Chasing Summer

Posted in Fashion, Personal by Girl Friday

As you can see here, I’m not giving into fall pinings just yet! While I may or may not have bought some autumnal clothing recently, those daydreams of tights and booties just aren’t cutting it for the continual 90 degree weather in New England. That’s ok, I’m soaking up every ounce of the summer heat while I can!

I bought these fabulously bright jeans from a local shoppe recently. I was walking past to grab a coffee when I saw that they were on the $20 sale rack. I loved the color, so I figured I’d stop and look at the size at least. Well, they were (roughly) my size, so I thought, “hell, let me try them on then!” Tried them and they fit perfectly — minus the eight inches of additional leg length! But I eyed the original price tag: $128! No way could I pass up awesomely bright jeans that were marked down $108; even after getting them hemmed, I still saved $100 off the original tag!

Blouse: Old Navy (old)

Tank: Old Navy (old)

Pants: Yoga Jeans by Second Clothing at a local shoppe

Shoes: Toms

Like the jeans story, sometimes the world works in other ways exactly when need it.

On Friday night, B and I went to a gong bath, which is an alternative healing music therapy session. A gong master plays finely crafted gongs for a group of people with the intention that the music and resonance will penetrate your core and — essentially — shake away the bad stuff. We’ve done them a few times and, I’ll say, I always feel great afterward: I sleep deeply and peacefully; my body feels looser; I end up with a better outlook. They’re simply restorative sessions.

What really struck me was the narrative given by the two leaders afterward. One instructed the room that over the next few days, don’t be surprised if the world turns up messages for you in unexpected ways. And the other said, plainly, “You’re all adults: you’re responsible for yourselves, and that included your own happiness. Everyday you’re given the option to be the person you want to be — so do it.” And, well, that’s what the world told me in such large, varied ways.

B and I saw a stunning theatrical rendition of Jane Eyre Saturday night: a woman who goes against social norms and adversity, ultimately finding strength and confidence to be herself, as well finding herself on equal footing with her partner. As an almost-30-year-old, that story line rang pretty true.

Then I attended a long training session for the theatre on customer service skill development. In the crazy way the world works, the session touched upon (at least in how I read it): work/life balance; personal trigger warnings of stress and distress; honoring others’ dignities; reading and communicating with stressed/distressed people effectively; and visualizing your own personal and professional success. Phew!

Finally, I received an email about a meditation seminar happening in October: a two day event for those who have little or no experience with meditation on how to start a practice and use it effectively. I signed up within a day of seeing it!

I know that I complained about some really hard days lately, but I guess the larger universe heard that and answered pretty significantly. I can’t say every problem has been answered, but I’m certainly learning to come at a lot of those dilemmas from a different angle instead.

16Aug2015

Balancing Act

Posted in Fashion by Girl Friday

Dress: Old Navy

Cardigan: Loft

Belt: Target

Shoes: TOMS

Earrings: Old Navy

I was rereading some old posts and noticed how often I mention that my work days are hard or tough or trying in some way. There are few people in the world who can say that their occupations are stressless, worry-free, ideal. While I’m not one obviously, I also don’t want to imply that my professional life is somehow abysmal: in my full-time gig, I’m lucky to work in my favorite little city, learning its ins and outs, and talking to people everyday about it; in my side job, I engage with people at a theatre — a place where they are actively partaking in hours of social make-believe. Considering I’m not-yet-30, I would say those are pretty sweet deals.

That said, here’s the rehearsed line: “yesterday was a hard day.” We had a huge work event in the high heat of August. There were unclear expectations, a lot of problems to resolve on the spot, and some unkind actions. I came home — hot, sticky, tired, achy — took a bath, drank a glass of wine and cried. It was one of the hardest work days I’ve ever experienced.

As I’m about to turn 30, I’ve been thinking of the changes my life should take. (In some weird, macabre way, when I was a child, I never thought I would live to 20, let alone 30, imagining I would die young, tragically, romantically. Too much Poe and Shakespeare for me, I suppose.) I’ve considered the professional, the financial, the familial, the physical; yesterday’s event, though, veered me to the hardest needs and wants, goals and dreams to consider — the emotional, the personal, the intellectual. “What type of person do I want to be?” “What lessons have gone unlearned thusfar?” “How will I be remembered when I’m gone?”

I have an unhealthy work-life balance, as in, there is no balance. I work a lot — for ten months a year, I average 50-60 hour work weeks — and I let everything else slide. Friendships have withered, my exercise routine is null, and I’m left tired and dull feeling so often. That’s not who I want to be, nor is that how I want others to think or remember me, the workhorse with no life. Yesterday truly made me think: is this it? Is this all I have to hold on to — this beat, extinguished feeling? I reflected back to this window when I was 25 when life was perfect: I worked a full-time and a part-time job; ran several times a week; took poetry writing classes; organized a high school reunion with old friends; and courted B by walking around the city. There was hope and happy exhaustion. And that’s want I want again.

While this is mainly a fashion blog, over the next few months, I’me endeavoring to share my “30th birthday resolutions:” the aspirations I’m hoping to incorporate as I close one chapter to open another.

13Aug2015

Vampin’ It

Posted in Fashion by Girl Friday

You know when you’ve hit that point when you’re so tired and so stressed that it comes out in fits of giggles? Yeah, that’s this week. (I’d much rather have that than an explosion of anger or tears!)

Today was (yet-another) a long haul day: running around in prepping for an event Saturday, a private group tour of the museum, and then manning the museum for an after hours thing that takes place outside the building. This dress, though, is my go-to for such days. I slip it on like a jacket, zip it up, DONE. And it looks classy. It’s so easy to wear, I was — literally –showing a coworker how to do downward dog in it. (I made sure to put my butt toward the wall because, despite being magically wonderful, this dress is still too short for yoga. You pick your battles when dress shopping.)

I upped the ante with some vampy red lipstick. While not autumn just yet, I couldn’t resist the nod in its direction. I’m trying so desperately to savor the last bits of summer, but I can’t help looking to the fall: tweed jackets, scarves, boots, and all.

I felt very 1940’s starlet with the lipstick and “fancy dress” (as a volunteer called it) that I tried to channel that in some of these photos. That obviously devolved quickly into goofiness, including the quintessential “lemon face”/”lion face.” B, who is still recuperating from surgery last week, laughed at the inanity of this mini-shoot. While there are some photos here, I declined posting those in which I: shook my butt dancing; nearly fell over; made overly animated face and hand gestures while on a phone call. You don’t need to see that, I promise.

Considering I’m still a day away from this big event, I’m really curious about how the punchiness will manifest in the near future!

Dress: H&M

Shoes: TOMS

Necklace: LOFT

Watch: Fossil

24Jul2015

Freaky Friday

Posted in Personal by Girl Friday

It’s noontime and I already feel ready to go back to bed. I’ve got a case of freaky Fridays: that last day of work and stress before some time off on the weekend, and yet…

I tried straightening my hair this morning. And, if you’ve ever seen a photo of my hair, you know it’s kind of a crazy, wavy mess. It has a mind of its own. I don’t know why I thought today was a good day to tame it. I failed, not badly, but enough. Then I got so angry that I threw my hairbrush on the bathroom floor hard enough to break it.

(In the irony that it my life, a little girl told me she really liked my hair as I walked into the grocery story this morning. I wish she had been with me a hour earlier when I was sitting on the edge of the tub, crying from frustration.)

B and I also danced around a reoccurring hard conversation this morning. While private, I will say that it’s difficult to always feel like the bad guy.

And when I (finally) came into work, my close colleague all but said that I wasn’t around this morning when she really, really needed support and she felt let down — which was also exactly when I was home crying about my hair and dwelling on couple stuff.

I find myself on the brink of tearing up this week.

“It’s hard being a human.” I heard that come up from an actor once, when talking about their role as the police officer in William Eno’s Middletown. (It’s a beautiful, modern take on Thornton Wilder’s Our Town.) It’s easy as an outsider to make a judgement on someone when you see them in a less-than-glorious moment in their life; you may not understand, though, that that’s simply someone’s really bad day. We all have them, those freaky Fridays. You hate being in the midst of them, but forget, when you’re in the clear, that the wave has hit someone else instead.

The last time I wore this dress, I felt light and happy.

Today, I pulled it off a pile of clothes in the bedroom. It passed the sniff-test. I think that’s as good I’ll get today while waiting for the dark cloud to pass.

22Jul2015

Hot Hot Hot!

Posted in Fashion by Girl Friday

The heat wave we’ve been experiencing in New England over the past week has finally broken! It was a steamy few days during which I was trying to don the lightest clothing I owned and taking frequent cool showers. (On Monday, I decided it was necessary to wear a bathing suit while lounging on the couch in my library. B came home from work to find me asleep and sprawled with A Member of the Wedding resting on my bare belly. The joys of living with someone: you get to see all the nitty-gritty!)

Now that it’s a bit cooler — and that I am tanner than normal — I decided to pull out this new Donna Morgan dress. I originally saw it on the Stitch Fix blog back in the spring and wanted it badly. I loved the shape of it, as well as the unique pattern of the fabric. Plus, the color is gorgeous! But, in Stitch Fix fashion, I didn’t have a Fix lined up in time and, while I get pieces I love in the end, I rarely get those that I see and am desperate to own.

In a late night online browsing session in the spring, I stumbled across this piece on Modcloth. The price was too high (I think $129?) so I put the idea to rest. When I was on more recently, I searched in again and saw that it was on final sale for $64! And they had my size! I scooped it up in a heartbeat!

As mentioned earlier, I love the vibrancy of the color (“hot pepper” according to the tag) and the patterned fabric. The fit is just right too. This time around, I paired the dress with my go-to TOMS ikat flats. I have an after hours work event to host, plus an arts festival in the city after that to attend, so I knew running around necessitated comfort.

Dress: Donna Morgan via Modcloth

Belt: H&M

Shoes: TOMS

I’ve been trying lately to really balance work stuff with fun stuff. I’m often guilty of cutting myself from my own life and dedicating inordinate amounts of time to whatever I do. It may make me a “valuable employee” to my bosses, but it leads to burn out pretty quickly. (Definitely a lesson I’m trying to impart upon my work intern or any younger readers here!)

When I found out that my little city was hosting a week-long arts festival, I knew I had to participate, even if it meant a lot of late nights. There’s something about taking that break to breathe, recoup, and connect with people on an emotional or intellectual level that sounds instantly appealing. Don’t get me wrong — I love talking history or theatre non-stop, but sometimes, I just want to sit back and be someone else’s guest.