The Only Place I Go Is Zoom ... And That's Not an Actual Place

I treated myself to a new dress. I obviously have nowhere to actually wear it at this point, but I’m hopeful that when warmer weather comes I’ll get a chance to wear it a bit and, in the interim, it’ll do for a Zoom meeting or two.

dress: Joe Fresh / shoes: ASOS / necklace: Oak + Fort / bracelet: Winners 

Feature: This production, a retelling of the final months of the life of Anne Boleyn, with Black actress Jodie Turner-Smith playing the lead, seems like it will offer an amazing fresh take on its subject matter!

The Magic of the Holidays

Clearly Christmas makes me angry. Honestly, that seems right.

jacket: Simons / pants: RW and Co 

Feature: Some amazing Black jewelry designers.

Not the Winter I'm Used To

The stretch of weirdly moderate weather (not weird, just indicative of the climate crisis) we’ve been having continues so I’m basically temporarily back in all my spring/fall coats. It feels weird. Although a significant cold spell is now forecast so hopefully things will be back to normal weather-wise soon.

leggings: Hue / boots: Steve Madden / shirt: ASOS / jacket: Century 21 

Feature: I had to make an IKEA run recently and ran right into this glorious creation – it was actually its launch so the designer, Lance Cardinal (ᐊᐧᒐᐢᐠ (muskrat)), was on site chatting with people and walking them through his set piece and so I had a nice chat with him and toured the space and it was just amazing!

All the Frills: I'm Finished With 2020

I am so eager for 2020 to end that I set up my Christmas decorations about three weeks early this year. And, as usual, it is putting me in a slightly better mood. With two new boisterous kittens at home, I opted this year for my damage proof free (small, slight, and covered with plastic ornaments – purchased for the first Christmas that Eleanor was crawling, when I worried she’d topple the tree). I wish I could put my larger, taller tree out but here we are. I hope you’re all finding ways to enjoy the season!

Weekend Reading:

• Ruth Bader Ginsburg had some truly beautiful collars. 
  
  
  
• Yet further proof that Scotland is simply the greatest place in the world. 
  
  
  
• I mostly agree with this ranking of premiere episodes of the various Real Housewives franchises. Mostly.
  
  
  
• This is a horrific read on sickening injustices committed against “comfort women” (sex slaves). 
  
  
  
• This piece about reckoning with a post-Trump presidency and the limits of reconciliatory rhetoric was a good read.

A Hyper-Organized Christmas

Seriously, what in hell am I even looking at in these photos? 

Anyways, I wore this to go do all my holiday shopping (not pictured, my mask). I like to have as little stress around the holidays as possible so I get hyper-organized, make a to-buy list and a budget weeks in advance, and then book three days off work (one to decorate, one to shop, and one to wrap). Christmas is obviously going to look at a lot different this year and I had way fewer gifts to buy owing to a total dearth of gatherings, etc to bring things to, but I’m still pleased with myself for getting it all done and sorted before December 5 this year.

 

dress: Zara / coat: Zara / boots: Aldo / necklace: Saks Off 5th 

Feature: Some killer Black designers.

Winter, Where Are You?

Ah, the simple joys of a relatively balmy (-8 degrees) winter day, when I can again manage to make a heavier fall jacket work for me.

pants: Old Navy / shirt: Dynamite / jacket: Winners / necklace: Stella and Dot / shoes: Aldo 

Feature: Someone I know in my professional life wrote a really interesting piece about their experience in academia as a Black woman and the need to collect race-based data.

A Brief Return to Fall

As I mentioned last time, the snap of cold, wintery weather we had here recently relented sufficiently to allow me to cram I a few more days of actual fall weather clothes – which obviously delighted me to no end. Between not really leaving the house all that much and the way that fall here seemed to just last a grand total of 2 weeks, I feel as though I’ve barely had a chance to wear many of my lighter, fall jackets (like this faux leather one).

jacket: Winners / leggings: Old Navy / tunic: Simons / shoes: Aldo / necklace: Stella and Dot 

Feature: I am very eager to check out some of these podcasts about Black history and understanding the Black experience.

Reprieve

We got a bit of a reprieve a couple of weeks ago from bitter winter weather and snow. I mean it's all back now and winter is definitely here to stay, but I got to enjoy a few days of decent weather and non-terrifying driving at the start of the month. Seems like such a distant memory now...

pants: ASOS / shirt: Simons / cardigan: ASOS / shoes: Old Navy / necklace: Stella and Dot 

Feature: Eight Indigenous designers to get to know

All the Frills: I Miss Halloween

I had such a blast this Halloween! We opted to take Eleanor out trick or treating for a bit and, while fewer places than usual were offering candy and there were much fewer people out on the street (which made it super easy to socially distance), there was a real sense of Halloween spirit among those we encountered. People had candy chutes set up and bowls with tongs and it was honestly really fun and a very chill vibe because of the smaller crowds. Then the helpmeet and I got our babysitter and headed to a nine-person gathering at a friend’s house where there were themed cocktails and lots of snacks and wonderful costumes (and social distancing, an open patio, and masks) and it was really just a genuinely great time and a wonderful Halloween. I’m so glad we made it happen in the midst of all of this!

Weekend Reading:

I’m not much of a Jane Austen fan but this was a really interesting read.  

This is a great piece on the unique discrimination faced by Black women. 

The history of the Ouija Board. 

Finally, a “news” story that moderately soothes me. 

This going to last for months, isn’t it? 

I Guess Winter Is Here?

So, it’s basically winter here now. Cue my high anxiety fears of winter driving, which I still have to do twice daily when I take Eleanor to and from her day home. If it’s already snowing and cold at this point in the year then I imagine we’ll be in for a very long and very cold winter. I guess it’s a good thing that I enjoy winter (driving aside). 

In other news, I (like many others, I imagine) am a giant stress ball as I watch things unfold in the US. Even aside from what will happen over the next few days and weeks, I admit to being completely disheartened by the sheer numbers of votes that Trump actually secured. I think it speaks not only to the deep divisions present in the social landscape but to the prevalence of darker things, like misogyny, racism, homophobia, xenophobia, and just all around bigotry. And that is such a sad thing to have to acknowledge, especially because it seems to be present on such a depressing large scale.

 

leggings: ASOS / shirt: Old Navy / boots: Aldo / cardigan: Dynamite 

Feature: This brand looks amazing and I really want some of their face masks.

All the Frills: It's the High Holidays For Me

Well, it’s Halloween. My absolute favourite time of the year! Obviously, my house is fully decorated and several parents in my community are organizing a little outdoor Halloween parade so the kids can show off their costumes, so we’ll be taking Eleanor to that and will possibly stop at a few houses that look like they have socially distant trick or treating stations set up. One of my cohort friends is organizing a small (fewer than 10 of us) get-together (everyone in a mask and making sure people stand/sit an appropriate distance apart). So, I will get a chance to wear a costume this year (I’ve got a Medusa one that I’m very excited about) and, while it’s not Halloween as I’m used to it (is anything the way we’re used to anymore?), I’m still excited.

 

Weekend Reading:

• Historic jewelry! 
  
  
• I loathe Amy Coney Barrett and this false narrative about women, career success, and family that she’s now so intertwined with. 
  
  
• The surprising history of the cardigan – spoiler, it involves sexism and misogyny. 
  
  
• This was a really fascinating read about equity in classical music – seriously, I learned a ton reading this and it really gave me pause for thought. 
  
  
• Ah, this takes me back to grad school and the process of publishing my book. I think I easily got about 200+ rejection letters and emails during that period, most for elusive tenure track jobs. I will admit, that constant stream of rejection, paired with the odd success, was formative.

Lighting Woes

It’s staying dark in the morning much longer these days, and the sun is setting earlier, which means it’s time for my annual lighting woes. Guess I better get my ring light out of storage. And move that Lego Millennium Falcon box. And maybe put shoes on next time for photos (the product of not actually having the leave the house to go to work, I am more or less in a constant state of shoe-lessness these days).

tunic: Simons / leggings: Old Navy / necklace: The Bay 

Feature: This timeline of Blackness, immobility, and visibility in Europe 1600-1800 is an amazing resource – if I were actually still teaching European history this would 100% be on my syllabus.

All the Frills: Getting Seasonal

I’m officially settling into fall over here, with a fire in the morning while I have my coffee and fairy lights and candles in the evening as I lounge on the couch. It’s the greatest time of the year! How are you settling into fall?

Weekend Reading:

• This pandemic is going set women back 100 years. 
  
  
  
• I have soooo many thoughts about recent events on my beloved Real Housewives of Potomac and this piece captures many of them brilliantly. 
  
  
  
• The world is a mess right now. Let’s distract ourselves with some royal tiaras. 
  
  
  
• Clearly I have some perfumes to try. 
  
  
  
• This room of miniatures is amazing. I wonder if I could someday have a space like this?