Soooooo......

I'm not sure what to say. I feel like if I actually take the time to write about how I'm doing it's going to read as the manifesto of a depressed person that it is, but I guess I can say that I'm still here. I have not acclimated to this new normal. It makes me sad, lonely, and the onset of holidays I can't celebrate is just another reason why most things suck. I don't know if I want to keep my wardrobe or donate half of it, though donating it feels like giving in to the idea that I'll never be in a position to enjoy that type of life again which, WOOF, is rough.

I don't know friends. I just don't know.

So as has been established at this point, I live alone. Living alone during a global pandemic that necessitates you not being around people you don't live with has been... not fun. While the numbers across the US are rising rapidly because of a lack of any true leadership and a complete disinterest in actually managing anything from the current administration, there are a few rays of sunshine. First, I bought a car.

(Did I want to buy a car? Not really, but here we are.)

Getting the car (and a COVID test) has allowed me to create a little bubble of friends that I could see safely, which has done wonders for my sanity, and explore a little wider afield than I would usually. Here I'm sharing a few pics from Butler's Orchard, where large outdoor fields and timed tickets meant that people could go out fruit picking in their masks but not feel overwhelmed. And hey - new dress. Which, I just checked, is like 75% off and made with sustainably sourced cotton.

I think, *think*, it might be safe to say that DC is transitioning to Spring. You can never completely tell, but I get the feeling the next couple blog posts are going to be the end of straight hair for a while. Once my scalp starts sweating it's a no go, lol.

Also, is anyone else doing a wardrobe culling? I'm trying not to be too hard on the winter stuff that didn't get worn because the season just wasn't that cold this year, but looking forward to Spring/Summer I feel the need for less even if I'm not sure how that will exactly look. Take today's outfit. Before pulling it together I would have said it was time for this turtleneck to go. It's a super slim fit and kind of sheer, neither of which really appeal to me. But like this? It was the perfect non-black/white neutral, balanced both of the corduroy pieces, and really made the whole thing complete. I know I shouldn't keep a piece just because of one outfit, but did remind me of the efficacy of sometimes boring pieces, even if there are a couple things that aren't ideal.

I feel similar about undershirts - I know, objectively, I have too many t-shirts. BUT, now that I'm wearing thinner knits more often, these shirts function perfectly as a sweat barrier, and having more of them on hand means I'm not doing laundry as often. Which for a person who doesn't have a washer/dryer in unit, really speaks to me. It's a bit of a conflict in my closet right now, a desire for less while also making sure that the pieces I love are around longer to be worn when I want to. Combined with a deep hatred for laundry.

CONUNDRUMS ABOUND.

1) When the weather is determined to flip flop between Winter and Spring it's best just to go with it and hope that your allergies forgive you later.

2) Sometimes you get through an entire set of photos before you get home and realize that your spiffy camera decided that the parked car behind you was *actually* the reason for each shot and focused accordingly. So no bother squinting, except for that last shot all of these really are just that bit soft focus. FML.

In solidarity with what feels like 90% of the internet, brown and brown tones have definitely taken the spotlight in my new purchases. I'm not sure how much neutral as a whole is taking over my wardrobe, but I do really like the look of mixing them together, so looks like today's brown and black make my heart happy.

Also funnily enough this combines two different pieces of Nordstrom Blogger collaborations - the sweater is from Chriselle Lim's collection, and the cami underneath from Blair's Halogen collection. I'd wear one without the other, but I have to admit that together it's become one of my favorite looks.

So many things happened behind the scenes of these photos:

1) I had to buy a new camera cause of environmentally induced damaging (f*cking wind) and while I made sure that the Sony Alpha a6000 had an app to remote trigger the photo, it didn't occur to me to check how long I'd have to pose. Every camera I've ever owned has had a 10 sec self-timer, but guess what? With the Sony? 2 SECONDS. Also, it's much harder to see before you trigger the timer what the camera is focused on so... fun times.

2) This is iteration two of this outfit, mostly due to the fact that I took a bunch of photos in outfit one, hated myself, went back home and tried again because I bought this sweater for myself last year as a birthday gift, and I am determined to figure out how to style it on my frame.