I'm Rewarding Myself With Fashion. A Nice Tunic This Time. I Wonder How Far I'll Have To Run For Boots?

I've almost completed my third week of running.  Or, in my case, a well-choreographed run/walk routine directed by the voice of Jeff Galloway who apparently runs a marathon or two a day.  It's pretty incredible, I think.  Not so much his 700+ miles per week, but rather the notion that I'm running at all.  Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm not a runner.  In fact, some of my funniest remarks have been made in an effort to mock running in general, but here I find myself wrapping up my third week on a rainy Wednesday wondering how I'll cover my iPhone if I have to run in a downpour.  Because I am going to run, whether or not this rain ever stops.  I hardly recognize myself.

Of course, on a slightly more familiar note, I've decided to treat myself to a cute article of clothing as a reward for my dedication.  I like tangible rewards.  I think the mental benefits virtuous tasks give us are great, but I also enjoy treating myself to something I can touch and preferably wear for at least three seasons.  I've selected a super cute ikat tunic from a catalog that came in the mail a couple weeks ago.  It'll be a fabulous style addition -  I can imagine it working in a variety of ways - layered, buttoned, unbuttoned, with a blazer, a cardigan, maybe even as a pool coverup during the summer months.  Few things give me as much satisfaction as a versatile wardrobe element.

I actually liked several things in this catalog and dog-eared many pages when I went through it one evening.  I kind of thought it was targeted to an older crowd - I mean the outfits weren't too fashion forward, they were stylishly comfortable.  And the models weren't photographed partying in a group around a bonfire, or taking selfies, or enjoying a road trip with friends like you see in some of the more youthful style sources - they were doing things like making dinner, hanging holiday lights, and putting appropriately seasonal flowers in a vase.  They often had a glass of wine nearby as well.  Then it hit me.  It was like I'd looked in a mirror for the first time.  That's me!  I'm not drinking whiskey at a hipster party outside an Airstream trailer, I'm switching out the petunias from our outdoor urns and replacing them with coleus and flowering kale.  And often I'm doing it in a tunic or a wide-legged pant.  With wine, when appropriate.  I am the target audience.

After a momentary shock, I calmed down and have come to accept this newfound awareness.  I still love my skinny jeans, and I'm grateful I can wear a tank top without fear, but I truly value both style and comfort these days.  I'm sure this sounds really crotchety, but I don't understand why visible bra straps are so commonplace anymore.  Seriously, it's kinda gross.  And I notice so many younger women and girls in clothing that really should have been purchased a size or two larger - it can't feel good being squished and encased like that.  Why can't they just size up or buy a style that doesn't cling so unforgivingly?  At the very least they could invest in a nice pair of Spanx, I think.

So, yeah, I'm going to buy clothes from catalogs that also sell fancy brow pencils and lip liners.  Because, not only are my eyebrows and upper lip slowly disappearing (what's up with that?), but I also want to feel good and look good in what I'm wearing.  Life is to be enjoyed and sometimes often it's best done in a palazzo pant with a glass of wine in hand.

I'm wearing this today.

I wore boots and summery top yesterday so today, we introduce a sweater balanced with a sandal.  Transitional seasons are truly a fashion teeter-totter.

gratitude:  listening to the kids and their friends in the car, eating dinner with the kids just standing around the kitchen island and catching up, cell phone calls from Geoff when he's away on business, lunch with Tracy

thanks and love.