Let's Talk About My Closet

This topic has been whirring around in the back of my brain for a while; so today we are going to tackle it.

I don't know about you; but my closet has been divided into two main sections since elementary school.  There was "school/work" clothes and "play/weekend" clothes. And it has continued in this pattern up until a few years ago.

A couple of years before the pandemic, our company went "casual."  Up until then I had always worked in a "business" environment; so when we switched, I was at a loss.  I couldn't wear my "business" attire because, I was told, it made me look like I wasn't a "team" player.  But clearly my "play" clothes weren't office appropriate, in my mind.

Now, according to some other co-workers clearly they were.  Enter leggings, sneakers, baseball caps and hoodies.  Not on my watch; or more accurately; not for me; not in the office

So I struggled along trying to figure out what I needed to be wearing - and not being very happy with my wardrobe.

And then the pandemic hit - and all of a sudden, the only thing I was wearing were my "play" clothes and still not feeling very happy about it.

I had way more fun in my closet when I knew the "rules" about dressing for corporate life.  I knew what was acceptable and appropriate and had fun putting together outfits.

But now?  I was in a gray area and didn't know the rules and wasn't having any fun with my clothes.

Then I stumbled across @stylethieffashion on Instagram. And she kept telling me/us to dress in a way that we wanted to; that made us happy.  To be the MOST dressed up woman in Target on any given Saturday if that's what we wanted.

And I slowly started to curate my closet to not be divided; but to be filled with things that I like and want to wear - be it school/work and/or play clothes any day of the week.

Which may be why most of you who follow me on Instagram must have been shocked when I posted a rare photo yesterday - truth be told, I won't even tell you how long it took me to figure out how to actually post a photo; with the hashtag #ilikemyoutfit.

I DO like this outfit - not my hair so much; for some reason it
is being obstinate in this photo

Erin started that hashtag with the caveat that you dress for you and you don't need to explain your choices.

That outfit is something that past me would have deemed far to dressy for play clothes but far too casual for work clothes.  But today me is asking WHY can't I wear that for both?  I can and I will.

And I am slowly beginning to have fun playing with the clothes in my closet again.  And I like it.

What about you?  Is your closet as divided as mine was? Do you have fun playing with your clothes?  Why not?

A Peek Around the Yard

Considering that today is COLD and rainy, it's a good thing I decided to tackle that one lone spot of juniper at the corner of the house yesterday while it was sunny, warm and perfect for playing in the dirt.  I had determined that it shall be gone before fall so that I can plant the tulip bulbs that I neglected to plant last year and transplant some languishing irises in it's place.  With maybe some beautiful phlox to brighten up that corner after the irises and tulips wane.

I'd been slowly chipping away at this corner for some time; a little bit here and there, but yesterday, I was able to rid the corner of the last of the juniper!

Yay!  One less patch of an eyesore/juniper.
Two more to go.

Evidence - or what made The Husband think upon returning home, "She said it had to go and here is the evidence that it is!"

And then I took a quick tour of the yard to see what was what.

The Knockout Roses were working their magic.

The pink irises were shining.  I imagine the yellow aren't too far behind.  Why the pink ones bloom first is beyond my comprehension, since I have seen them flourishing in other yards already, but in our yard they have to wait their turn apparently.

The hostas are spreading their leaves.

And the stargazer lilies are looking to be spectacular this year; look how tall already!

The hydrangeas have me perplexed.  The youngest already has blooms preparing to sprout while the older one does not.

Baby Hydrangea

Mature Hydrangea - minus the blooms it should have

My faves, the peonies, are chock full of buds ready to burst into beauty.  It's official; Peony Watch 2024 is ON!

Ssh - this one's my favorite!

Not as spectacular as the other but still pretty
outstanding in her own right.

I'm still pondering ripping out the daylilies and think I have finally decided to replace them with Encore Azaleas, to give me color throughout the entire summer season.

"Peanut Grigio"

 We held our Spring cul-de-sac party last night.  And, although, no moonshine mysteriously appeared on my kitchen counter this time; I heard a good time was had by all.

I say "heard" because I had to sit this one out because I had some kind of bug and didn't want to contaminate anyone.

The third one since January.  Considering I haven't been sick since December 2019, you can imagine this makes me a little salty...or more truthfully, a LOT salty - since people seem to think that it is perfectly okay to come to work sick on the "required" in office days (gives certain co-workers the side eye).  Hmmmph, have we learned nothing over the past few years?!  Some of us have apparently not.

When The Husband departed for said party, I told him he had ONE mission - to find out just who the Mominski's were (they popped up in the pre-party group texts and none of us knew who they were; so there was much speculation).

At any rate, at one point during the festivities, The Husband hauled himself up our very steep driveway to use the facilities.  Right around that time I wandered into the kitchen looking for the Nyquil and found him pouring some wine into a freshly washed peanut butter jar waiting to be recycled.

I looked at him and asked what he was doing. I mean, who WOULDN'T be curious at this sight?

Apparently, he'd forgotten his cup when he came up the driveway and needed a refill and didn't want to go back down to get it and come back up (I don't blame him - but I think I would have just found another cup/glass - I guess he gets points for ingenuity?).  I laughed and told him to enjoy his "peanut grigio" and the party.

We were still laughing about it this morning as he recounted the goings on from last night.  Oh, and it turns out the Mominski's are an across the cul-de-sac neighbor - we'd just never known their last name.  Seems like we learn a little more about each other at every party...whether one attends or not.