This week was just one, long spiral. I was getting annoyed at myself for not being able to pull out of it, and then I realized that there is Just. A. Lot. Going. On. right now. Like, A LOT. In the world, at work, in my personal sphere. There is only so much emotional regulation my ADHD brain can handle at one time. Sometimes, falling apart (for a little while) is just, well, unavoidable. I know I’ll pull myself together again sooner or later. In the meantime, what I need most from myself is grace, not a guilt trip.

It hasn’t been all bad, though. This past weekend, my husband and I had a blast at dinner with some new friends; we celebrated our daughter’s 12^th birthday (she’s officially a tween but going on 25, lol!); and had a lovely family BBQ at my dad’s house. I got a pedicure and finally found a cute pinkie ring (it’s been a journey, y’all).

I also did the seasonal switch in my closet, moving from summer to fall and doing some editing in the process. I may have jumped the gun a bit – the weather has been holding steady here (for once!) – but I was feeling the urge for a clean-out / fresh start with my clothes. As the season progresses, I plan to do more editing because I still feel like my closet is too full for my current needs. I’m finding that I crave less variety than in the past and gravitate more towards wearing my fave pieces on repeat.

The problem is that there are very few low-hanging fruit left to trim in my wardrobe. It’s easy to pick out and get rid of items that are ill-fitting, poor quality, or not my style … but that doesn’t describe anything currently in my closet. Like, I love all of the eleventy million skirts I currently own. I might love some of them slightly more than others, but the differential isn’t so significant as to make it a no-brainer when it comes to downsizing. I know, first world problems.

To not compound my problem, I’m staying away from fall trend forecasts. I don’t need to play with fire temptation when it comes to buying new things. I’ve also decided to forego making a fall wishlist this year – mostly because I don’t feel like I need anything, and also because I don’t want to convince myself I need anything. I am debating potentially getting a long trench coat (thrifted, of course) but I’m not entirely sure that the oversized look is something I like on myself. I think I’ll try on a few options if/when I come across them at the thrift store and assess.

Which reminds me … I still need to go through my outerwear closet, oop.

And my shoes.

I guess I know what I’ll be doing this weekend.

Have a great weekend!

It’s no secret that I love watches. It should be no surprise that I love them as aesthetic accessories more so than functional objects. (Fun fact: I think I have one working watch in my entire collection.) To me, they are fancy bracelets with extra bits. Like jewelry, watches are wearable art. With a couple dozen in my collection, there’s one for every mood and outfit. I definitely have favourites, though. Wanna see them? Of course you do.

The Timex moon phase watch was one of my thrifting White Whales for a long time. I ended up finding one on Poshmark after a years-long search, but before that happened, I found the vintage Guess version on the left at a local Goodwill. To this day, these two watches are my absolute favourites – the 2 that I’d save first in an emergency. I am a total sucker for anything moon/sun/star themed, which goes a long way to explaining my fondness for these watches. I love their vintage feel – they’re very 90s-coded to me. The Guess watch also happens to have my favourite font (?) of Roman numerals, reminiscent of the Cartier Ballon Bleu which is the watch of my dreams.

I am not generally a huge fan of skeleton watch faces, but I love the intricate steampunk-ish vibes of the vintage Fossil watch on the right. I also love how black-and-gold colour scheme pops. If you like the vibes of this trio and want to add something similar to your collection, I recommend looking at vintage Guess and Fossil because they had some great designs in the 80s and 90s. There are tons of listings on eBay, and the prices are generally far more affordable than, say, Timex and other similar brands.

The Bruno Magli watch (middle) is another piece I spent months hunting online because it reminded me of the classic Cartier tank watch, at a fraction of the price. (And I ended up finding it for a killer deal on eBay.) The vintage Emile Renaud watch on the right reminded me of the iconic Gucci stripe design. I got it for a song on Poshmark and replaced the old, cracked strap with a new leather one off Amazon. Good as new! Same strap, in a different size, went on the vintage Bulova watch I thrifted at Value Village, replacing the original metal strap that showed a ton of wear. Changing straps is a super easy way to “fix” up thrifted watches – you just need a basic watch repair kit, and there are lots of inexpensive ones on Amazon. (They will also allow you to replace batteries at home, if a working watch is a must have for you 😉)

On a related note: if, like me, you have champagne tastes and a beer budget, it’s worth looking at non-dupe dupes. Inspiration being a widely accepted form of flattery in the fashion/design industry, many iconic designs end up being “copied” by a variety of different brands at various price points. The Emile Renaud watch is a good example of that. It’s not pretending to be Gucci (i.e. not stamped as such), but it looks an awful lot like, well, you know what.

I tend to gravitate towards watches on the daintier side, but the Michael Kors watch on the left is an exception. It’s hefty … and I love it! I think it’s the purple-blue watch face, along with the chunky Roman numerals (sense a theme?), that make it a standout for me. The Anne Klein watch on the right was my attempt to “dupe” the Cartier Ballon Bleu at an affordable price point (aka under $50). It checks off all my boxes, but it has one downside – the strap is non-adjustable and slightly large for my wrist. I have to wear it pushed up my arm a bit, which I don’t love. I got the watch on eBay and assumed that, like most bracelet-type straps, I could adjust the size by removing links. Wrong. It also turns out that it’s basically impossible to remove and replace the entire bracelet. Sigh.

Last but not least, shoutout to the “starry night” Skagen Anita watch, one of my OGs. I have a couple of versions of this design, and it’s such a cool, minimalist everyday option. It’s definitely something of an outlier in this line-up, but I still adore it. It’s a rare sighting on the secondhand market, but worth chasing down — I always get tons of compliments whenever I wear it.

And there you have it: the highlights on my (current) watch collection. I’m still dreaming of a day when I might get my paws on the one watch to rule them all [ahem, Cartier] but I’m happy making memories with this lot in the meantime.

Come tell me all about your fave watches in the comments!

First week of school is in the bag, and it was a bit of a bumpy start so I think we’re all relieved it’s over. My daughter is turning 12 on Sunday, so we are going to tackle the weekend like it’s a giant cupcake o’ fun. [Actual cupcakes may be involved. And at least one trip to the bookstore because that’s our “happy place” according to the birthday girl.]

We have a bunch of non-birthday related social events this weekend, which will hopefully be additional distraction for me from the joyless rollercoaster that is querying. Yes, I started that whole nonsense again and I’m already hating it. And questioning my decision to keep banging my head against the wall trying to get an agent. But … new book, new horizons, right? Right?! RIGHT???? *cries in different book, same old story*

I did read a bunch of fun/interesting books this week, including Katabasis by RF Kuang [had a lot of thoughts on this one, would be curious to hear yours] and The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia [this one was a cracking read], plus a couple of sequels in the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch [loved, I’m obsessed with this series atm]. I am procrastinating on getting back into writing, for reasons I don’t want to analyze too closely – cough, impostor syndrome, cough – but I’m telling myself that reading is an acceptable medium of procrastination since it’s still, indirectly, helping my development as a writer. I am in the process of branching out farther in the fantasy realm, and even eyeing gothic and horror, so it’s good to familiarize myself with the current market.

I got my dresses back from the seamstress, and I am SO happy with the results! A few strategic alterations go a long way. I’m planning to wear my beloved rainbow dress again this weekend, and for the first time, I won’t have to futz around with the bodice to make it fit properly. Yay! Speaking of dresses, I broke my Poshmark no-buy streak and took the plunge on a vintage-ish LRL brown polka dot dress. Very Pretty Woman coded (iykyk). It was relatively inexpensive, fingers crossed it turns out to be a winner. The last time I tried to buy an Ralph Lauren piece on Poshmark, I had a bad experience with the condition of the item (not disclosed in the listing).

Have a great weekend!