Friday Feels #4

This was a pretty quiet week. Absolute crickets on the query front, which was both disappointing and helpful. I was able to put a LOT of time towards my current WIP [work in progress], particularly as I ended up taking the whole week off work. I spent most of that time either writing or hanging out with the fam. I went thrifting once, which is definitely noteworthy; if this had been last year, I’d have gone to three or four thrift stores during a week’s holiday. One of the reasons for this change of habit comes down to something that should surprise no one who’s been reading this blog for more than a hot second: I have more than enough clothes already. The bigger reason is, simply put, obsession. I’ll come back to that in a minute.

That said, I am hoping to hit up one or two thrift stores this weekend. Mostly, I’m hoping to find jewelry, which is something I haven’t had much luck with recently. I’ve been getting into a maximalist vibe with my jewelry – but not in terms of size/style as much as volume. I’m really digging the whole rings-on-every-finger / arm parties / necklace stacking lewk. I don’t want super chunky “statement” pieces, but rather unique and interesting ones that can be layered/stacked. I’m also looking for pieces that are at least on the nicer end of costumer jewelry, if not semi-fine (say, silver or gold vermeil). Finding stuff like that at the thrift store is like finding needles in haystacks these days. I don’t mind paying up and buying from the jewelry showcases, but even those are pretty empty slash underwhelming. But … we persist! The treasure hunt is the fun!

On Thursday, my husband and I celebrated our 15^th wedding anniversary. That number’s starting to feel a little more impressive every year. Like, we are getting closer and closer to “old timers” status, LOL! We didn’t anything “special” to celebrate on the day of, but we do have plans for a date on Saturday. We’re gonna go to a vintage car meet-up in my husband’s 1974 Beetle, hang out, and enjoy some bougie burgers. [aka from a place that isn’t A&W.] I still gotta figure out what I’m going to wear, but that should be fun.

Sorta related tangent: we’re going stop by the mall so I can get my fix of Orange Julius’ strawberry banana drink. I’m obsessed! It’s a crime – a CRIME, I tell you – that you can only get Orange Julius in malls nowadays. There’s a DQ not 5 minutes from my house, but they don’t sell OJ stuff in their stores anymore. WHYYYYYYY!?!?

Speaking of obsession. Twice in the last week, I came across Reels on my Insta feed/discovery page that talked about obsession being the key to success. It felt like a sign from the universe, so I’ve been thinking a lot about it. To be clear: in this context, obsession is different from perseverance, passion, or belief (though it involves/requires all those things). Basically, obsession means living, breathing your pursuit – whatever that is – 24/7 to the exclusion of pretty much everything else. You gotta be a cross between a horse with its blinkers on and a dog with a bone. [Or maybe a feral racoon with a piece of cake rescued from the dumpster. Maybe cross-species metaphors are not my forte.] You gotta be stubborn, persistent, and a little bit delusional. Maybe a lot delusional. And you gotta be prepared to make sacrifices.

That part is hard.

I’ve been sitting with that idea a lot lately, as I continue to grapple with both my day to day priorities-balancing act, as well as the bigger picture of what I want my life to look like, now and in the future.

I am not going anywhere with this topic, by the way. Not right now … because, like I said, I’m still sitting with it myself. But if you are also in the midst of tackling huge, lifelong dreams, maybe this will resonate 🙂

Have a great weekend!