January was a bit blah of a month weather-wise, with tons of fog, rain, and very few days of sun. It also felt long, punctuated by family illnesses at the beginning of the month, seemingly endless tasks and to-dos, and just low energy all around. Various shades of grey are below.
It wasn’t my goal but I kind of fell into “refresh” mode in January. I gave up on the January challenge from the Apartment Therapy after they asked me to create a vision board. Instead, I started buying. I refreshed my tops, under clothing and bras, bathrobe, bed sheets and duvets, and bought new curtains for our hallway window. I also decluttered. Fair warning: this post is mainly about what I bought so if that’s not your thing, then skip it. I don’t enjoy spending money but this time it felt kind of good. What is happening to me??
Wardrobe refresh: tops. I am okay in the bottoms department since I refreshed that back in September after school started. But tops needed some work. My two sweaters where pilling so it was time to let them go. I also saw that while I have three Ce-Ce blouses, they are all short-sleeve. I don’t have many long-sleeve shirts that are not plaid shirts or very casual shirts. After reading up on Paris fashion I became a bit self-conscious in regards to not looking entirely like a tourist. The Internets suggested bringing subdued colors, wearing a belt and a scarf, and using sensible shoes but not necessarily sneakers. Also, no leggings or yoga pants.
I had a gift card to Nordstrom, my clothing store of choice, and I went on a bit of a binge with seven tops. Some light, some on a heavier side, but all are good for layering. I will not be bringing them all to Paris but I am happy to add more variety to my wardrobe. Interestingly, all tops have some kind of a unique feature that attracted me to purchasing them: interesting collars, buttons, or a pattern.
House refresh: bed linens. On a cold night, my husband took out a huge and very warm duvet that we have and only use on very cold nights. I honestly don’t like sleeping under it, because, night sweats. Regardless, I saw that the duvet cover was old and pilling: time for it to go. A quick search on Macy’s website showed two duvet cover and pillow sets in grayish-blue so I purchased them. Then I moved onto bed sheets. Ours were not old per se but we had them for a while, so I decluttered those.
Lastly, inspired by Diane (Hey Diane 🙂 and how she wants to order window treatments, I looked at our hallway window and said “those 2007 curtains have to go.” So, new curtains from Macy’s for one window. T caught the refresh bug and ordered new pots and pans. Ours were from 2012, a wedding present from one of our friends. Why stop now? Amazon: new dish rags for kitchen since ours were quite ratty.
Looking back… In January I was seeking comfort in everything but, especially, food. I made warm, hearty dishes and over-shopped on groceries. The complete opposite of what normal people do: restrict calories and budgets.
Mom of Children 