What's New, Part Q

We're enjoying a typical hot, sticky Chicago week, so all bets are off as to what is appropriate for office wear. As Heidi said, we all go a bit feral when the air conditioning fails. We've had a couple of brown-outs that didn't last long, but when the chillers stop, it takes a while to get them rolling again in an 80,000 square foot building. Wow, I know way too much about HVAC.

I wore some new stuff, especially loving the new (eBay) Talbot's silk skirt, that I also own in a golden brown. I'd also love it in the deep burgundy Baccara Rose, if I can find it someday. Again with the multiples - that is a hard habit to break.

The tank is from Kohl's (Simply Vera Vera Wang), and it shows a bra strap or two, but who cares when it is in the nineties. I brought a pink pashmina in case it got cool in the office (it really didn't).

And look! The pencil skirt fairies came!

Red eyelet Talbot's pencil skirt

Yellow and Green, How do I Love Thee?

Let me count the ways.  I love thee in a Vera Wang tank, a Macy's crocheted cardigan, and in Talbot's cords.

I also love thee in velveteen and ponte, and I even love thee when I'm discarding thee. Tomorrow's post will be green and gold, which is practically the(e) same.

Hang on, abrupt segue approaching. 

Over the weekend I started thinking, "You know that feeling you get when you're getting ready for a first date, and feeling a few butterflies? How it might be great, it might be dull, it might at least involve a nice dinner?" Well, I HATE that feeling. That feels like ANXIETY to me. That feels eerily similar to some of the board meetings I've been to in the last year.

Now, I get that many people like that thrill of anticipation. There are situations where I like it too - when I'm about to go on stage, for example. Whether I'm acting or talking to a crowd, that frisson is pleasant and energizing. It makes me sharper and more enthusiastic and more entertaining.  

But that is because I know what I'm doing on stage. I don't know what I'm doing in relationships; or at least, everything I've learned goes out of my head at that moment and I become a fourteen-year-old again. I want to do what I'm GOOD at. And I fear the outcome of dating. Stage = applause, in my experience, and dating = tears. Public speaking is cake, and dating is  . . . something less tasty. Or eating too much fried food. Oh sure, it's fun for a while, but you sure feel lousy later. Sorry, I may have lost the metaphor there.

I also note that I love picking out what I'm going to wear on stage. I love the "costume". On the other hand, for years I wore the same thing on first dates; dark jeans and a black silk top. It was a uniform, concealing rather than revealing.

So for now, I'm going to stick to dressing up and going to work.