SoLow cropped foldover leggings | size medium
CP Shades Carine top (same as the plaid top here) | mine is older, sold out, but here’s a white linen version, and a striped version at Revolve
Vince Blair haircalf sneakers | mine are from last year, the new version is “Berlin” – I’m not sure if the sizing is the same, although I’m guessing it is…size down 1/2 size
Alexander Wang Rockie with matte black hardware
Margot Wolf necklace
Since I’m getting worse and worse at having a “this week” or “last week” post up I thought perhaps I’d combine them with an outfit on Mondays. This gives me a good chance to get all of my random-ness out before the rest of the week!
Last week was sort of a blur, honestly; I felt all over the place most of the time. I spent the weekend learning and thinking about what is REALLY important to me, and how to get it. I’m not sure I’ve come to an ultimate conclusion, but I’m further along than I was. And I feel a little more focused this morning.
I have also decided to quit coffee for at least a month and see if that helps with the ups and downs a little bit. This is a VERY BIG DEAL for me, because I am a coffee fanatic. I relish my ritual in the mornings of boiling the water, grinding the beans and pressing down the plunger of my french press, all for the beautiful, dark, oily, thick cup(s) of coffee.
I know I’m addicted, and can’t do without coffee or else I’ll get a raging headache. But I’ve justified my 32-oz of coffee-a-day habit by saying that I don’t drink it after nine AM, I don’t need it the rest of the day to keep alert, and that it helps migraines & athsma. But lately I’ve noticed, especially on the weekends, that I get VERY tired immediately after drinking my coffee. And as I said, last week, I was so moody and really down in the afternoons.
I sort of chalk that up to being a little confused and conflicted about the direction of my life right now, but it is undeniable that caffeine has an affect on my body, and it may be time to try giving it up for a while. I did it before, but replaced coffee with green tea, but this time, I’m not going to replace it with other sources of caffeine; I’m going to try going without altogether.
I love coffee, and it scares me to think about not having it (as I sit here finishing off the press), but it scares me more that I might actually feel SO MUCH BETTER if I didn’t drink coffee and I wouldn’t try it because of my ritual and addiction. And that I love it, can’t I have JUST ONE VICE???
So, as soon as I use up the last of my beans I’m quitting. I know it’s going to suck, and be really hard for a few days, but hopefully it will be worth it, and I’ll be more “even” all day. I’m going to give it a full month, and be realistic about what happens to my body and mood. If I feel OMG SO MUCH BETTER, then I’ll stay off caffeine for good. If not, maybe I’ll bring it back in smaller amounts every once in a while. Or not.
This is actually a very big deal, now that I think more about it. Coffee is a huge part of who I am, or who I think I am; how I define myself. On Saturday mornings I sit down with my pot of coffee and my kindle and read until I can’t read anymore. During the week I sit with my coffee and browse the new arrivals at Shopbop.
But maybe it’s really NOT who I am. Can I be defined by my love/addiction to coffee? Not defined, but it’s something I enjoy very much. Obviously, I can draw a parallel here with my love of shopping, which is also something I think “defines” me and that I enjoy very much.
What I realize is that those are not the things that define me, they are just how my best qualities have manifested themselves. Who I am is made up of my love for reading, learning, teaching, helping, talking & sharing; all of which show up in my love of shopping & coffee. Now, I simply must take coffee and excessive shopping out of the equation, and still be ME.
I’ve done that with excessive shopping/buying (I think. So far.), so I can do it with coffee.
Here goes.
Happy Monday!!!
Have you given up coffee? or anything else you’re addicted to?
I love coffee too, everything about it but I am heading for decaf land as part of my plan to help with my menopausal symptoms. Good luck to us!
Grechen, good luck! I can relate to this post. I’m also a coffee fanatic, and have given it up before. It never lasts long, but at least I drink decaf now. When I lived in Seattle and Oregon, the caffeine scene was too tempting. I love going to cozy cafes, reading good books, and sipping my beloved breves. Even though the chocolate and fat are deadly for dieting. Basically, I justify my coffee drinking by saying “I don’t ‘do’ drugs or drink.” Am I just delusional? Oy!
Wow–going cold turkey will be brutal. Would it be gentler to yourself to wean yourself away gradually–or do you already know this is the best way to change your habits? I used to drink an entire 12 cup pot per day when I was a student, so I can empathize.
Someone rather recently wrote a book about how to change habits effectively–I can’t for the life of me remember who, but it might be worth a TED search. . .
I gave up coffee about a year ago. I heard that drinking coffee increases estrogen levels (which cause a whole host of problems) and I knew I needed to make the change. It was hard because I loved my mornings relaxing with a warm cup in my hand. So I went with white tea instead (never had been a tea drinker). It’s caffeine levels are so small and supposedly has all those antioxidants in it. You know what? It’s been a great switch! I feel better now and am not anxious anymore. I didn’t realize how much coffee caused me social anxiety until I stopped drinking it. I wish you the best on quitting! If you decide you miss the warm drink, you might want to consider white tea (less caffeine than green) ????.
I don’t drink, smoke or do drugs, so coffee is all I have, man. I couldn’t give it up. God speed, friend. God speed.
PS – I love that shirt. Great length.
Ashley´s last blog post ..So Much for Transitioning Slowly into Fall | Black Over the Knee Boots
my gut tells me that if i taper down, i might not be able to let go at all, and just continue to stick with a small amount…in general, i’m better at going cold turkey…
but we’ll see how it goes 🙂
haha! i know. that was my rationale. although i do enjoy drinking wine or a vodka tonic every once in a while. very little, really.
yes! that is what I love, holding a warm cup in my hands…so it can be filled with whatever, right? doesn’t have to be coffee…
i hadn’t heard about it increasing estrogen levels, but yes, too much estrogen is not ideal – another good reason for me to quit 🙂
I only have maybe 2 – 3 cups of coffee a day (weekdays) and really forget about it on weekends. I have quit coffee and after the headache & extreme exhaustion pass .. I do feel quite good. However, I enjoy the smell and taste so I’ll take a sip of my husband’s coffee .. then I’m pouring myself a cup .. lol.
Monica,
that’s what i’m worried about…the smell! so good. but i guess you can get that same smell from decaf. and we have a nespresso machine so i can just do a decaf espresso for myself, which will hopefully do the trick.
thanks! you’re not delusional…i think we all need SOMETHING that’s a little indulgent. if coffee is it, then that’s better than some things, of course. i guess i just want to see HOW much of a difference going without makes to how i feel over time. then i’ll be able to better judge. i’ve never given myself enough of a chance to really tell before, only quitting for a week or so at a time…
yes! good luck to us 🙂
Good luck, Grechen! I’ve not cut coffee out entirely, but I’m definitely drinking less. And only in the morning.
I have a non-caffeine question for you: I just happened upon a James Perse hooded fleece jacket (at Marshall’s, of all places) and noticed that it says “dry clean only.” Do you have luck machine washing your cotton/spandex JP items, on gentle? (I’m sure you’ve addressed this somewhere, but I can’t find the post right now!). Having to dry clean or not will certainly determine whether or not I keep it.
Thanks!
Zoey
i machine wash, in cold, on gentle almost everything, even if it says dry clean. EXCEPT jackets. i had a hooded wrap-around fleece JP jacket that i machine washed, and it held up very nicely, but i can’t remember if it said dry clean, or machine wash on it. the fleece now is very different than the fleece on my old jacket/skirt though, much thicker and softer, so i’m not sure i’d recommend washing it.
i just bought the new hooded fleece jacket from james perse actually…and it’s dry-clean only. i’ll do it with dryel in my dryer at home. i need to get to a marshall’s or TJ maxx STAT and try and find this jacket you guys are getting (I think jen got the same one from TJ maxx?) though!
what concerns me about not dry-cleaning some items is that the spinning, etc., can really effect the shape of the item, which is really important for jackets.
Brave choice, Grechen.
I have gone without coffee a few times, usually as a part of a whole cleanse so that it gives the loss a kind of structure and purpose. I get so excited to have my special coffee in the morning, to hold the warm cup in my hand, to smell the bittersweet darkness. I even have a favorite cup, and sometimes I get quiz my husband about my favorite household items so that in the case of a rushed evacuation, he remembers to grab my cup…LOL. I feel the same joy about a glass of wine in the evenings. I didn’t drink coffee or wine until I was 30, and now I feel like my life is so beverage focussed. I don’t envy you the thudding brain fog you will experience for the first couple days. Budget lots of time for naps. It will be worth it in the end to have another habit loosen its grip. During my cleanse, I always come to enjoy my morning ritual of fresh squeezed lemon in hot water. It is not the kind of thing I would sip while reading the morning news, but I will sit outside on our balcony and take in the morning. I have been putting off doing this cleanse all summer long. Arg. Maybe I should do it…my body needs it.
Make sure you let us know how it goes.
TWINS! i have a favorite mug too, it’s chipped and everything. and i save it for saturday. during the week i use smaller mugs so i have to get up more often lol
i used to drink water with lemon but stopped. i did it for a long time, it was just habit. but i couldn’t tell that it was doing anything for me. not that you’re supposed to tell, i guess, but i stopped buying giant bags of lemons at costco and ran out of lemons so i quit. …but i’ll start up again now that you reminded me 😉
Ack. I do understand your frustration with moodiness and fatigue. Since you’ve been working out hard almost daily for months now, you’ve already done what you can in that area to offset those symptoms.
I’m not sure quitting caffeine cold turkey is the way to go, though. If your caffeine dependence is as strong as you describe, and migraines are the result of caffeine withdrawal, won’t you reconsider at least substituting black or green tea? As I recall, black tea has only a third the caffeine of an 8 oz cup of coffee.
If, on the other hand, you can schedule a few days without responsibilities or even go on vacation, maybe a caffeine free trial run would be a safe way to test your hypothesis. Or maybe you could cut back consumption by 50%?
This post reminds me of when you decided you had way too many clothes. You took that project on thoughtfully, in phases. Perhaps a similar approach to caffeine addiction is called for.
Good luck Gretchen! I totally understand how you feel about your cup of coffee in the morning and coffee is the first thing I do in the morning after I brush my teeth and wash my face. I also was not liking the up and then down feeling, so I finally switched to half decaf and feel much better. Maybe eventually, I will get to full decaf.
Best wishes for a successful caffeine withdrawal process! I wish I could offer some sort of sage advice, but I am powerless against my drug of choice, Dr. Pepper. In fact, I found Kathy Harris,another of my favorite bloggers/authors through her post “How To Stop Drinking Dr. Pepper in Five Days.” You might enjoy reading it, since you are likely to go through some of the same stages: http://www.kathylynnharris.com/how-to-stop-drinking-dr-pepper-in-five-days/ As you can tell from the comments on her site, several of us are struggling with that issue and have been for a while now. I look forward to hearing whether complete abstinence or moderation works better for you; after trying both, I’m now back to the point of defensively whining “can’t I just have one vice???” With the thoughtful, rational approach you’ve used with your wardrobe, you may do better than you expect – good luck!
Hey Grechen,
First of all, lovely blog I would say! <3
I used to love coffee too but then ditched it for a better health. Good luck for your progress!
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You can do it! I’ve quit coffee twice. I think the first time was in my early 20s to see if it would help relieve painful cramps. It was fine until week 2 when I suddenly realized that there was a constant refrain of, “coffee, coffee, coffee, I want coffee,” running through my brain behind all the other thoughts. Which made me admit it was an addiction. But a fairly harmless one, so I went back to it. The second time I quit in conjunction with a cleanse diet. I had one miserable day with a headache, and that was it. I felt great afterwards and never experienced the same kind of craving as the first time. I stayed off coffee for a year after that, and eventually went back to a cup or two each morning. My recommendation is to drink lots of water and eat really healthy for a few days when you go cold turkey. I think it’ll help. Good luck!
i can’t take a vacation now, although that would be nice!! great idea 🙂
i might try cutting back for a few days until i can go without. generally, i have better luck with just cutting things cold turkey though – food/drink anyway – or at least telling myself i will go without for x number of days. but this is bigger than anything else i’ve given up. sugar is hard too, but not like caffeine!!
good luck to you too, switching to full decaf 🙂
we have a nespresso machine with some decaf espresso pods, so i might try one regular then one decaf in the mornings and see if that helps me come down without so much withdrawal…
that is hilarious!! not being native texan, i don’t really get the DP addiction, but i definitely appreciate it. my husband loves his diet DP and NO ONE has it – out anyway. you have a double whammy there with the sugar AND caffeine – probably tougher to quit!! i never developed a taste for soda; we weren’t allowed to drink it growing up, and then i never really did when i could. coffee on the other hand. i love it thick and black 😉 um. that sounds dirty, but it’s really not LOL
thank you lancy!
thank you 🙂
that’s what i’m sure will happen…while i’m quitting, all i’ll be thinking is “COFFEE! Where’s my coffee??” – which is the same when i went off sugar, etc., but your body is pretty quick to adapt usually. thank goodness!!
If the JP hooded jacket you have is more of a French terry like mine is, versus a true sweatshirt “fleece,” I washed mine in in the machine in cold water without any issues. Still, like everything else I own these days, I’m trying to do more spot cleaning and ironing instead of full washing to keep the wear down on garments.
is this the jacket that you guys found? i went to tj maxx yesterday specifically to see if i could find it and this was the only one i found. if this is it, i really inspected it, and i think i would wash it in the machine if i bought it…it’s nearly identical in material to the wrap jacket i had, and that one i machine washed with no problem. i probably wouldn’t dry it…
Yes–that is my jacket. It also looks pretty much identical to this one on the Nordstrom site:
http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/james-perse-hooded-fleece-jacket/3786797?origin=category-personalizedsort&contextualcategoryid=0&fashionColor=Black&resultback=2491&cm_sp=personalizedsort-_-browseresults-_-1_7_D
yes. it was a nice jacket! it’s definitely different than the “new” JP fleece though, same as the twisted seam skirt that just got on ebay, and different from all the previous season’s fleece. it’s heavier, and softer, i guess more like a super-soft thick sweatshirt fleece. i’m not sure i’ll machine wash mine, but the one you got, i think would hold up well to washing.
but yeah, i’m trying not to wash things as often as possible also. in fact, i’ve never washed my frame jeans. and i’ve had them for months, worn them 1-2x/week i guess? they don’t smell 😉
Hey Grechen! I am not much of a coffee drinker, but I do love a Starbucks drink for a treat. I’ve discovered lately that the acid in coffee and other foods irritates my bladder, and so I’m finding more alkaline options, like steamed milk with a drizzle of caramel sauce. It’s still warm and comforting, but without the discomfort later. Best of luck on this journey!
I recently arrived at the same realization about anxiety and caffeine consumption being closely related, Amy. I’ve cut back to one cup of regular heavy-duty Joe and one cup of unleaded. It’s made enough of a difference where I can still enjoy my coffee…I love the taste, the ritual, the smell…and yet not feel any effects. That was my goal.
If you decide you’re giving it up, Grechen, do it for the right reasons. And mood would be one of them. I wish you well!