Valentine’s Day comes but once a year. While a lot of people bemoan the holiday, I must admit I love a world that gets dipped in pink and glitter for a day. I’ve always considered it a day to celebrate love. Romantic love usually gets all of the credit, but just as important is love for family, friends, pets, careers, and – most importantly – yourself.
This past weekend, Mr. Dressedapp and I celebrated Valentine’s Day. While this holiday usually involves us getting dressed to the nines and hitting the town, we obviously had to modify our tradition and had a chill night in with fondue and champagne (no one here is complaining!). In other news related to Woman Plans, Universe Laughs, I had also hoped to unveil my latest Valentine’s Day themed circle skirt this week in honor of the Big Event…but we’ve been rained out for weeks which doesn’t show signs of stopping.
It must be said, I absolutely love separates. I love the flexibility in knowing they can be styled a million different ways, just waiting for inspiration to strike. So there’s a special kind of joy reserved for finding a matching vintage set that can be worn together, or divided up to simply increase your wardrobe arsenal…
Every year, I put together a holiday wishlist to help my family navigate the treacherous waters that is Christmas shopping. I like to put a range of items on there, based on things that have caught my eye over the last few weeks. Inevitably, there is an item or two that I try to sprinkle a little extra fairy dust upon, perhaps to telepathically communicate just how enamored I am with it. Enter this most perfect blouse designed by Alex Vinash.
Remember back in college when you would hear a band come on the radio, and in true wannabe-hipster fashion you would toss your hair and say haughtily, “Yeah…I was totally into them before they ever became mainstream…” Like there was some sort of badge of honor in appreciating a band before social proof? Well, I swear you guys…I totally started this skirt before The Queens Gambit was ever a thing!
I remember watching Grease as a kid. I was always a huge fan of musicals (what can I say? People bursting into song really does it for me) and the poodle skirts had me at hello. As your quintessential “girl next door,” you might imagine I would dream of one day snagging the role of Sandy. But, I never liked the way she changed herself for a guy. Even at 15, I had the wherewithal to know that spandex and a boyfriend didn’t happiness make…
One of my most vivid childhood memories is of autumn. My grandmother had this massive maple tree in her backyard and every fall we would bundle into the car to her house to help her rake the leaves. I remember there were so many that I could stand almost knee deep in what had fallen to the ground. We would spend the afternoon raking them into even greater piles, jumping into the crisp signs of autumn with abandon. I remember moving them one pile at a time over the fence into the wooded area behind her yard.
There is no time that you miss the city quite like during a global pandemic. It started small: a twinge, a mild craving for the bright lights. It grew to invading my thoughts, with taxi cabs and bustling streets dancing before my eyes. And, much like when you tell yourself not to think of pink elephants, suddenly Pepto-Bismol tinted pachyderms are the only things stampeding through your brain: I need me some bright lights, big city!
In a chat with some of my best friends, I’ve come to realize we have all hit (or are very close to hitting) a breaking point in recent months. The reserves that we had a few months ago to power through what we hoped would be temporary circumstances have been depleted, leaving us all with a sense of helplessness and a stress that just won’t quit. The only possible response to this seems to be to find ways to escape – even for a few minutes a day – or to use the dreaded F-word on repeat (and the F-word…
You know how sometimes there’s a certain phrase or tv show or new app that you’ve never heard of before, and then all of the sudden 5 people tell you about it in one day? Well, I had been navigating my life and circle-skirt-making-mania very pleasantly, until one day I heard about the Cricut. Suddenly, without warning, came the deluge of readers and followers asking me if I had one and the hours upon hours of hand cutting I would save. And with a few simple clicks, I fell down the rabbit hole…