Wow, two blogs in a row - I think I'm on a roll. I just had to blog about the deep sense of release I felt as I dropped off 4 bags of clothing to the Goodwill this afternoon. I also finally tidied up my bathroom hallway and rehung all the clothes that were in "worn purgatory" back in my regular closet as they are no longer off limits now that I have pretty much gone through all of my clothing. I made a point to get rid of anything that upon glancing at it, makes me suddenly feel fat - with some exceptions - you got to keep a pair or two of skinny jeans in your closet so you can feel good about squeezing back into them. But all the tops that are too short, tight, or just plain ugly were thrown into one of the bags that Goodwill will hopefully find a use for. Yay! Less clothes!!
--Lilly out.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Weeks 39 - 40: Out of Clothes (I think)
November 17th - JCrew black wool coat, Ann Taylor gold cami, Anthropologie black skirt - work day, but you can tell I'm really really running out of clothes as this is something you'd normally wear to an office Christmas party, not a regular workday!
November 16th - Gray BR sweater (why are they all so short now?), Gap jeans - another day of errands
November 15th - Brass Plum (Nordstrom) Yellow Sweater scoop neck sweater, JCrew white corduroys - Errands and such (I think)
November 14th - Grey Gap sweater, BR "fat jeans" (yes, I get a lot of mileage out of these puppies, especially these days) - DUB Club!
November 12th - BR velvet droppy necked top (probably more appropriate for New Year's Eve), you guessed it "fat jeans." - trip up to Michigan to drink a lot of wine at Dennis and Linnelle's!
November 10th - BR little black dress (I'm gettingn desparate at this point), BR green sweater (which I am re-cyclingg because I'm running out of things to wear) - training in Pittsburgh
November 7th - Brooks Brothers black ribbed wool sweater, Gap jeans w/ turquoise stitching, though you can't tell - heading into Pittsburgh for training
Well, for you readers who have not given up on me for being such a slacker with this blog, rest assured, I'm still here and not-shopping with a vengeance! A couple things to report:
1. I think I am officially out of wearable outfits. My drawers are completely empty (except for sweaters that have either shrunk or are shorter because the girth of my mid-section is wider), all that is left hanging in my closet are suit jackets or suits that are too small for me (I've worn all the pants), a few holiday tops (tis the season!) or tops that are so tight that I can barely breathe, a pleated mini-skirt that if worn out would likely get me picked up by a pedophile, although with a pair of leggings, I might be able to pull it off - we'll see, and other shirts that are slated for the donation pile. So, yes, I think I am officially out of anything that can be paired together reasonably without me looking like Cyndi Lauper. So, I'm going to go back and start re-wearing selected articles of clothing that I need to finish out the unworn clothes (e.g., pair a black sweater with that school girl mini-skirt I just wrote about).
2. I walked into the Banana Republic that I used to frequent weekly, and walked out without buying a thing. Moreover, I walked out empty-handed without feeling a tinge of crazed clothing fanaticism. I did see the manager that a year ago would surely have recognized me, but this time around, looked at me as if I was any other rarely seen shopper. SUCCESS!
Following my week-long company conference, I had a brief stint at home and then headed back out to Pittsburgh for training. Given that this was a work function, I did dig back out a couple of clothes from my "worn" closet. Unfortunately, all of that eating and drinking at the conference caught up with me and I was once again squeezing into pants that I courageously bought a size smaller than I normally wear when I was about 6 lbs. thinner last year. Boy, it's amazing what 6 lbs. will do to your waistline! This, too, is the reason that there are still a few items of not yet worn clothing that are unwearable these days. It's a terrible feeling, which is why I am trying to drink less - we'll see how long that lasts!
This past weekend began with a trip up to Detroit to visit our favorite "met at Santa Barbara but you really only live about an hour away" couples. We stayed with Linnelle and Dennis and helped them burn through about a 1/2 dozen bottles of extremely lush wines. I would estimate that we must have imbibed about $600 worth of wine that night - and to set the record straight, this was due more to quality than quantity.
Saturday evening, I crashed the bachelorette party of one of Sarah's friends and we headed up to MGM (Detroit) to celebrate in style. We began by eating at the steak restaurant there (Bourbon Steak - great food, terrible service). During dinner, we were approached by a very short gentleman that wished the bride luck and then invited us to join he and his colleagues at one of the clubs in MGM at which they had rented a table with bottle service. Hmmm...free drinks at a club where it's impossible to get a bartender to serve you a drink and where the bottom shelf stuff is $10 a drink? SURE! So we spent the evening enjoying our quasi-celebrity status at the table with free drinks while making occassional trips to the dance floor and then coming back to the elite area to refill our drinks. The night at the club ended with Sarah and I finding ourselves on the ground in the middle club with spilled drinks all over our hair and clothes after she had stepped on a lime (while holding onto me) and the both of us taking the fall - her way worse than I. And as luck (or should I say a lesson to not dance like a maniac in stiletto heels on a floor wettened with spilled drinks) would have it, the lights of the club came on right as Sarah and I were splattered on the floor - me in a short dress, which looked more like a long shirt when I am plastered to the floor. Yes, I know, good thing I was not pulling a Britney or Lindsay Lohan (those who follow celebrity news will know exactly what I'm talking about).
Sunday, yes, there's more! I went shopping with my DUB Club pals (which is why I ended up at Banana) and then we headed back to Kim's to hang out with the significant others. I had filled the ladies in on the fact that my training last week was focused on interpreting the results of a personality test that our company administers. I must say that taking the test and seeing all the areas that I was at 100% of the norm on was a bit eye-opening. I'm sure it'll be no surprise to those who know me that I am 100% on Hedonism, Sociability, and Attention Seeking, and quite a few other traits I'd rather not post publicly. Anyway, me talking about the training I went through got Kim, Diana, and Mechelle curious about where they'd score high, so I suggested we play the game True Colors together with our partners to learn more about how people perceive each other. It was a blast and interesting to find out whether people will vote for you as the "most likely to make return trips back home to make sure the oven and lights are all turned off" (I did not get any votes - so I guess everyone thinks I'll just let the house burn down - which is probably accurate).
This week has been pretty uneventful and relatively low key work-wise. A great way to ease into the week of Thanksgiving. You'd think I'd spend this time blogging or clearing out the clothing that has piled up in our bathroom that I keep meaning to move upstairs and hang - but no, just been chilling and being lazy. That's the thing about not being busy, you become lazier - go figure!
Until next year! Just kidding - I haven't gotten that lazy. I hope to keep the blog going at least weekly if not more - we shall see. Don't give up on me! There's 3 months left!!
1. I think I am officially out of wearable outfits. My drawers are completely empty (except for sweaters that have either shrunk or are shorter because the girth of my mid-section is wider), all that is left hanging in my closet are suit jackets or suits that are too small for me (I've worn all the pants), a few holiday tops (tis the season!) or tops that are so tight that I can barely breathe, a pleated mini-skirt that if worn out would likely get me picked up by a pedophile, although with a pair of leggings, I might be able to pull it off - we'll see, and other shirts that are slated for the donation pile. So, yes, I think I am officially out of anything that can be paired together reasonably without me looking like Cyndi Lauper. So, I'm going to go back and start re-wearing selected articles of clothing that I need to finish out the unworn clothes (e.g., pair a black sweater with that school girl mini-skirt I just wrote about).
2. I walked into the Banana Republic that I used to frequent weekly, and walked out without buying a thing. Moreover, I walked out empty-handed without feeling a tinge of crazed clothing fanaticism. I did see the manager that a year ago would surely have recognized me, but this time around, looked at me as if I was any other rarely seen shopper. SUCCESS!
Following my week-long company conference, I had a brief stint at home and then headed back out to Pittsburgh for training. Given that this was a work function, I did dig back out a couple of clothes from my "worn" closet. Unfortunately, all of that eating and drinking at the conference caught up with me and I was once again squeezing into pants that I courageously bought a size smaller than I normally wear when I was about 6 lbs. thinner last year. Boy, it's amazing what 6 lbs. will do to your waistline! This, too, is the reason that there are still a few items of not yet worn clothing that are unwearable these days. It's a terrible feeling, which is why I am trying to drink less - we'll see how long that lasts!
This past weekend began with a trip up to Detroit to visit our favorite "met at Santa Barbara but you really only live about an hour away" couples. We stayed with Linnelle and Dennis and helped them burn through about a 1/2 dozen bottles of extremely lush wines. I would estimate that we must have imbibed about $600 worth of wine that night - and to set the record straight, this was due more to quality than quantity.
Saturday evening, I crashed the bachelorette party of one of Sarah's friends and we headed up to MGM (Detroit) to celebrate in style. We began by eating at the steak restaurant there (Bourbon Steak - great food, terrible service). During dinner, we were approached by a very short gentleman that wished the bride luck and then invited us to join he and his colleagues at one of the clubs in MGM at which they had rented a table with bottle service. Hmmm...free drinks at a club where it's impossible to get a bartender to serve you a drink and where the bottom shelf stuff is $10 a drink? SURE! So we spent the evening enjoying our quasi-celebrity status at the table with free drinks while making occassional trips to the dance floor and then coming back to the elite area to refill our drinks. The night at the club ended with Sarah and I finding ourselves on the ground in the middle club with spilled drinks all over our hair and clothes after she had stepped on a lime (while holding onto me) and the both of us taking the fall - her way worse than I. And as luck (or should I say a lesson to not dance like a maniac in stiletto heels on a floor wettened with spilled drinks) would have it, the lights of the club came on right as Sarah and I were splattered on the floor - me in a short dress, which looked more like a long shirt when I am plastered to the floor. Yes, I know, good thing I was not pulling a Britney or Lindsay Lohan (those who follow celebrity news will know exactly what I'm talking about).
Sunday, yes, there's more! I went shopping with my DUB Club pals (which is why I ended up at Banana) and then we headed back to Kim's to hang out with the significant others. I had filled the ladies in on the fact that my training last week was focused on interpreting the results of a personality test that our company administers. I must say that taking the test and seeing all the areas that I was at 100% of the norm on was a bit eye-opening. I'm sure it'll be no surprise to those who know me that I am 100% on Hedonism, Sociability, and Attention Seeking, and quite a few other traits I'd rather not post publicly. Anyway, me talking about the training I went through got Kim, Diana, and Mechelle curious about where they'd score high, so I suggested we play the game True Colors together with our partners to learn more about how people perceive each other. It was a blast and interesting to find out whether people will vote for you as the "most likely to make return trips back home to make sure the oven and lights are all turned off" (I did not get any votes - so I guess everyone thinks I'll just let the house burn down - which is probably accurate).
This week has been pretty uneventful and relatively low key work-wise. A great way to ease into the week of Thanksgiving. You'd think I'd spend this time blogging or clearing out the clothing that has piled up in our bathroom that I keep meaning to move upstairs and hang - but no, just been chilling and being lazy. That's the thing about not being busy, you become lazier - go figure!
Until next year! Just kidding - I haven't gotten that lazy. I hope to keep the blog going at least weekly if not more - we shall see. Don't give up on me! There's 3 months left!!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Week 38: Annual Company Conference
November 6th - dinner at a nearby town that still classifies as a destination for dinner - definitely getting rid of this top that is way too small for me now (again, because it shrank in the wash - yeah, right!)
November 5th - Turquoise BR wool v-neck sweater, Black Ann Taylor Loft corduroys - Bowling Green brown bag speaker followed by dinner
Well, I have renewed interest in blogging again after attending my company's annual conference and being approached by a couple of people who heard about my Blog - one of them being my boss's boss (Hi Barry). Given that my closet of "not yet worn clothing" is dwindling down to just a few pieces, I ended up packing mostly things that I had to borrow from my upstairs "off limits" closet. Because this week's conference is a time to see people that I haven't seen in awhile, and given that I had a few moments on stage being videotaped, I allowed myself a reprieve from not repeat clothing and made sure I picked out items that fall into my "favorites" category...oh, and comfort was key as our days at this 3.5 day long conference go from early in the morning to late at night - so think, lots of dresses.
During the conference, I received a few compliments on my wardrobing choices, which was a good feeling - especially since I have been scraping the barrel of wearable clothes for the past few months now. In previous years, I would spend a couple of weeks gearing up for this event by shopping and picking out just the right thing to wear to the Awards night, or on the longest day of the conference, or on the designated "fun night" of the conference - which is generally characterized by a lot of standing and social-butterflying. This year, however, it was a great accomplishment to buy nothing new but still be able to look relatively fashionable throughout the trip. I think this is the ultimate testament to the fact that I don't need to shop, and I certainly don't need to shop as often as I used to!
This week was - as usual at these things - exhausting and exhilirating at the same time. I am an extrovert in the truest definition of the word - someone who actually gets energy from being around others. So, even though these long 12-14 hour days would exhaust even the most high-energy person, the exhiliration of re-connecting with people that you haven't seen in a year or so is very much there and is what keeps me going on these long days. I also, miraculously, end up shedding a few pounds at this conference - which is really contrary to what one might expect given that there is a ton of food at this event and that you are being fed at least every 2 hours. I think it's the excitement of being around others and the energy that I get from it that staves off hunger...or it could be all the walking that we do during this conference. Our conference is held in Western PA in the middle of nowhere. The resort itself is rather amazing. It's a motley assortment of decor and themes that include a European Chateau, a Hunting Lodge, a Zen-inspired Spa (which I, of course, make good use of every year), a Golf Course, an animal zoo (which is funnily enough, positioned next to some of the condos at which the conference attendees stay...stories of being woken up by roaring bears have been told), and other mish-mash of activity-based landmarks. Needless to say, it's Disneyworld for adults and is so spread out and sparse, it's no wonder that my feet are ready to disown the rest of my body by the time the last day rolls around - plus I refuse to wear anything less than 2 inch heels as I need all the help I can get to not feel like a dwarf during this conference!
So, it was a long week filled with re-wearing of some favorites. I also managed to get my new laptop from which I'm typing this blog. It's equipped with Office 2010 which has a feature where I can create my blog entry from Microsoft Word...unfortunately, I have not been able to figure that one out quite yet...perhaps by the next time I post??
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
