I’ve been having a really rough week. Between finals, and feeling overwhelmed and the person I count on to make sure I eat and that the cats eat being out of town on business for another two weeks, it’s been really hard. I haven’t been sleeping well, and I’ve spent most of the week just trying not to let the panic get me. For the most part, thanks to a pretty spectacular support system, it’s working. I have no idea how I managed for years without people who pick me up for dinner or spend the evening watching Drag Race with me.

This morning I woke up feeling like I just need one more burst of energy to push through this week. To motivate myself, I thought perhaps I needed to dress the part. I have a friend, who runs Black Salt who looks effortlessly edgy every single day. The superhero/supervillain I would be aspires to that. So, in order to kick this week’s ass, I decided to channel her, and so I’m borrowing fierceness. It inspired me to drag out my tripod, so at least that’s a start. Now, if only I can find the remote for my camera.

It is HOT here today, and so I decided to wear shorts. I’m not 100% sure this is totally work perfect, but I work in the arts, and I’m hoping that it looks polished enough that no one cares. I didn’t wear shorts for a good 10 years, so they still feel weird to me. Also, high waisted things are something I’m really enjoying, even if I am not always totally sure that I’m doing it right. I did go buy a ton of bright skinny belts to make my outfits more fun, so I’ll be using those way too much for the next while. Today’s picture was the first one I managed to do with my tripod, so yay for small victories! Now I just need to find some places to stand with attractive backgrounds. Also, once it cools off a bit, I am going to post about my experience with Stitch Fix (full disclosure: this referral code will give me credit if you use it). I got a ton of gorgeous stuff, and then it was too hot to actually take reasonable pictures.

I’ve had this skirt in my closet for at least a year, but never wore it because the fit was always off. I just realized this is because it was supposed to be high-waisted and not drooping awkwardly on my hips. Problem solved! I am trying to wear more t-shirts, but I really need to find some that aren’t sheer, which drives me crazy. This outfit is the first in a long time that I’ve loved way more in pictures than in the mirror, which is a much better indicator of whether I like it or not.

As I’ve been thinking more about how fit works, I’ve been trying out different things. I actually bought these pants 2 years ago, and they didn’t fit. I didn’t realize at the time that they didn’t fit, I just thought they were 4 inches too long. The truth was that they were hanging 4 inches too low. Last month marked 3 years since I got my gallbladder out. For most of my adult life, I was terrified of food, because food was always equal to pain. It’s taken several years to work past that. As a result, I am about 20 lbs heavier than I was two years ago, which is a super healthy weight for me, and means that clothes actually look nice instead of falling off me. The result is that, for the first time in my adult life, I can fit into standard sized clothes. This is amazing, and I am really trying to embrace it, even if I think it’s ridiculous that my size is not an actual number.

The awesome thing about working on figuring out what looks good on me is that the effort I put in is causing me to get better and faster at getting dressed. Today I wanted to go back to bed, so no bright colors, and subtle everything. Also trousers! Half tucking makes me feel like it’s 1991 again, but this shirt only worked that way, and from what I understand, the 90s are back anyhow. I’m trying to embrace them and wear all the things I didn’t have the nerve to the first time around.