If you're my friend IRL then I probably sound like a broken record, but I really do love Girlfriend Collective. They're my favorite sports bras across the board, and these track pants 100% live up to the rest of what I've tried from the brand. Throw in the fact that items are made using recycled plastic and the sizes range from XXS to 6X (which is reflected in their marketing) and [chef's kiss].

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.

So as you can probably guess, I've been sitting on these photos for a while. A last minute post-brunch decision, from before the world went to hell. And then as things got worse - and worse - and somehow worse again, it became really hard for me to imagine a time when I'd be back to regularly posting. Which is not what this is (I'm sorry, think you'll have to find someone else for your at home/quarantine content), but I decided I wanted to remember this day, and this friend, and the lovely weather and brunch we had at Unconventional Diner.

The end.

It's funny how at this point I almost fee like writing a "fit post" for The Frankie Shop. Every time I'm in NY I like to swing by and try on some of their wares, because despite the "one size" label that so many of their pieces have, they can end up fitting pretty perfectly. This green corduroy shirt fulfills a few different wants I had, in a way that's much more versatile than a blazer (which is the other corduroy piece I was toying around with buying).

I'm still working on creating a wardrobe I'm 100% happy with, but I feel like maybe I'm coming around more and more to The Anna Edit's version of a capsule - not a particular number, but a determination to only have pieces that I love, and moving out-of-season items to a different spot in my closet (and not because I don't have space, but because it's distracting to have them cluttering things up).

I realize that I just did all that ranting about how I didn't feel happy with my closet, but shockingly, I think purging it so aggressively has helped. I feel like it wasn't totally dissimilar from one of Style Bee's 10x10s, because now what I'm looking at are only the items that I like, and when I pair them in new ways, there are less options to get distracted/dissatisfied by. Case in point, I went to NY for my birthday weekend and brought one pair of jeans. One pair that I felt totally happy with the entire time (except for that moment right before the bus ride back when I realized how bloated I felt hahaha).

Maybe there does come a point for people (some people) where all the extra stuff cluttering up your closet is more of a detriment than a help. I even took some of the summer/spring stuff out to store in a suitcase, and that's by someone who isn't limited by closet space - I just didn't want to see it anymore.

I don't know friends, we'll see how things continue, but I am starting to feel a bit better, which since 2018 has been a huge dumpster fire, is a relief.

I don't know how to explain apple picking in 90 degree weather and sunflowers so....I'm just going to let these pictures speak for themselves, lol. Also, as beautiful as Larriland Farm was, how dare you have a market with no apple-centric baked goods! BLASPHEMY I say.