Challenge Update: Week 7

The week of a subtle shift in mindset

Buy nothing/Don’t Covet

So things started off swimmingly when I arrived at a rehearsal and immediately fell in love with a pair of pale aqua with tangerine stripe Adidas worn by someone in the room. I mean, like, if I hadn’t been wearing a mask, drool would have swamped the room. They were gorgeous. The very definition of Color is Happiness. However, at no point did I think to myself I must have those. This ability to love someone’s shoes without wanting them for myself is a brand spanking new thing for me…

How I knew it was new was that, although I made the usual “I just love your shoes!” comment, later, I was able, when I got caught being lost in my thoughts about something else, to make a joke about being distracted by the shoes. Does this make any sense? Like, my jealousy and desire weren’t so visceral that I couldn’t make a joke about it.

That being said, I am still drooling over thoughts of those shoes.

The only money exchanged for an item of clothing this week was when I picked up my El Naturalista boots from Rumpelstiltskin after their run-in with my dancing skills. All is well.

Inventory

I know I did a whole little post on this earlier this week, but the camera on my new iPad Pro is amazing. I find that there is satisfaction to be found in setting up a couple quick photos of the daily outfit or an individual piece of clothing, and saving it to my journaling app. The beautiful photos make me feel like I’m looking at a magazine (if I can ignore the annoying mug of the model who shows up in every darn photo. Whatever. She works for cheap.)

What’s more, it’s a magazine in which I can afford every single item because the are already in my closet!!! It is an artsy-fartsy way of teaching myself contentment

As for the inventory, I indeed added the chartreuse petticoat to the Pantheon of Legends. It’s still a beauty, although it is now a little muddy.

Go-To Catalogue

Note to self: Chartreuse petticoat and brown velvet jacket together make an altogether fairytale-worthy ensemble.

Immediately after my Peter Pan fiasco, I rectified the situation with my navy hearts and red jeans, so I can say that I added two Go-Tos this week!

Mise en Place/Plan Ahead

Most important lesson learned about this: do not neglect to consider what shoes you are going to wear with an outfit as you put it together the night before.

Repair and Mend, Alter When Necessary

Scalawag 1’s new gloves came apart at a seam. While I was tempted to use the thread immediately on hand (either kelly green or hot pink) to fix it, I did make myself go to my sewing box and find black thread to do the mend. He didn’t even notice.

Round-Up

I felt a ground shift this week in subtle ways. I hope that it is permanent and will find me more deeply content with what I own.

I find that the fact of having not bought anything new in more than seven weeks brings a satisfaction of its own, but also heightens the importance of each individual item in my closet. Viewing each item as a little work of art makes me feel rich and spoiled. That’s a really fun way to feel about things which you already own!