Sunday, May 8, 2016

Capsule is (almost) complete!

Happy Mother's Day to all my mamma friends out there! Hope you all had a good day. I know that I did. It was a much better Mother's Day than last year. Last year Max was still pretty fussy. We we were still pretty tired. So even though Charlie got me a beautiful Juki sewing machine which I love (and wish I had more time to use), it was all sort of a blur.

Today, Max chose to sleep in until 6:15, which is a HUGE win these days. I think he's sort of transitioning between needing 2 naps a day and 1. One if often not enough and 2 is too many and so he is often kind of tired and cranky and getting up early. But today he slept in!

We went to church and then to Perkins for breakfast. He was good as gold and went down for a nap. Then Charlie and I got to planting all the veggies we bought yesterday. Max didn't take a great nap, but we got the gardens planted. Which is a huge accomplishment for me at 8 months pregnant. We didn't go as crazy as we had in previous years, because we know that we may not have the time and/or energy to can as much this year. BUT, we've got several varieties of tomatoes, peppers, red cabbage, green cabbage, broccoli, romaine lettuce and red leaf lettuce. Green beans, carrots and cucumbers will hopefully go in in the next few weeks. Strawberries and asparagus are still going strong despite the snow last weekend.

I had asked for either a pair of black Tieks or a pair of black Birkenstocks for Mother's Day. I had been doing a lot of research into making ethical and lasting investments in clothes and shoes to complete my capsule wardrobe. Tieks are something I have been looking into for quite some time. I have read rave reviews on them from everyone from travel bloggers to moms to physicians. They fold up very small (which is why they are great for traveling) and everyone talks about how comfortable they are. My black flats had been looking pretty shabby, but at $175 I wasn't sure if I was ready to take the plunge for a pair of ballet flats. Well, Charlie came through and got me a pair for Mother's Day. I've worn them around the house all day and then out on a walk around the high school, and I have to say - so far they are living up to the hype. They are extremely comfortable, and offer better support then you would think from looking at them. Hopefully they last and stand the test of time, but we will see.

So, then this afternoon Charlie took Max to the grocery store while I stayed back to have a bit of quiet time. I decided to get online and finally make some decisions about how I'm going to finish out my capsule for July after baby #2 is born. I have a hard time making decisions sometimes and this has been no exception. I think I have literally spent hours thinking about the last few pieces and where I want to get them from and what colors would be best, etc...

So I bought the black Birkenstocks. Not the traditional Birkenstock style, but rather these which I think will be a bit more versatile. It's hard to say that any Birkenstock would be "fancy" but I think you could more easily wear these with a skirt or capris and get away with it. I perseverated for a LONG time on the color. Black or brown? Or maybe navy? I finally consulted with the folks at Cladwell and asked their opinion. They suggested that black would probably go better with the other colors I had chose for my capsule, so that is what I went with.

Next, I went to my new favorite travel clothing website Encircled and made some decisions. I've read a lot of reviews about their dressy sweatpantsevolve top and chrysalis cardi. While I love all of them, and if I like the other pieces, I totally plan on getting a chrysalis cardi in the future, I didn't really think I needed it to fill out my current capsule. So I got a slate gray pair of dressy sweatpants (which a few women online had said fit them well even when pregnant) and a black evolve top. Again, I've read about a million different reviews from all sorts of people, and they all seem to think it is the bees knees, so I hope so. Because the price point is pretty damn high if it isn't super versatile and phenomenally comfortable.

I still technically am short one top for my capsule. Hopefully I'll find that over time, but for right now I'm tired of looking. And if I don't find what I'm looking for, I'll bet I will survive.

So as it stands right now, my capsule for July - September has 38 items...

Tops: A white tank top (maternity), a salmon athletic shirt from Lulu Lemon, a gray sleeveless shirt I got from D.Diff a few years ago, a white lace top from D.Diff, a white sleeveless top with black polkadots from D.Diff, my gray C-Bus T shirt, a mint green sleeveless top from D.Diff, my navy blue short sleeved maternity top from my last Stitch Fix, the black evolve top and the yet-to-be found top that will either be mint, salmon, or turquoise.

Top Layers: white linen blazer from Banana Republic, black open front cardigan from  Banana Republic, gray sheer cardigan from D.Diff, and navy blue Patagonia sweatshirt

Bottoms: black athletic shorts (I have a few pair to choose from, we'll see what fits after baby is born), black and brown ankle length pants from D.Diff, gray capris from D.Diff, floral ankle length pants from D.Diff, jeans (again, we'll see which ones fit), khaki shorts from D.Diff, a pair of jean shorts (that fit), gray dressy sweatpants, and black yoga pants.

Dresses and skirts: my white floral maxi dress, and my turquoise strapless knit dress that I got years ago in college and have worn the crap out of, gray maxi skirt that can also be worn as a maxi dress from Athleta

Shoes: running shoes, my Chacos, black Toms booties, brown flats from D.Diff, black Tieks, floral Toms ballet flats, black Birkenstocks, black strappy Toms sandals, navy blue Toms, striped Toms wedge sandals

Outerwear: my brown rain jacket from Eddie Bauer and my blue NorthFace fleece

So, I'm pretty pleased. I'm interested to see what I learn about myself and my preferences doing this. I didn't really choose a capsule last time, and I also lost weight and then my clothes I chose didn't fit. Then I got pregnant and went the other way. My biggest hang up, honestly, is the seeming lack of color. I've always been someone that gravitates towards bright colors. And you can most certainly include as much color as you'd like in a capsule, but you also want to try to make sure that everything goes with everything else if possible. So you do sort of have to choose a palette. This does not include scarves or jewelry or anything like that, so I'm hoping that with those things thrown in, I don't feel too scarce on color. BUT, if I do, then I learn from it and take that forward when I develop a capsule for the fall.

Wish me luck :) 

1 comment:

Tammie said...

Good Luck! I just read this. I didn't realize you were writing again. Let me know by email when you post something so I can read, if you want. Let me know how this goes for you. I would like to talk to you more about this, how to do it, etc..