The racist attitudes around this virus situation are absolutely disgusting. That's all I'm going to say.
2020 resolution - shopping my own bag and wallet collection. Any one else?
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First of all, you look spectacular and your baby is adorable!!!
Re: shopping. This time has pushed me even further into focusing on experiences vs. stuff. I don’t miss wearing my things. I miss going places and sharing times - activities / moments with people I care about. I would happily give up any purse I have to be on a two week vacation with my family or a girls weekend with my BFF’s. So, my dollars are going to follow that path even more so than before.
To that point, Mr. S and I had significantly downsized our house given no kids at home. The thinking was we travel so much we don’t need a big home base. Yeah, well. That isn’t working. So, we just talked over the last few days and decided we’ll upsize (?) in the next year or two when things settle but before prices go back up. Having all the spaces we want at home are also part of that “experience” lane to me.
But, bags & clothes and what nots? Definitely not on my radar for a while. The minute this is over (presuming my stupid little foot allows) I intend to reverse quarantine and never be home. LOL!
If I could grow donuts, I would become a professional farmer and grow bigger than Santa Claus!!! I’d rotate my crop with sugar cookies! :rofl;
I think we always want what we don’t have.I’m slim but an adamant hourglass and can’t wear the Audrey Hepburn-esque sheaths, cute pencil pants, etc. that I find to be super adorable and chic. But, I’m not strapping down my boobs / butt / thighs to make it happen.
(My very best BFF is shaped like a ruler with runway legs for days and she looks killer in those outfits!!!!!) I just embrace what I’ve got (years post pregnancy, years of dancing and every other cuckoo body occurrence) and admire others in the clothing I’m not built to fit.
I just refuse to be uncomfortable. Too many years in polyester Catholic school uniforms, too many teenage and college dances in cute torture shoes, too many crying sessions trying to fit my thighs into skinny / stiff designer jeans and even the horror of hard contact lenses before tech allowed for lens implants.
And, I remember my mom and grandmas in long line bras with the staves and boning and other stuff. Oh, and, the girdles with multiple panels and the hooks for hosiery.Those garments absolutely did a better job than today’s. There was no movement and the bodies were truly shaped and contained. Kind of like the corsetry that has survived. Anyone can dramatically reduce their effective waist size in those.
All that being said, I’m glad it serves a happy purpose for you.Clothing isn’t just functional. It’s for play and we should enjoy it in whatever way that works for us. People think my various permutations of dresses and heels are uncomfortable and they’re just the opposite. Lol!
Your mentioning the hard contact lenses brought back painful memories... it took me so long to persuade my parents to let me have them and get rid of my glasses and after only a few days I declared defeat. No way I could ever endure these things on my eyes!
Re playing with clothes- this is absolutely what I do. Visual storytelling- I guess that´s why I love Galliano so much.
Today my story is trashy at home with a sewing project to do. All black leggins, t-shirt but heels for feeling good. I´d add a leopard coat for fun, but no chance to do any sewing in this... and there I am back and playing!
One of my former students got his mother to send me a huge box of Meyer lemons from their home in southern California. So wonderful! Lemons make everything better and those are so special.
Did I read that for MadMen they custom made underwear for the ladies in 60s styles and methods?
This is an amazing post that I need more time to digest and respond to!
Haha, i love Maybelline SuperStay! It´s the only product that really lasts for me, too and I use it very often without any bad effects for my lips so far. The only other product that really lasts is Max Factor Lipfinity which does not have the extreme plastic coating feeling. Unfortunately they do not seem to make my favourite shade at the moment.
Thank you so much for sharing your perspective. You are so incredibly brave to be eager to see the world despite the health issues you face. And, I envy what seems to be your irrepressible optimistic outlook.I don't know if I've posted in this thread before (?), but I read here everyday. I love the community and clear friendship that everyone has, and honestly, I feel like an interloper poking my head in to post now.
I'm handling this differently from most others I know. I just ordered a handmade bag off of Etsy that I've been eyeing up for a while. Part of this pandemic crisis for me has been the need to focus on life after this, in whatever form it takes. Normalcy is missing and I don't want to drown in that feeling, so buying myself a small bag now with the clear intention of using it when we are out of lockdown gives me something to look forward to.
I am editing my collection as it has grown too large for me, so I've been donating what does not work and am planning to curate a completely streamlined collection gradually over the course of a few years; essentially I'm starting my bag collection over so that I end up with 10-16 bags (and absolutely no more than that) that are each special and functional, and will serve me for at least a decade. This new purchase will be one of the ones in the final collection and it will be the *only piece I buy for myself this year.
*Edit: I bought 2 pre-loved beauties ($25 each I think) in January, and this custom bag will be my last purchase of the year, and the only piece from my new list of my 'ideal collection'.
My frame of reference is different to most people's. I've always had to move around a lot for work- by choice as an adult because I want to live everywhere and learn everything, but also as a child because my mother is a humanitarian doctor who serves in various war torn and third world territories, so we moved a lot with her. Being very unstable, always in changing circumstances, and ever acutely aware of the frailty of being human is ingrained in me. I don't feel uneasy with this situation because it is my 'normal'.
I've also never had the fortune of perfect health, and have lived a chunk of my life in 'lockdown' anyway (blood disease that often puts me in quarantine for a couple of months at a time). I've fought for my life repeatedly (an accident + my existing conditions made me critical for 4 years), and I've been struggling to get steady employment for over a year now, with no regular income and no back up plan. Having no financial security, being on the other side of the world from my family, and being categorized as immuno-compromised is my frame of reference for my whole life.
The pandemic has put the rest of the world in my wheel house.
Seriously though, life is short and tomorrow is not promised to anyone, so I've learned to live in the moment and enjoy little indulgences along the way. This pandemic is no different.
I am not frivolous or careless and I realize the seriousness of this situation. But I'm also adaptable and know that nothing beyond my personal efforts (washing hands, sanitizing goods, self-isolating) is within my control. So I do what I need to in order to stay as safe as I can, then I focus on the immediate next step and not beyond that. If I can have a pretty bag for that next step, great. If I die tomorrow, then someone will find it and hopefully enjoy it as much as I did.
This is wonderful “food for through”. Hope to see you posting around here much more.
I think the economies worldwide are going to talk for a while. Very scary.
Racism any time any day is disgusting. Still have no idea how it survives. Some people need a good brain disinfecting.
I wonder if they still even have hard contacts. They were soooooo painful. I never fully got used to them and would struggle to look people straight on because they didn’t hurt as much if I looked down. The fact that I used to be painfully shy didn’t help matters.
I love the idea of a leopard coat. I have a leopard trench that I never wear and just realized I don’t know why.
aha! I’ve found a category I can streamline. I’m cutting back on and listing “extra” coats today!
I also have wide feet so I feel your pain. It’s sad how many pairs I’ve bought over the years that aren’t actually comfortable on my feet. I don’t do that anymore.
Good try, lol.Wait… so… years ago, when I used to wear that stupid contraption called a "panty girdle" (yeah, I know, it was a LONG time ago) was it making my butt smaller? And then when I stopped wearing it, that's when my butt grew???
Lol on the Maybelline! I used to use MAC but use is a stretch because I probably only put them on my lips a few times. I hope to use the H ones more, so I need to pick up some of the nude options! The cases are the best
Lemons DO make everything better! I love warm water with lemon first thing in the morning.
@essiedub I may have missed this post but it's so beautifully written. If I didn't feel a strong NEED to be here for my daughter, I hope that I'd feel the same way. Although I do still think I have a lot I'd like to accomplish in life! I'm glad that you're at peace in a big way. It's beautiful and I aspire for that. With my pursuit of material things, I do feel that I don't have that yet. I would need to be at peace with everything (what I have, don't have, what I've accomplished and haven't, who I'm close with and who I'm not, etc.) in order to feel comfortable with whatever will happen. It's wonderful to read that you feel that way.
Such thoughtful and thought-provoking posts this morning. Our minds and hearts must be opening up to the new reality. When I look at all the quiet, unpolluted cities and animals returning to unexpected places I just think - we screwed up the earth and maybe the earth is showing us how unnecessary we are. I am enjoying the quiet in the morning and afternoon on my back porch, where I used to hear lots of distant (and not so distant) rumbling of cars and trucks (and I live in the suburbs). I hope we can retain some of this peace and purity.
Thank you all! Some things you have shared that resonated with me: reassessing our needs and wants (and experiences over stuff) yet needing small indulgences to feel "normal," thinking about the future but focusing on the next immediate step and not the whole enchilada right now, feeling exhausted and mentally terrified, wanting less but better stuff, feeling burnt out and recognizing (and dealing with) my lack of control.
Thank you all! Some things you have shared that resonated with me: reassessing our needs and wants (and experiences over stuff) yet needing small indulgences to feel "normal," thinking about the future but focusing on the next immediate step and not the whole enchilada right now, feeling exhausted and mentally terrified, wanting less but better stuff, feeling burnt out and recognizing (and dealing with) my lack of control.
I may have to do this too… for Mr. PG, and also for myself. If I had a one-length hairstyle, I wouldn't be worried. But I've got short slightly wavy hair, which I can't imagine doing. And I've never cut a man's hair. Maybe I should wait until our hair grows out, and do a bowl-cut? With an actual bowl?????
