive, The Lumineers, The National, Josh Ritter, Okkervil River, Bon Iver, and The Oh Hellos, among others.

Wishing: that I was a morning person.

Enjoying: NorCal’s temperate fall weather.

Waiting: for the chesterfield of my dreams to be delivered sometime this week – hurry up, Pottery Barn!

Liking: the quiet of a blissfully empty, cool, clean, unpacked and (mostly) settled apartment.

Wondering: why I perpetually put off the un-fun tasks – I have a bunch of random shit I planned to do yesterday, didn’t do, and that I now have to deal with on Monday…oops.

Hoping: that my “Dear Evan Hansen” novel (they made it into a novel!!) comes on time YAY Amazon same-day ordering!

Marveling: at Amazon same-day ordering, duh. How lucky we are to be alive right now.

Needing: to get my ass in gear and hang my gallery wall as soon as it’s socially acceptable to wield a hammer.   

Smelling: Target’s Pumpkin Bourbon candle – I’ve already burned through a whole big jar and we’re well into our second. It’s insanely scented olfactory crack and SO cheap and festive, pick one up!!

Wearing: hilariously oversized pajama pants, thick cozy socks, and my grandpa cardigan. Very sexy Saturday morning over here.

Following: #frenchiepuppy and #dogsonswings on Instagram – the happiest inundation of preciousness, several times a day.

Noticing: silver linings everywhere.

Knowing: that I need to stop having cheese and crackers for every meal…thank god we finally have pots, pans, and a Crockpot to break the endless cycle of Brie.

Thinking: about packing for Italy – less than a month, less than a month!!

Bookmarking: Christmas gift ideas – how is it already late October?

Giggling: at what an absolute idiot I am over certain things.

Feeling: better about a lot of the stress/angst/frustration I’ve dealt with lately.

Let's try this again...

A few weeks ago, I was talking to Dave about a whole variety of angsty, annoying, stressful things, when all of a sudden I interrupted myself mid-thought and said, “Also, I think my blog died. Or maybe I killed my blog. I might be done writing.”

His immediate reaction was an effusive, comical “NO! You can’t do that!,” which led us down a wandering rabbit hole of conversational tangents and sidetracks. As we pulled into our garage, his always-sage advice put a nice, neat period on the end of the conversation: “I think you should just try it again. Write a little bit, a few times, and see where it goes and how you’re doing, and just give it another chance.” As usual, Dave was a voice of reason in the shitstorm of my over-analytical, Type-A control freak mind…and so here goes.

In the weeks (months, really) that I’ve been away/checked out/off the blog grid, I:

• had a brutal year-end at work

• served jury duty (a disappointment of epic proportions, ugh)

• dealt with car issues

• took an off-the-record weekend trip

• moved

• threw several unwarranted tantrums

• lost 15 pounds (mostly due to stress/lack of regular eating)

• and now have my annual mid-October brutal head cold.

I’ve been kind of a nightmare to be around, frankly, and haven’t really been myself for awhile. The circumstances above have conspired to make me doubt a lot of things - why I’m here in California, what I’m doing with my life, how others treat me and what I deserve from them. I’m actively trying to live up to my oh-so-failed New Year’s intention for the year - “be open” - and realizing how hard that is for me.

Do I miss writing? Sometimes. A lot of the time, actually. I’ve been doing a lot of writing off the blog, mostly for me as I work through some of this self-analysis. But I miss the records I’ve created of the beautiful, positive, memorable things I do here. When I look back at the sparseness of the blog over the last year, it’s bittersweet - I know so many wonderful things have happened and I’ve done so much, but not seeing it here is both a testament to how full my life has been and an indictment of my own laziness and lack of effort. I’ve been writing here for five years now (as of last Sunday, actually!), and this has been my longest dry spell since the six weeks immediately following breaking up with Jon back in 2014, the infant days of Minneapoliz. So here we go - let’s call this a recommitment to, as Dave so aptly put it, “just trying it again.”

Thanks for sticking around, campers - more soon :)