Hello, I hope your new year has been off to a great start so far. I can't believe I've waited until a severe snow storm to return to blogging. As I'm snuggled on the sofa with a sweater and a cup of tea, I'm sorry to report that I have been feeling a little 'blah' lately when it comes to blogging about fashion and style and the challenges that go with it. There's really only so much I can say about it without starting to sound like a broken record. I'm also suffering from exhaustion with 12 hour work days and a dissertation that still seems to be stuck in first gear. Over the weekend, the dog suffered a back injury that has left me sleepless and thinking about long term care management (we're so yuppie, we're thinking acupuncture and underwater treadmill!).
Funnily enough, it's in moments where I'm too busy to think about online shopping or style or blogging is when I re-discover what it means to be go back to the basics and to remember why I have my uniform. I've been practically living in button downs and woolen sweaters and wearing my APC boots to shreds. Sometimes even, when I'm really lazy and really cold, I put on a pair of sneakers and a silly hat. It's easy, it's fast and so simple that I can waltz from the closet to the bus stop in 10 minutes flat. I try not to fall into the "I'm too comfortable to dress up" mode, but more often than not, simplicity is really the best solution.
I've found that I'm pretty bad at keeping resolutions, so I haven't really made any this year, other than 'resolving' (if that even means anything) to work harder and faster so I am done with graduate school and all the tiresome slave driving that comes with it. We really need to get a house with a yard and less staircases since our pup is now going to have to be carried whenever he slinks up and down. I've also resolved to work off the holiday (and let's face it, waaay pre-holiday) weight since I'm constantly feeling disgusting and disgruntled. I guess that explains partially why I haven't felt like posting outfit pictures or talking about clothes.
Being tired when I come back from work has also made me realize that the less things I have in the house, the easier it is to keep things neat and clean. There's just less things to deal with. I guess maybe my knack for accumulating things can be attributed to boredom and too much
oh yes, 12 hour work days and dissertations that refuse the budge, i can relate to that.
ReplyDeletei have days when i'm dressed head to toe in patagonia because it keeps me warm.
i made a resolution to not buy any maternity clothes unless absolutely necessary. so far, i've only purchased a pair of jeans. i may need to buy a few tunics for the final stretch, or maybe i'll just wear the same black dress over and over again. my students won't notice, right?
doctoral programs are all about slave-driving, but i can't say it's much better on the other side. most friends are now attempting back to back post-docs in the humanities for lack of job openings. ugh.
Urgh I don't want to do a post-doc but it seems inevitable. It's too bad the funding for humanities and sciences are just going to be slashed so much that we're all just taking out grad school loans and scraping by for naught.
DeleteHi there, I'm trying to lose weight too. I am doing the Hacker's Diet which sounds crazy but all it is counting the calories I consume. For some reason my phone is not allowing me to paste a link - so just google it. But the reason I like it is because of the graphs and modeling you have access to if you sign up to the program ( free online). Seeing the downward trend on the graph is really motivating and encouraging to keep going. I like that it is not restrictive as I would never be happy to cut out whole food groups. Since 2 Jan I have lost over 3 kg!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your dog :(
Thanks for the tip! Do you really lose hair on the diet? LOL. I think my problem is pretty simple: I eat too carbs and sugar - I've gotta have my noodle fix 3 times a week, and I make tons of cookies when I'm frustrated. I'm just going to have to haul my lazy ass down to the gym and have nothing but carrot juice and kale. Also, I eat too much cheese. =D
DeleteI've only lost weight!
DeleteMy problems were similar ... I love baking, chocolate, cheese and the occasional drink... But since embarking on this diet I have educated myself about the energy content of all foods. Some seemingly healthy things turn into fat bombs if you are not aware of the cals contained within e.g salads with dressing that has olive oil, cereal. I could go on forever. It's not a crazy fad diet so I can still enjoy all the above but I just plan in advance to have those things.
I just downloaded the epub version of the book - so I'll go through it on the bus tomorrow. Looking to lose 10 pounds by May. Yikes!
DeleteBlogging is an activity perfect for stormy days when you're shut up at home, I think.
ReplyDeleteBuying things out of boredom is definitely a problem for me. It can be anything - a magazine, a pack of biscuits. I often think clothing is my big problem but I think my addiction to buying a magazine to read over lunch and never picking it up again is worse...
i know what you mean! January is also a weird month, it's got all this fresh energy but can be such a downer and post-holiday energy-sapper! i was distracted with my bf's visit the first half of January and it's been terribly smoggy and blech outside since he left. now we're all getting ready to celebrate Chinese New Year. oy! methinks a wardrobe assessment post is due...
Delete@ lin I'm definitely trying to cut down on buying magazines, I buy a lot of food magazines and all they do is make me fat...
Delete@ miss sophie Oooh! Write a post about celebrating CNY in Shanghai, it sounds so exciting.
@ amanda - i think i will! just got a fresh red manicure for good luck :) happy lunar new year!
DeleteSorry to hear about your puppy! They can be just as important as people in a family. I hope there's some light at the end of a tunnel for you in the near future....
ReplyDeleteminima/maxima, a blog about minimalist style
Thanks petrichore! I really like your blog btw.
DeleteRegarding the last paragraph.. I think it's true. When I dropped out of uni last semester, I didn't do anything else but browse through heaps of online shops and buy knick-knacks and clothes (though I'm super satisfied with my sartorial purchases). I went back to school two weeks ago... and I literally live there (I even go to school on weekends to study), and I don't have time to think of shopping, let alone do some shopping.. which is great. Because I tend to shop out of boredom.
ReplyDeleteHaving that said, I love your teapot! Love that your sense of style extends to other things such as teapots as well.
Sorry to hear about the pooch. My old roommate's dog (who also used to live with us) had a back injury, and it was so hard to see this amazing athletic whippet struggling to walk. Hope you have good luck with the acupuncture and the rest!
ReplyDeleteAs for the lack of blogging desires, I totally hear you. I think that blogging/shopping/consumerism is the ultimate filler/time-kill, and I don't mean that it is worthless, because I myself am a chronic shopper and (until this year) a constant blogger. But I definitely think that the more our lives fill with other things, our priorities tend to shift away from this whole bubble. I don't actually intend to give it up, I'm just looking for more balance. Which I think is a hugely positive realization, and it sounds like what you're going through too.
http://nomadic-d.blogspot.com/
Yes and yes and I agree. :)
ReplyDeleteI've been reducing what I have so that my natural...disinclination to clean up contributes less to a cluttered environment. If I clean up less but have less to clean up, the result is a lot more clean.
Sorry to hear about your dog. I couldn't agree more with most of the points you make here. I'm vowing to lose weight and finish that second book so I can get a better position and a place with stairs so the cats can run up and down them with abandon.
ReplyDelete