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Drunk on Bliss…What a Weekend!

31 Sunday Mar 2013

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KMYep, there’s no other way to say it.  This past weekend goes into my Top Ten of All Time…so far!

Starting with INCREDIBLY fabulous weather!  When it’s pushing 70 degrees F (21 C) in late March, we celebrate here in Seattle!  Not a cloud in the sky, Easter the way we dream it to be…in springtime clothes, not in polar fleece and rain gear!  I’ve said it before but it’s worth repeating…we TRULY appreciate great weather here.  Everyone’s moods shoot through the roof and there’s a kind of ding-y and sensuous vibe in the air.  Smiles everywhere…people are waving and friendly…there’s just ZERO reason to be in a bad mood on days like these!

I wrapped up week two at the new job last week.  While I’m used to the ‘first day of school’ mentality given I work shorter-term engagements, it’s always nice getting the first few weeks out of the way to get my bearings and really start feeling productive.  The honeymoon phase is morphing into the oh shit/frustration phase (very typical for my job ramp ups), where suddenly it CLANGS loud in my head that I’ve got deadlines but I’m not fully up to speed on where or how to get ’em done.  I tend to be my own worst critic on not ‘getting it’ on Take One, so it’s a relief getting good feedback that I’m a quick learner in the eyes of others.

This weekend was blissfully full of time with family.  My cousin, her husband and their three kids spent their entire spring break here ‘out west,’ having flown in from Wisconsin.  They packed in time with relatives, skiing, sightseeing and topped it off with dinner at my folks’ house Friday night.  I was grinning ear to ear and walking on air the entire day at work, constantly looking at my watch! 

J and I spent Saturday afternoon and evening out enjoying the sunshine!  We planned on getting Pho at one of his favorite spots, but they were closed all weekend for some reason.  So what to do for Plan B?

Something infinitely more spontaneous and fun:  we hopped on the Edmonds to Kingston ferry as walk-on passengers.  What a GLORIOUS day to be out on the water…not a cloud in the sky and all the mountains were out clear as a bell, still thick with snow.  We grabbed burgers and beer at the Main Street Ale House (YUM) and later strolled around the marina, drooling over boats. [the pic above is of the marina…I shamelessly found it online; it’s not a pic from yesterday but you can get the idea.  And that’s Mt. Rainier in the background.] I am falling in love with this way to just do a quick getaway to a quaint town for a few hours…the ferry crossing is only 30 minutes each way so it’s super easy and convenient.  And once you arrive in Kingston there’s so much within walking distance and gorgeous scenery everywhere.

And today, Easter Sunday meant brunch at my grandmother’s retirement home on First Hill, just east of downtown Seattle.  Their food service is truly excellent, and they had 4 different stations set up serving everything from made-to-order omelets, carved leg of lamb with mint jelly and fingerling potatoes, salads, fruits, bagels, lox, blintzes…and of course lots of desserts.  WOW!  I’m stuffed. After brunch my folks and one of my brothers and I spent some time chatting with her in her apartment.  Grandma never ceases to amaze me with the new stories she shares, rather than repeating the same ones over and over.  She grew up in a very rural town in eastern Washington, the youngest of three daughters, and her father was the town doctor.  He visited patients in their homes either by car (which was rare for people to have a car in those days – this was the late teens/early 1920s) or by horse when the weather was bad.  She remembers as a little girl coming with her Dad to the nearest major hospital – 50 miles away – when a patient needed surgery…and how there were a ton of nurses going in and out of a particular patient’s room in the hospital once they arrived.  What was going on?  It was a nun giving birth!

Happy Easter, everyone!!

(Funny) Roadtrip Packing Anxiety

08 Sunday Jul 2012

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I say “funny” because I just have to laugh at myself when something as relatively easy as packing for a long weekend out-of-town becomes overwhelming.  THAT’S a sign that you really DO need a vacation!

This year was a little weird, as the 4th of July holiday itself was on a Wednesday.  Lots of people took the entire week off from work.  I opted to work Monday and Tuesday as I did have some catching up to do, plus I knew I had more time away coming up later in July.  The plan was to work Tuesday and then immediately hit the road out to the Washington coast, where a bunch of relatives were gathering to celebrate the 4th of July, plus the 100th birthday of one of the family cabins out on the peninsula!  You can read all about it in yesterday’s post here.

On Sunday I was mentally making a list of what I should bring to the beach.  I found the small suitcase I wanted to use…and for some reason I just got overwhelmed.  What’s the big deal about packing a bag for a super casual 5-day getaway?

Then I went through said empty travel bag.  In one of the side pockets I found a crumpled magazine from July 2011.  And yep, I gulped.  Oh. My. God.  I have not gone anywhere out-of-town since 4th of July LAST year!!  How is this possible?  How sad is this?  What the hell have I been doing this past year…I haven’t just been sitting around, have I?  No, no…I’ve been head down in this job which I started in mid July last year.  Wow, it’s time for a break alright!  Damn.

On Monday night I started playing around with various piles of clothes to pack.  Why was I getting all freaked out about what to bring?  The coast is super casual…nothing like those episodes of Real Housewives where you see everyone in designer clothes in the Hamptons (The New York cast) or with tons of makeup and sequin bikinis (that would be New Jersey, hands down).  Cracks me up, by the way…and I’m a sucker for all episodes, all franchises.  I have a near-full DVR to prove it!

Thankfully I had a hockey game Monday night.  The perfect distraction plus some great exercise to blow off this silly packing anxiety and skate.  Hockey always tends to come up exactly when I need it!  And luckily this game was at the rink just a few minutes from my house.  I got back home, finished packing and then packed the last-minute stuff the next morning.

I am certainly no travel or packing expert any longer.  This post is more to document what worked for me, traveling to a beautiful area of the country with unpredictable weather, even in the summer. 

Shoes: 1 pair running shoes and 3 pairs sandals or flip-flops.  I brought a pair with a low wedge heel for driving (they’re also good for short walks…this is important as I have high arches), a pair that I didn’t mind getting all sandy after walking around on the beach, and a ‘clean’ pair for just hanging around the house which can also serve the purpose of slippers in the morning.  I LOVE walking in the sand on the beach, but when I’m done I want to rinse off my feet and have zero sand residue anywhere.

Underwear:  I always pack one pair for each day I’m away, plus one extra pair just in case.  If you plan on working out on your vacation, be sure to bring extra undergarments for that, a good sports bra, etc.  Socks…not really needed at the beach except for working out, so bring your favorite sport socks.

Sleepwear:  I sleep nude at home year ’round (TMI, sorry), so I do have to make a conscious effort to pack something to sleep in – it just feels weird sleeping nude in a house full of family members.  And I need to pack something to wear to breakfast that is decent and covered up.  Old tank tops with no bra is just not a good idea.  So I packed some old knit cropped pj pants and a snug t-shirt to sleep in.  For breakfast I changed into a bra, a different not-so-snug t-shirt and threw on my clean flip flops.

Tops:  t-shirts and more t-shirts!  In a super casual beach town that’s all you need…and a couple of tank tops.  I usually pack one for each day and will wear the one I wore first on my last day for the drive home.

Pants/shorts:  jeans, shorts…anything goes.  I typically pack one pair of shorts when I know the weather isn’t going to be so great (which is most of the year).  I’m a little self-conscious of my neon-white legs, so when it’s time to run around in the tide pools or in the surf I wear old cargo pants and just roll up the legs.  Be sure to bring stuff that you don’t mind getting wet or sandy!  You might also want a pair of lounging type sweats, yoga pants or leggings, different from the ones you bring for exercise.  They are great for relaxing, reading and napping.

Outerwear:  I bring a half-zip polar fleece and a windbreaker.  Even if it’s warm and sunny out, it can be very windy and cool on the beach.  And it cools off dramatically after sunset.  I also bring a baseball hat; be sure to pack a visor or other cap as it helps with sun protection and keeping your hair somewhat in place.

Sunglasses:  If you’re like me and are super sensitive to glare, you will wear these on cloudy days as much as sunny days.  A definite must!  For a short trip, one pair is fine.  Bring a pair for working out if you need to…either way be sure you’re OK with whatever you’re bringing getting a little salty air and mist on it.

Bathing suit:  long gone are the days I used to run out into the freezing waves as a teen and body surfed.  Brrr!  So I skipped bringing a bathing suit as I’m fine wading in the ocean with rolled up jeans.  And I don’t sunbathe.

Cosmetics and Toiletries:  I am a sucker for makeup and for trying all sorts of shampoos, conditioners and hair styling products.  So while I could likely go overboard in this department, I try to keep it simple for packing and find travel sizes wherever I can.  And I use the two adorable cases in this post’s picture!  (by Tory Burch and Burberry).  Here’s what I packed:

  • Sunscreen (ESSENTIAL!!).  I have neon-white skin (OK maybe porcelain or alabaster is a nicer way to put it) that does not tan, so I have a few things to say about sunscreen.  WEAR IT.  Wear it on cloudy days too.  I am simply in love with Neutrogena’s Ultra Sheer sunscreen.  I can wear it on my face as well as on my body and I don’t break out.  And once it’s on I don’t feel covered in goo. 
  • Bug repellent:  you might wonder why this is necessary at the ocean…mosquitoes like fresh water, not salt water!  Well, our home and property is about a quarter-mile from the ocean, and there is a creek running through the property in a woodsy area.  So, perfect for mosquitoes.  Bug repellant is just as important to me as sunscreen, as when I get bit the bites turn into welts.  Not pretty.  I choose a clear spray by Off that doesn’t stink TOO much.  But I joke that my signature fragrance at the coast is DEET.  I apply sunscreen and then spray the bug repellant on top.  Make sure to do the back of your neck and a light misting around your head too.  Amazingly, I only got ONE mosquito bite on my left hip in 5 days…they bit me right through my pants!
  • Hair care:  Another sensitive topic for me as my hair is wavy and heavily highlighted.  I usually smooth it out with a flat iron every morning, but I don’t like being a slave to that when I’m at the coast.  But I don’t want wild, frizzy hair either.  I recently discovered Renpure’s Brazilian Keratin flat iron spray and it’s a BIG thumbs up!  Woo hoo for great drugstore products…you don’t always need to spend a lot to get great stuff!  On days I wanted to skip the blow dryer (which was most days) I towel-dried my hair, sprayed on the flat iron spray, combed it through and let my hair dry naturally.  It was wavy, but in a controlled way with no frizz!  I usually like to use a finishing product to keep my ends weighed down, but I don’t like packing things that are too messy or gooey.  So I found a trial size of Jonathan’s Dirt deep in a bathroom drawer and threw it in my bag.  But I found it wasn’t that necessary after combing the straightening spray through first.
  • Skin care:  For efficiency’s sake I just use the same cleanser that I use on my body as a facial cleanser when I travel.  I swear by St. Ives apricot scrub – I use it very lightly in my t-zone as I am still prone to breakouts even at age 45 (ugh).  Then, Neutrogena rainbath shower gel, original formula.  I do spend a lot on cosmetics and hair care, but it’s nice having some drugstore staples that have worked great nearly half my life.  At night after cleansing my face I use a little eye cream on my crows feet and on the crinkles in my forehead.  Right now I’m really enjoying Ole Henriksen’s African red tea serum.
  • Makeup:  I truly wish I was one of those types with natural beauty, where you just throw your hair in a pony tail or loose bun, dab on a little lip balm and look stunning.  I’m a little sensitive to my ruddy cheeks and tendency for under eye circles, so given that I usually pack a light foundation, loose powder and kabuki brush, concealer, mascara and lip balm.  I dab the foundation on the reddest part of my cheeks and blend thoroughly.  Then I dab foundation on my eyelids and dust with the kabuki brush and put on a little mascara, upper lashes only.  It seems to work and doesn’t have a heavy made-up look.

Other essentials:  Deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, nail clipper, tweezers, prescription meds and/or vitamins, pain reliever…and ladies, feminine products.

Relaxing:  bring a couple of books (or your portable reading device if you have one) and some magazines.

Portable electronics:  your music player of choice (LOVE my iPod!), cell phone, Bluetooth headset for driving…and don’t forget your chargers! 

What I left at home?  Sounds like I brought the whole world with me but there were quite a few things I chose to leave at home:

  • Jewelry (other than the watch and what I wore to work before driving out)
  • Eyeshadow
  • Blush
  • Laptop (stayed in my trunk)
  • Hiking boots
  • Camera (I am an amateur/sporadic photog at best, so I just used my phone to take pictures)
  • Perfume

Cabin Fever Week

22 Sunday Jan 2012

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How quickly things changed in 24 hours.  I came home from work last Friday (the 13th, which was a good day save for saying good bye to a co-worker who is relocating overseas), relaxed at home and slept in gloriously late into Saturday.  Know that feeling when you wake up and it just ‘feels’ different?  In my bleary just-out-of-bed attempt to wake up I couldn’t quite figure out what it was…other than it was super quiet outside.  No dull drone of street noise.

Aha!  It SNOWED!  Where did I miss this on the TV weather forecasts?  I suppose I should not have been too shocked – it is January, after all. I don’t even know where to start with this one.  Other than Snow + Seattle area is a very bad combination.  For getting around, that is.  Otherwise, it’s gorgeous.  Exhibit A – the view off my back deck. 

We got around 6 inches or so in my area – by the time it was done the faint line markings from the deck in that picture were completely covered over.  After hearing news reports and reading countless local-area Facebook posts we had anywhere from around 3 inches to over a foot depending on where you were.

The power stayed on here and my furnace is working.  Everything else after that truly is all gravy.  Check out my Cold Where It’s Supposed to be Cold post from (*gulp* wow time flies) November 2010.  Two furnace repairs and a crapped out fridge just a couple months prior to that made it an expensive end of that year…after just starting to get some decent income again following a long unemployed streak.  So anyway, here we are in 2012 and I relished my warm townhouse, hot showers and the beautiful snow falling outside.

After a couple of days it got old.  Driving in the snow in the Seattle area is a hot topic for sure.  In general, it’s not a good idea.  Seriously…a few inches of snow will literally bring us to our knees.  We’re hilly.  We don’t have a ton of snow removal equipment.  We’re not like other parts of the country who deal with this routinely and life goes on.  Around here, it just doesn’t.  Hell, when a UPS truck gets stuck in your driveway, you know it’s bad.

What is it about snow?  It brings a huge Hush Hug over everything in its embrace.  I stay in my jammies all day and take naps.  At noon. 

But soon it was time to get back to work.  Thankfully this team is all about playing it safe and not trying to be heroes getting into the office.  We can all work remotely, although in the type of work we do it’s not ideal for long periods of time as I learned.

There was one small problem.  The power cord for my work laptop was still in my office!  I never bring it home because I never work from home.  It still reminds me too much of when I was unemployed, and frankly I’d rather get out of the house and be around people during the day.  In my last work assignment my work laptop was the same brand as my home one, so it was easy to just swap out the power cords between the two if I ever did work from home on rare occasion.  Not this time, however.

On Monday I was able to squeak by with doing email either from my phone or through my home laptop.  But I didn’t have full access to the internal resources I depend on to get work done.  And I attempted a few times to get the work laptop connected with my home cable modem, but the modem is new and I was unfamiliar with the steps to switch connectivity (I don’t use a router).  And I watched the battery power indicator slowly sink southward as I chatted with our corporate Helpdesk and all to troubleshoot.  No luck. 

So I knew Tuesday I needed to get into work somehow to get that power cord.  They were predicting heavy snow Tuesday into Wednesday.  Turns out the main roads were pretty clear.  It’s the side streets, sidewalks and driveways that are the problem. 

I got into work just fine and was pleasantly surprised to see my officemate there already.  Ahhh, human interaction!  We had both planned to stay for a few hours, but then got a phone call from her husband around lunch time that it was really starting to snow hard and we better get home. I’m so glad he called, because our office does not have a window and it was snowing much harder up near where my officemate and I live compared to work.

When you’re stuck at home snowbound, the cabin fever grips tight.  The novelty wears off quickly.  So to fight it off, I vowed to get out of the house at least once a day for a walk.  And it really helps – and is pretty good exercise too stomping through heavy, wet snow.

Thankfully by Friday the snow turned to rain and everything turned into a big slushfest.  Relief was coming!  Freedom! 

And what a great way to blast back into the routine of life with a wonderful Saturday.  My friend L ventured out this way to the suburbs (I joke that he’s mentally allergic to them but that’s another story).  With iPad in hand, he and I walked through the townhouse here and talked about tons of ideas to update my place.  I know my place needs work, and I know I need to keep an open mind.  We jumped around all over the place with ideas and chitchat.  And we agreed on a general plan to start work upstairs here where the bedrooms are and then slowly work our way downstairs.  

Oh boy.  That means my 3rd bedroom – the Room of Crap – is in the hotseat first.  And that’s actually a great idea as it is very underutilized space save for a large bookcase and random stuff on the floor that needs to get boxed up into storage or thrown out.  And I get to think about paint colors too, for it’s still Insane Asylum White like the rest of this place was when I first bought it.  Oh, the possibilities!  L wants to convert it to my home office and have the home office where I am now become a guest bedroom, as this room is larger and can hold a queen-sized bed. Interesting idea!

Later I headed out (Out! After not driving for 5 days!) to meet friends for our annual Chinese New Year dinner at China Clipper in Woodinville.  They have wonderful, pretty close to authentic Northern Chinese cuisine.  We had a blast at dinner and then headed over to J’s house for board games and laughter.  Know when you laugh so hard that tears stream down your face? 

Fantastic.

The DVR and the Labradorite

04 Sunday Sep 2011

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I’m in one of those moods where I am feeling both a little anxious and yet blissfully, almost gluttonously relaxed. Here we are on a long Labor Day weekend and it is absolutely beyond gorgeous outside.  It’s sunny and the air is thick and hot with hardly any breeze.  Not a humid thick, though.  It’s that warm, gentle reminder that Fall is right around the corner.  And even in the heat the shadows are a tad long as we’re well past the Solstice. So I don’t dare bitch at all about the heat.  After all, this summer was a total bust save for maybe one week in August.  In the Pacific Northwest we appreciate and savor our sunny days, for we know the clouds and drizzle are just a few months away.  We pay a price for it being so green here.

I grasp hard at August, kicking and screaming as she wraps up.  There’s something about those last few days before September kicks in that make me feel a little whiney and cranky.  I don’t WANT it to be September!  Maybe it’s that deeply ingrained childhood memory of the end of summer vacation.  Yuck, I didn’t WANT to go back to school.  But of course once I did it was great…mostly.

So it’s a staycation holiday weekend for me…no worries there. Just getting totally random things done and also, just relaxing.  I decided to get into the 21st century even more for real and switched my landline over to my Comcast internet and cable package.  I found out I could bundle my phone service in with my cable and internet and pay less than I was paying for my current Comcast services (huh? wow) AND save the $55 a month I was paying for my old school landline.  AND keep my same landline number.  AND get a DVR for my TV.  What’s not to love about this?  I weighed the pros and cons…when the power’s out or when Comcast is down I’ll be screwed but then again, how often does that happen?  I have a super old school curly cord phone in my bedroom with the ringer turned off – I have it for emergencies and have two other cordless phones here in the townhouse.  When we had a two-week power outage back in late 2006 that old school landline saved me.  Cell phone towers were knocked out and we were pretty much brought to our knees, crippled with minimal if any communication.  I’ve been reluctant to cut the cord on my landline because of that, but then remember that that was a freak once-in-a-lifetime storm.  

So yesterday two Comcast dudes show up and within an hour, voila. I have a new, higher speed modem for my internet (which now hosts my landline phones too) AND a DVR for my TV.  Don’t laugh…I still haven’t converted to a flat screen TV yet.  I will. My old curly cord phone is now as useful as last week’s newspaper so away she goes.

They explained how the initial upload and refresh of the TV channels can take awhile which seemed reasonable to me.  They showed me how to set up my voicemail for my new landline service – all good.  I was very impressed with how helpful they both were.  And they even showed up a little earlier than my appointment timeframe.  Nice!

Guess it was too good to be true.  I waited a little while before playing around with the TV.  When I did, my remote was pretty much useless.  Did the batteries die?  Nope.  I could adjust the TV volume and mute the sound with it, but could not change channels nor get to the channel lineup guide.  Stuck!  God, help me…my TV’s stuck on the E! channel and just my luck it’s a Keeping up with the Kardashians marathon.  I can only stomach that scripted reality TV crap (krap?) for a few minutes at a time.  

So Comcast rebooted my TV and cable box remotely.  All’s well…or was.  Within an hour it froze up again…and Comcast had to reboot it remotely for the second time.  After that everything was fine for the rest of the evening.  As I was heading to bed I realized I’d forgotten to try the DVR out but I figured I would do that today.

I woke up this morning and decided to play around with the TV more before heading out to meet my good friend J for brunch.  UGH.  This time the TV turned on just fine…and then 5 minutes later the cable box rebooted…on its own.  It’s possessed or something.  HELP!

Comcast is sending out a crew to swap out my cable box this afternoon.  I was pleasantly shocked that they could do a same-day service, especially here on a Sunday, but I’ll take it.  It’s the least they can do to make this right.  

And yet, it’s just TV.  Sure I want it working right as it should, but I’m not going to get overly upset about it.  Now if it was Stanley Cup Finals or something that would be a different story.  Just trying to keep perspective…

…meaning it was a tough week these past few days.  My Dad’s cousin J passed away suddenly from a heart attack.  The next day my co-worker L’s Dad passed away after a long battle with Parkinson’s and dementia.  And the day after that my friend T was hit on her morning commute into work…her car got rear-ended on the freeway by someone who wasn’t paying attention and she’s still feeling the after effects, though thankfully not severely injured.

I was talking about this with J this morning over lots of coffee and a nice bacon and cheese omelette.  Yum, I may not even need dinner I’m so full.  She agrees, yes, it’s all about perspective.  Sometimes it’s hard to find that discipline within. I guess it’s ongoing Life Work.

We walked around the shops near where we had brunch…wonderful little boutiquey specialty stores full of everything from art to home accessories (my weakness) and crafts like rubber stamping and beading.  No patience here for either of those but it’s fun to look.

And we ended up in a fantastic shop we both love to visit.  It has tons of candles and aromatherapy things (oils, humidifiers)…and lots of stones and crystals.  I LOVE the chunk of Celestite I purchased there nearly a couple of years ago – it’s right next to me here by the good ol’ laptop.

Once again, something pretty much leaped off the shelf into my arms.  Labradorite.  The picture in my post here is of a polished sphere…my chunk is, well, wonderfully imperfect…half of it is polished and the other is rough.  Deliciously asymmetrical and hunky.  I love the greens and greys.  I asked the woman in the store to tell me a little about it. “It’s a magic stone,” she explained.  She pulled out a huge, well-worn book and turned to the page.  “Helps one remain calm within chaos.”  Ahhhh, sounds good to me.  Here’s more .

So my new Labradorite holds a tea light or votive too.  Love it.  And the woman who works there is so nice…she is very gentle, knowlegeable and grandmotherly and reminds me a little of a therapist I used to see about 10 years ago.

I’m not yet sure where to put this new beauty, but I think I’ll keep it near the TV and DVR for now.

After all, it couldn’t hurt.           

Not Sweating in the Sweater

24 Sunday Jul 2011

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I’ll let you in on a little secret.  I’ve started this funny tradition of sorts the past 3 years.  Mid July just isn’t mid July without the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale!  Yes, angels sing as I open my mailbox and find the catalogue waiting, packed with new goodies on sale for the fall/winter season!

THIS is my favorite time of year to shop.  Lots of you may know I love to invest in fall/winter clothing, shoes, boots, scarves, etc.  Around here the summer season is so short it’s just not worth it to go all out with expensive shorts, tops, sundresses, etc.  OK, I DO plunk down some cashola on sandals and flip flops…oh and nice sunglasses too. A girl’s gotta accessorize.  But for summer clothing, put me in J. Crew clearance and I’m happy.

So what’s my tradition?  No, it’s not taking the day off from work and waiting for the store to open that fabulous Friday morning at 7am.  Not this night owl! I pour over the catalogue and mark my favorites. Then I stay up late the night before, and when the clock strikes midnight, I go online and place my order!  Then I fall blissfully into bed…and get back to work the next day.

About a week later, the hot UPS man shows up with my order!  How awesome is this?  No crowds or long lines in the stores.  If you know your sizes in your favorite designers, shopping online is a great alternative.

I’m really happy with my choices this year:  black high heeled Via Spiga ankle boots (I pretty much live in black shoes and boots 3 seasons of the year) and black patent leather high heeled loafers (by Me Too, a brand I had not heard before of but these fit very nicely, whew).  High heeled loafers are very on trend this season. And I smile and remember when they also were about 15ish years ago…I had surgery on my right foot back in 1995 and I remember treating myself to a pair as a reward to myself for getting through the surgery, crutches and physical therapy.  Excruciating.  But I will never take walking without pain for granted ever again.  Thank you, Dr. S!!

I also purchased a wonderful, light knit wool wrap in a deep magenta with some charcoal grey on the trim.  Delicious!  And I found a fair isle sweater in grey and black (do we see a pattern here), cut in a loose, boxy style with a wide neckline.  Kind of an edgy take on a classic.  I like this.  Fair Isle is very pretty, but it is too preppy bordering on frumpy in a more traditional sweater style on me.

Another part of this ritual is the funny feeling of trying on new winter clothes when it’s blasting hot weather.  Oooh the feel of comfy wool or cashmere…so contradictory slipping it on when it’s 90 degrees out…I forget for a second what it feels like after all these months!

Well, except for this year.

Our weather this spring and summer has been terrible.  Much more cold and rainy than usual.  Even last Sunday I went for a walk with my neighbor, A and her dog.  It POURED rain.  Rain like cold February rain.  In freakin’ mid July.  UGH!  There was some news story going around about how we’ve only had about 80 minutes of above 80 degree temperatures this year.  Meanwhile the rest of the country is gripped in a heat wave.

I zipped home from work last week knowing my Nordstrom delivery would be waiting on my front doorstep!  Bliss!  The boots and shoes both fit great, and the wrap is gorgeous!  Next I darted upstairs to try on the sweater…very soft and comfortable.

And that night I pretty much needed to keep it on.  Brrr. Nope, no sweating!

Do we have hope for a hot, late summer?  Hello, August??