WHOAAA...I'M HALFWAY THERE....

*First off, I'd like to say my thoughts are with all the people who lost their lives or friends or family members in yesterday's senseless attack. We all lost something yesterday: Hope. Our sense of safety. Faith in the goodness of others. And so much more. Let's all make an effort to do something, even a little thing, to help this broken world. I'm sure gonna try.

Welp, here we are at HALFWAY POINT! Three months of closet challenge down, three more to go. That feels like a reeeeallly long time, but I know with the insanity that is the November-December rush, it's going to go by super fast. I just hope I can get everything worn in time. And, seeing as I STILL have not switched my closet over yet, I'm getting a leeeetle worried. So, that *fun* project is clearly on the docket this weekend, along with my hub's favorite thing: removing the A/C units from the windows and putting them in the basement. Who's excited?!

The “good” news is that my current options are dwindling to the point that I reached deep into the beast and pulled out this Forever21 dress—price tag still intact. Oh, the shame! I mean, the price tag was $15 but still, that's no excuse. Although here is an excuse: this dress is somewhat unforgiving. I bought it last year because I felt like my wardrobe was having a serious lack of color sitch. But then I gained some holiday lbs and felt doughy and promptly threw this stretchy bodycon-ish number way into the back of the bus. This morning, I decided to face my fear.

As I donned the dress, I didn't feel gross or horrible. I tried it with a belt and hated it. But I felt something else was needed. Enter: the super long soft cardi. This one is from H&M and is an essential wardrobe staple. I found it in a "fashion emergency" moment when the temperature promptly dropped about 15 degrees in the course of an hour one day last year. But I was also thrilled as I had a similar piece by Vince that I loved but it was 2% wool, which is apparently 2% more than I can tolerate. I'm so sensitive, I really cannot even fathom how anyone can simply wear a wool item next to their skin and not turn into an itchy grinch.

The boots, however, are the true piéce de résistance. I did the math today and realized these suckers are a whopping ELEVEN years old! These L'autre Chose boots were the first expensive "investment" shoes I ever bought—they were somewhere around $400 which was a LOT of money for me back then (and still no small amount now) but I was on my first work trip to LA and got swept up in the moment. That moment also being the one where I first began to use my private credit card so my Ex wouldn't see and get upset. I'm proud (and somewhat shocked) that I still love these boots as much now as I did then. I'd like to thank 28 year-old-me for a splurge well done. Looks like the ol’ "quality not quantity" adage IS a thing!

Look! A weird little trap door with a view of...a cemetery.

OutFit Or LeaveIT?: The dress is probably not a forever piece (ironically from Forever21), but I enjoyed wearing it today (and got compliments from the cute girls where I'm freelancing) so it shall live to see another season.