Oh, thank God!

Look, I know you were thinking it too. I’m happy, you’re happy, everyone is happy now that this blasted challenge is over. Let us never speak of it again. But first: a quick recap. Haha! Gotcha! You thought you were home free, but you’re not. Not just yet.

Here is an abbreviated summary of my thoughts on this entire process:

Day 1: I’ve made a terrible mistake.

Day 2: I f—-g hate everything I have to wear right now.

Day 6: Gah! These pants make me look like I’m smuggling Jon Hamm’s trouser bulge. FML.

Day 9: I like blue a lot. Also red and cognac. Not the drink.

Day 10: I need a drink.

Day 15: Wait, this is still not over yet?!

Day 21: It’s been raining for 3 days, and I have no rain gear in the line-up. A pair of saggy-crotched pants, but no rain gear.

Day 22: It’s still raining. Also, I f—–g hate everything I have to wear right now.

Day 23: Sun!! I love everything! You too, saggy-crotched pants.

Day 26: When this is over, I am wearing all of my clothes. At the same time. All of them.

Day 29: I’m pretty sure I have never been more excited to be done with an arbitrary, self-imposed, completely irrelevant project than I am at this very moment.

Day 30: YESSSSSSSSSS!!!

Day 31: What the hell do I wear now?!

I have learned … basically nothing new. Working with a capsule wardrobe makes getting dressed easy, because it limits your available options thereby making them manageable. I prefer to get the same result by prepping a list of outfits ahead of time, but keeping my clothing options wide open. Can I wear the same 30 pieces over and over, without the sky falling? Well, duh! But I’m not going to enjoy it either, which … duh! Like I said, this was revelatory not at all. But I did the damn challenge, and I can now cross it off my bucket list. If I had one. Which I don’t.

Maybe I should make a bucket list next. I’m only – what? – 5 years behind the trend on that one. Ten? Perfect!

Here’s a recap of my 30 outfits, in no particular order.

I love these pants a ridiculous amount. Also, the middle pic above is my #1 favourite outfit of this entire challenge.

Skinny jeans are always a safe bet.

Ditto for Marc by Marc Jacobs bags. I have a sickness, but I ain’t looking for a cure.

This J. Crew dress is a great casual LBD. I’m not sure why I didn’t wear it more often.

Ah, the potato sack of glory!

This is one of the few pieces I can probably bring myself to wear again this summer. Oh, and the right pic below is my #2 fave outfit.

Speaking of closet workhorses, this J. Crew Factory skirt is one of the best $20 investments I ever made. Well, at J. Crew anyway.

The outfit on the left below is tied for #3 fave, but I might be biased because I wore it on a Good Hair Day.

This is the “other pants” category, which … meh. The “Jon Hamm” pants have already been relegated to playground duty, and not a moment too soon.

Last, but not least, this cute striped Joe Fresh dress is … still cute. And you can probably still find it at your local Superstore/Loblaws so, you know, think about it. [And by that I mean: buy it! Do it!!]

Have you done a 30 x 30 challenge? Did you hate it as much as I did? Would you consider doing one, or have I completely horrified you away from the mere thought of it? C’mon, spill!

I couldn’t end this post without saying: Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians! This year marks the 19th anniversary of my family’s arrival in this country. My parents and I came here to start a new life, and what a crazy, wonderful adventure it has been. I am so proud to call Canada my home and native land.

Going out with a bang, you guys! I really like how this outfit turned out, though, god knows, it’s not going to set the fashion world on fire. Black + light blue is one of my current fave colour combos, and it makes a nice background for all kinds of other colours. Like, say, purple and teal. Speaking of which, I love this scarf:

I don’t wear it often – because, whoa, print overload – but it looks great with a pared-down outfit. I’m kinda all about the pared-down outfit these days, which … blows my mind. I mean, have you guys seen what I used to wear?! Your blogger is finally growing up, folks.

I can still pose along with those young whippersnappers, though. Smizing!Blue Steel!

Listen, I don’t have much to say about these clothes anymore. I feel like this particular dead horse (herd of dead horses?) deserves a breather. So, instead, how about 3 random facts about me? Because, come on, we can never have enough me on this blog, amirite?

1. I took intro Spanish in my undergrad for a Humanities credit, and also because I wanted to read Jorge Luis Borges’ work in the original. Sadly, I never became sufficiently fluent for that, and I have since forgotten most of what little I knew. One thing that has stayed with me is a love for Latin music – everything from bachata to old-school tango songs. My fave singers are Marc Anthony (shuddup, his Spanish-language stuff is amazeballs) and Alejandro Sanz; I also like the Buena Vista Social Club, because, apparently, I am your mother.

2. I am obsessed with baby names. I’m not a baby person at all, but I can talk baby names for days. Bonus fun fact: I hated naming my own kids. While my husband agreed to let me have the ultimate veto power, he also imposed some strict constraints on the selection process. Totally sucked the fun right out of it, although our kids will probably thank him in about 10-15 years. But, hey, if you’re preggo and need to bounce some ideas around, I’m at your service.

3. I went to an all-girls private school for junior high. I hated every fucking minute of it.

If you’re feeling chatty, share one of your random facts in the comments. You know I love to hear from ya!