My Summer Wardrobe - What I Wore Last Week

Who wants a roundup of the clothes I wear?! If not, no worries. Skip this entire post.

Wednesday, June 25 - It's hot, friends. I regretted the sleeves almost immediately. Weird day. I started out with a dentist appointment and ran into the office for about an hour and a half. I spent the rest of the day working from home and dealing with a dog who wasn't feeling well, so I had to take her outside approximately eight times. 

Dress: Toad & Co. (purchased on extreme clearance in the off-season and is no longer on their site)

Shoes: Mephisto Helen

Thursday, June 27 - Still really hot. We had an orientation event at work, so I was meandering everywhere on campus. No bueno. Also, my hair stayed down for approximately two seconds. ALSO ALSO the computer lab was SO HOT that I almost melted into my students. (I did not wear the flip flops to work. I wore the sandals I wore yesterday. I wore the flip flops to walk the dog because the rain makes everything wet.)

Dress: Happy Earth Midi Dress from last year (no longer on their site)

Shoes: Vionic flip flops

Friday, June 27 - The floors in our office are being waxed, so it's a work from home day for the entire office. No makeup, no jewelry, my hair hasn't been washed in four days, and my husband is STILL IN MADISON for his conference, so I officially DGAF.

Dress: Wool& Ava Fit & Flare - Lovely dress - very cool and flattering. Unfortunately, it is too low cut for someone with my assets, so I have to wear a cami under it to wear it to work which makes it less cool and ruins the lines. Perfect for a WAH day, but not ideal if I'm going to meeting in person with anyone. 

Shoes: Mephisto Helen (in black instead of brown)

Saturday, June 29 - Adventure day with Anne! It was actually a really nice day for our adventure, which was a fun boat trip on Lake Geneva, along with a tour of a lovely old summer "cottage." I slathered myself up in in sunscreen and it was fun. 

Dress: Toad & Co. (another one I ordered on super clearance in the off-season and is no longer on their site) - This dress has an annoying slit, so while I would like to wear it to work, I do not because it frequently shows too much leg. Anne suggested I tack it down with a well-placed stitch or three. I might do that!

Shoes: Mephisto Helen 

Sunday, June 29 - This was the one and only time I left the house, which was to go to the grocery store to buy sweet potatoes, which I needed to make for the dog.  This dress is too short for work and doesn't have pockets (all the rest of the dresses shown DO have pockets), so it's reserved for days like today when I all I was doing was making sweet potatoes and granola, doing housework (mostly laundry and vacuuming), and catching up on my blog. 

Dress: Mata Traders (years ago - they do seem to have more offerings with pockets these days)

Shoes: Mephisto Helen

Monday, June 30 - The thermostat in my office says 74.5, but it feels closer to 88 in here. I forgot to take a photo before I left the house this morning. 

Dress: Happy Earth Lily Midi Dress (Paradise is the print)

Shoes: Mephisto Helen

Tuesday, July 1 - Back in my office because the morning light was harsh this morning. It's still hot, but it didn't feel punishing on my walk with Hannah this morning.

Dress: Happy Earth Isla Midi Dress (pattern is Les Fleurs) - I like this dress, but wish the V-neck wasn't quite so deep. I have to wear a cami under it and I don't love that look. Oh, well. The dress is cream/ivory and I only have white camisoles and the white makes the cream look dirty, so I have been wearing a brown one. I'd like to get a green or cream camisole, but I think you all know that I'm not going to actually take action on that. 

Shoes: Mephisto Helen

Wednesday, July 2 - Back in my office because I forgot I was doing this. I only have one more daily summer dress in my closet - it's a way too short sheath dress without pockets I've owned since high school. It's perfect and I love it, but it really is reserved for days when I stay at home. I have a couple of cocktail dresses that are summery, but you're basically looking at my whole wardrobe.

Dress: Boden - This is from several years back. I fell for Boden's greenwashing and purchased this dress thinking it was an ethical purchase. Boden is terrible to its employees, though, so I wouldn't buy it today. However, since I already have it, I am going to wear it until it falls apart.

Shoes: Mephisto Helen

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For the wedding I am going to in early August, I am considering wearing one of the Happy Earth midi dresses (Thursday or Monday) with a duster I have. You can see the outfit I wore for our wedding anniversary when I'm wearing one of the dresses with this duster.

Thoughts? Do you have a preference for which dress would be more wedding-y? Should I try to find something else? (I am not opposed to buying a new dress, but if I want to do so, I should get started looking now.)

Tell NGS What To Do: Wedding Edition

Later on this summer, we will be attending a wedding in California. It's in the Santa Cruz area for those of you who want to know, although I have to admit that due to microclimates in the area, that might not be the most helpful of descriptors. I don't want to out my friends here. 

The bride and groom have been very quiet about this wedding. We never even received a save the date and the invitation came with very limited information, but there was a link to a wedding website! 

Okay, I thought this would have solved all my problems, but it absolutely has not. 

Conundrum #1

Here's what it say about the dress code:

The bride will be wearing a wedding dress and the groom will wear a suit, but we'd love for you to wear whatever makes you feel comfortable and festive. Dresses, suits, and ties are all optional. If you prefer a bit of inspiration, think coast, garden, and sunshine. Plan to walk briefly on moderately uneven ground, grass, and dirt trail, and know that you'll be standing for the entirety of the ceremony.

We recommend bringing layers, as temperatures can range from the low 50s to high 70s during summer.

What does that mean I should wear? 

I've googled the locations and literally cannot find the ceremony site, but I think it's literally a meadow. The place for the reception is a cute restaurant with a giant outdoor eating area. It sounds like we will be outdoors for all of it. 

1) Dr. BB is probably going to wear a linen suit.

2)The ceremony is at 4pm and the dinner is from 6-9pm. Both will be held outdoors. 

3) Should I just wear a regular cotton dress and bringing a cardigan or scarf?

4) Can I just wear my every day sandals? Because of my dicey leg, I am not great at heels on level surfaces, let alone uneven ground. Normal sandals doesn't seem very celebratory and wedding-y. I do not want to be hobbled, though. My bad leg sometimes does bad leg things. 

Conundrum #2

The registry has six items on it and then a contribution to a honeymoon fund. I suspect the meager registry items were put there for elderly relatives who would complain about just handing over cash, but I fear that I AM an elderly non-relative who is cranky about just handing over cash. 

Should I just suck it up and donate to the honeymoon fund (*sigh* *eyeroll* *unhappy face*) or be a jerk and purchase one of the registry items? 

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Okay, sound away. What do I do here? 

I Ain't Afraid of No Ghost

I just wanted to leave you with this photo of my socks for the week. It's SPOOOOOOKY season and I'm all in.

Do you have any seasonal apparel? 

Uniform or uniformity?

Every year on the anniversary of our wedding day, I force Dr. BB to take a photo of us to post on social media. Some years it's the only photo that the two of us take.  On Tuesday, I published this year's photo. And the more I thought about it, the more I thought it seemed familiar.

And then I laughed because on our fifth anniversary, we took a very similar photo in which I was wearing the same basic outfit. Consider:

2013 v. 2022.  

Oh, jeans, a grey sweater, and a scarf?  I think you have stumbled onto my Midwestern springtime uniform.  My uniform shifts as the season shift, but I'm surprisingly consistent in the basic look.

Spring: See above. The scarf and sweater and easy layers to take on and off because you just never know what the weather will be like on any given day.

Summer: A dress and Jockey Skimmies.  Generally I also wear a lightweight scarf*. It's basically like wearing pajamas all day. If I have to go into a highly air-conditioned place (like my office), I may wear some slacks and a shirt, but I try to just wear dresses.

Fall: See spring.

Winter: See fall and spring, with the addition of SmartWool baselayers.  

*I wear a scarf a lot because my neck has a lot of deep wrinkles and grooves and I'm super self-conscious about it. Also, I'm always cold and a scarf helps keep my temperature regulated. 

Do you have a uniform? Is it seasonably dependent?  

Do you force your partner to take photos on a particular day or at a particular place?