Me Made May: Week 3

Happy Friday!  The weather has turned hot and gross this week, so I'm into the portion of my rotation that is decidedly warm-weather-only friendly.  The first half of the week was still cool and pleasant with highs in the 60s and low 70s, and I was still wearing stockings and boots, but things changed on Tuesday afternoon and it has been in the low 90s with high humidity since then.  

I've also come down with the crud that the kids have been passing around for several weeks, and my lungs are a mess.  It being the first lung infection of the season for me, and the sick season nearly done, I'd count that as pretty good.  (I spent most of the last school year battling one lung infection after another).  So almost everything is on hold until I feel better.  I have rosemary and eucalyptus oils going in the diffuser and that seems to help the sinus congestion a bit.  Plus it makes the kitchen smell nice.

I always struggle with transitional footwear, as I'm usually not ready to pull out open-toed sandals at this point in the year, but boots are impractical once it warms up a bit.  I do have some open-backed clogs I like, but I found this pair of ballet flats on ebay and they have been really nice to have.  They are very neutral, actually fit my impossible feet and aren't too bad to walk the city in.  (They are the Hush Puppies Chaste Ballet, for reference).  I have extremely high arches, bone spurs on my heels and bunions, and a wide square toe box, so ballet flats and me are usually a toxic mix, but these are good.

Some thoughts about the week.  I love the new Octopus dress (day 3).  It makes me happy every time I look at it.  It also renewed my love of Cotton+Steel's regular mid-weight cotton (not that I'd lost it, but I've been focusing on working more with garment weight fabrics).  I forgot to mention that I dropped the bust tucks another 1/2" on that dress and that seems to be a better fit with the bras I'm wearing now.  

I also realized that the Liberty #1 dress (day 6) needs some taking in.  I had noticed earlier in the spring that it was a little loose, but there is more than 3" of positive ease in the back and it makes the front hang a little weirdly.  I think if I just snug up the back elastic some more, that will help most of the issues.  I think I'm down maybe 10 pounds from last spring when I made it, and I guess the fit is different.  It is still a good dress, and I really like it.  I also get a ton of compliments on it every time I wear it, so I think that is another reason to fix the fit!  I have a couple more faux-Liberty dresses in the works for the summer, and I may end up putting one of them in the spring rotation for next year as well since I think having two lawn dresses in the spring might be a good idea.

I did have a period of questioning this spring about whether I should still do the Project.  My spring rotation ballooned a little in the middle, as I struggled to figure out the best combination of pieces and to settle into a spring uniform, but at the end of the day, I still think the Project helps me stay focused on a smaller and simpler wardrobe.  I realize that I get stressed if a drawer is too full or a closet has too many hangers in it.  I like having some emptiness in the house, just for the sake of emptiness, not for having a space to fill.

Now I'm going to take crummy self off to the couch and rewatch more of Nikita.