My casual uniform

I wish my bathroom looked this nice, but this was taken at a hotel.

I am lucky to work in a pretty casual environment. I mostly wear jeans and a nice-ish top to work, though will dress up a bit more depending on the day, the place and any meetings that might be happening. This outfit or some variant of it is extremely common on my more casual workdays, as well as any weekend outings, travel, etc.

I am slightly pear-shaped, so key is to make the shoulders look broader and the bottom half look more trim, for balance.

• Striped top: the one in the photo is from Nordstrom/Caslon, sadly discontinued or I'd buy another.
• Interesting necklace: I'm wearing one by an Israeli artist from the Colombian "tagua" fruit - a gift from my husband's grandmother. 
• Medium or dark-wash jeans: these are Good American Good Legs High-waist skinny jeans. I've owned them for two years, and they are probably my favorite jeans of all time. I'm going to buy another pair soon, hoping the style/fabric hasn't changed. 
• Flats or heels if I want to dress up: not wearing in the photo, obviously, but check out my favorite shoes post! 

That's it! Easy peasy, and now that I'm a mom/in my mid-30s, I care less about changing up my look. If it's flattering and comfortable and easy, that's all the effort I'm going to put in.

Another Fall week down!

Like most weeks, this one has had some good times and frustrating times.

Highs

- My sinus infection is finally under control, as are a couple of other minor, but annoying health issues. While I'm not 100% back, I'm no longer in danger of becoming addicted to Afrin.

- I just began listening to a really engrossing book, the Queen of Hearts by Kimmery Martin. Which I learned about from an old Best of Both Words interview with the author. The audiobook version was available immediately through Libby, but I had to put a hold on the e-book version. I'm about three chapters in, and I'm loving it so far!

- M has been sweet and affectionate. She just keeps developing, constructing new types of sentences, understanding new concepts. She also has been enjoying listening to "Peter and the Wolf" at mealtimes. I found a version narrated by David Bowie on Spotify...makes me feel a little more hip as I cater to a little human's food preferences (something that, of course, I swore I'd never do).

- My work schedule has been super flexible, which is such a blessing when you are sick.

- Getting enough sleep!

- Beautiful summery weather (though this one is double-sided)

- Living a seven-minute walk away from a hospital. Oh my, it is so convenient sometimes! I had to go three times in the last two weeks - twice for my own issues, and once to immunize M against the flu. Turned out that they have a Flu Clinic - had I known, I would've skipped my own trip to Walgreen's.

- Getting just a bit of running in despite feeling unwell...I was told that it would help open up the sinuses. And I think it helped.

From a late morning run

Lows

- I felt like $%!# for at more than half the week (after already being sick for a month), and definitely threw some mini pity parties for myself. I literally had to talk to myself out loud one evening to force myself to focus on all the positives in my life.

- Work has been meh. I didn't accomplish nearly as much as I wanted, partially because of my health, but also because of some bureaucratic challenges.

- The beautiful summery weather has resulted in more wildfires in California. Sadly (but predictably) it's becoming an annual occurrence due to climate change effects. And yet, we are still flying more than ever, buying SUVs and thinking that climate change is a problem for our kids to deal with.


I used to write in my journal and regularly evaluate each day. As in, "today was a good day" and "today was a bad day". Not sure if it's getting older or maybe my mindfulness "practice" having a small effect, but now I realize that it's almost never this simple. And certainly even more complicated when it comes to full weeks!

Favorite shoes for Flinstone feet

I hate my feet. Well, I love them for all they do - enable me to walk, run and kick a hypothetical attacker (which reminds me, I should sign up for a self-defense class). But I absolutely detest how they look. I was actually OK with them until college, when a friend said, "Wow, look at how huge your toes are!" Some time later, I was attending an "All-staff" meeting for a weird college job I had, and for some reason a guy stated in front of everyone that big feet are a turn-off for him. And that was before I started running hundreds of miles a year, developed bunions and ruined my little toes to the point that my husband refers to them as something from an alien movie. Oh - and my size is 10.5. Wide. With narrow heels. 

Shoe shopping is not fun for me. I have a long list of shoes that just don't work.

1. Any brand/style that doesn't come in a size larger than size 10 - and there are quite a few!
2. Annoyingly, many brands produce a size 10 and a size 11, but will skip 10.5. However, the size 11 is almost always too long and causes my heels to slip out. Sometimes this foot petal product can help, but usually it's no luck.
3. Many styles are just too narrow, particularly pointed-toe styles styles that squish my toes like crazy. The middle of my foot also frequently "overflows" some of the more open flats and sandals.
4. I feel self-conscious wearing sandals that don't mask my bunions. So cute styles like this one don't work.
5. I can't wear shoes that aren't lined with leather because the "manmade materials" lining makes my feet sweaty and uncomfortable.
6. Mostly I wear flats - my commute often involves a lot of walking, and I just can't lug a pair of heels with me in addition to all my other items - laptop, notebooks, lunch, water, etc. etc.

Thankfully, there is Cole Haan! Most of my favorite shoes have been from this brand. And the Tali Bow Ballet Flat in snake print is the best of them! I first discovered them two years ago, and have been devoted ever since. I just recently received my third pair because Cole Haan was having a sale on their website and I'm worried that these will be discontinued. They are very comfortable, go with everything, good for the business casual office, and don't show dirt/scuffs easily. And I'm far from an authority on style, but to me they are cute. Are they going to win a "fashion visionary" award? Doubtful.  But do they make it easier to dress for work and then go about my day? A hundred times yes!