(Nail Kale by Nails Inc., in Holland Walk)
Happy Labor Day!! I hope you’re doing something fun…I got to sleep in a bit this morning because my husband took Dagny for her morning walk, but then I took her out after her breakfast and WHOA. It was such a tease; like it’s actually fall already! Nice breeze, temperatures in the mid-70’s…so nice. A tease, of course, because it’ll be almost 100 degrees again today and for the foreseeable future. Ah well…that’s what we get for living in Texas! I guess I’ll take the mild winters if it means I have to suffer through the oppressive summer heat.
What I bought
I ordered this long Splendid skirt during the last round of markdowns at Shopbop (It’s sold out at Shopbop, link goes to Nordstrom where it’s the same price). I’d tried it on multiple times, never ready to buy it, and not thinking it was good enough for my wardrobe, but I never could get it out of my head, so I decided to order it on sale. When I received it on Friday, I tried it on, made outfits, etc., then packed it up to send back to Shopbop. But the more I thought about it, I realized that I could make it work, and even though it’s not PERFECT, I do like it and it suits my lifestyle, wardrobe, and budget right now, so I’d keep it. I ended up wearing the heck out of it this weekend…I’ll do an outfit picture tomorrow!
I also made my first eBay purchase EVER last week. Yeah…I know how weird that is! I do some freelance work for eBay and they sent me a $100 gift card more than a year ago when I started working with them. I kept looking for things to use it on, and never found anything, so it got lost in my desk drawer. As I was cleaning out my desk last week, I found the gift card, and decided I wanted to use it (because I hate having credit available), and got this James Perse maxi skirt for less than $60. You might remember how much I loved this skirt (I had a previous year’s version), but I had sort of given up buying it. But in purging my closet and really paying attention to what I love, and what was missing, I really understood that the skirt was just SO ME, and would get a lot of use, so I did it.
I probably wouldn’t have ordered the Splendid skirt if I’d gotten the JP skirt first, but I can use both skirts (the JP skirt is very heavy – like a sweatshirt – so I won’t be able to wear it for a month or two) for many years. I can say for certain that I’m finished searching for/buying black skirts and dresses for quite some time. And now that I have these two skirts, I can get rid of the other James Perse black maxi skirt that I have, but have never worn very much because it’s just too “flared” at the bottom for my liking.
I also bought this bottle of Nails Inc. Nail Kale at Sephora this week. Yes. I’m a sucker for marketing, and anything with Kale in it! I don’t notice any difference in my nail health after using it, but I do like the color, and coverage. It’s very similar to Chanel’s Vamp polish, which I always have on heavy rotation during cooler months and I needed a cheaper replacement for. They had some very nice more “neutral” colors in the collection as well, but I have enough of those!!
What I got rid of
Nothing yet, but I’m making another box for my sister to take to her when I see her next month that will include the James Perse skirt I mentioned above, and my black Splendid foldover skirt that I haven’t worn in a while. And lots of other things I’m sure…
What I read
Again, I’m so grateful for Sally for including me in her links last week, and very excited to have been included in Debbie Roe’s Recovering Shopaholic Useful Links for August as well! If you don’t already, please visit those ladies’ blogs; they are always full of relevant and interesting information.
What I did
I went to Pure Barre every day last week (week days), and will be doing that for some time to come if I want to make it to class number 500 by December 31st (I’m 421 classes down!).
I did have an exciting telephone conversation on Friday about my journey towards a Minimal Closet, but I can’t say much else. Hopefully this week I’ll be able to tell you more about it!!!
What I ate
So. Much. Candy. I want to think I balanced it out by eating So. Much. Spinach & Kale also, but I know I didn’t. My body was desperately craving sickeningly sweet every afternoon last week, and I totally gave in…I think it’s getting used to Pure Barre again, and is probably hungrier than usual, but I have got to start resisting better. I gave in, because I could, and because I was also frustrated with a lot last week.
I’ve been struggling with thinking about “what’s next” in my life recently AND I’m still trying to accept that Dagny is not Ozzie, and that it will take her some time to get fully adjusted to being with us. And us with her. She’s not “bad” by any means, but we are still trying to get into a good routine and set expectations for her.
Just when we think she’s fully house-trained, she decides to use the house as her bathroom. And the moment you think she’ll go on a long walk without freezing in the middle, she decides she’s not going any further, no matter how many treats you bribe her with! I think she’s very anxious/fearful, in addition to not getting as much exercise as she needs. I don’t think we can possibly give her the exercise she needs; even if she will walk for an hour in the mornings, she doesn’t even pant! It’s nothing for her…she needs to run flat out, chasing bunnies, to tire herself and there’s no where to do that. We did take her to a dog park on Friday, but the car ride was traumatic for her, and then, she spent the entire time at the park sniffing around the perimeter. There weren’t any other dogs there, which was a shame, because I think she would enjoy playing with other dogs.
We’re probably going to have to take her to doggie day care some days, just so she can get some interaction with other dogs, and enough exercise so that she’s not bored and just wandering around the house looking for things to pee on, or chew up! Patience. That’s what I need more of right now, and I’m really trying!! Dagny is SO SWEET and just needs our love; hopefully that will go a long way towards assuaging her fears. Love and time.
And so, I leave you with this cute-ness 🙂 Happy Monday!
Sounds like Dagny is a work in progress…just like the rest of us. She just happens to have cuter ears! Glad you got your James Perse skirt! That’s a piece worth buying.
I ordered some Rag & Bone boots from La Garconne’s clearance sale, so I hope I like them, cuz they are MINE for good!
She is cute as a button with those little white paws .. it takes years to get over a departed dog. My dog is now three and I finally realized that he does do one thing better than my angel dog .. he waits on the door step so I can close the door before heading out for a walk. My angel dog would pull and pull and I could hardly get the door closed. So he is proving himself to be a ‘good’ dog .. Dagny will get there.
monica
dagny does that a little – i have to pull the door closed and lock it with both hands and she is already going down the street! so i have to pull her back. but she’s getting better! we just haven’t been consistent enough in house training her i think – we think she’s ready, but she’s not. i just hate keeping her in the crate ALL THE TIME. but i see now that’s what it will take for her to understand – or at least get that if she wants to be out of it, she needs to stop peeing all over the house!! again. i need patience. that is all.!!
I don’t mean to be a painy know-it-all, but I’m assuming you guys use treats as a reward right after she’s peed outside?
haha! oh yes…and she goes outside every time we take her out so she’s sure to get a treat.
That is key .. rewarding the positive behavior.
M.
MonicaP´s last blog post ..The healing of hands