Closest Cleaning

I have been doing some major closet cleaning lately.  I haven’t been able to carve out time to completely dedicate myself to this, so I have been slowly working on it.   I took some pieces to a consignment shop last week, have a bag of pieces to take to another shop, am gathering pieces to sell on eBay, and am working on my bag of junk to be taken to Goodwill.  I have felt the need to get rid of clothing. Lots of clothing.  A couple of months ago I had a little over 100 dresses, and I am trying to get it down to around 30 or 40.  If I don’t love it fully and completely, it has no place in my wardrobe.  I am also really craving a small, extremely edited wardrobe.  The excess in my closet is annoying me and I am doing something about it.  If you are cleaning out your wardrobe, here are a few tips:

1.  If you can’t dedicate an afternoon to it, tackle chunks at a time.  In 30 minutes you can sift through your tops and pull out the ones you don’t love.

2.  If you don’t love it, get rid of it.  Seriously.

3.  Try everything on.  If it doesn’t fit you perfectly, but you love it , throw it in a pile and take it the tailor.  A tailor can do wonders for your wardrobe.

4.  If you haven’t worn it in a year, get rid of it.  Exceptions: cocktail dresses and a few nostalgic pieces.  I also keep designer handbags that I do really love, but haven’t used in a while, but feel free to sell these.

5.  If pieces are too small, put them in a special section of your closet, away from your clothes that do fit, and give yourself a deadline.  If they still don’t fit in 3/6/9 months (whatever you are comfortable with), get rid of them.  It never feels good to stare at clothes that don’t fit.

6.  There are going to be pieces you are on the fence about.  Put those in a box/bag/somewhere and revisit them in a month.  If you are excited when you pull them out a month later, keep them.  If you find when you pull them out that you  didn’t miss those pieces, get rid of them.

7.  Remember, they are just clothes.

Any tips you would like to share?

h.g.s at Madewell

hunt.gather.style will be at Madewell next Saturday from 3-6.  We have been hoarding  a few of our best pieces for this upcoming shop.  We have tons of great skirts for spring and summer, great dresses, and really unique tops.  Plus, Madewell is offering 20% off  everything.   How great is that?  We will be putting some sneak peeks on the blog next week.  If you’re local, stop by next Saturday.  

Summer Sandals

This week I have picked up a  few replacements for my sandals that I wear all the time.   Last summer I wore out my black sandals and my favorite wedges.  My gold, nude, and silver sandals are on the verge being retired, too.  I have been hunting for the perfect replacements for them and finally found a couple pairs to replace a few of them.

I’ve ordered these in both gold and yellow.

And I splurged and ordered these.  Normally I wouldn’t spend much on sandals, but when the Shopbop friends and family code popped up, I went ahead and bought them. I have been wanting a sandal with a slight heel, and I think these are going to be perfect.

What are your summer sandal staples?

 

Over the Weekend….

One of my dearest friends got married this weekend and I was lucky enough to be a part of it.  It was a three day event filled with laughter, tradition, love, and fabulous food.

The bride’s beautiful saris for the weekend.

Waiting for my henna to dry.  

My husband and I after the sangeet on Friday night.

I had never worn a sari before and was extremely excited to get to have the opportunity.  I had no idea how uncomfortable it was going to be.  You have to tie the skirt tight so it will hold up all the fabric.  Even though it was extremely tight, I loved wearing it.

Being a part of a wedding is always wonderful, but being part of one so rich in tradition was absolutely amazing and one I will never forget.  How was your weekend?

Culinary Cravings: Gluten and Dairy Free

I have been seeing a holistic chiropractor recently (feel free to roll your eyes).  She specializes in phrenology and spends a lot of our sessions feeling my head to see what minerals and vitamins I am lacking and how my body is reacting to the environment (feel free to do a double eye roll here).  I really like her and have felt so much better taking the vitamins she has suggested and my lower back pain that plagued me most days is gone.  She has been nagging me to go  gluten- free.   She thinks I am allergic, it will help clear up my skin, and will get rid of the bloat I have been carrying around for, I don’t know, like, forever.   I  am struggling with this.  I am totally fine at home, but when I head out to a restaurant with a delicious, warm bread basket, I weaken and give in.  There are so many options at the grocery store for those who forgo gluten, but some restaurants are harder.  Have you gone gluten-free?  Was it hard?

On top of trying to be gluten-free, I am attempting to go dairy-free.  I love cheese.  In all forms.  Queso, creamy brie, and hard, salty Parmesan.  I don’t play favorites.  I have proclaimed that life is not worth living without a cheese plate and wine.  And I still believe this, but I am trying it out in hopes of getting rid of my stomach issues once and for all.  But, again, I am wondering what to eat when I go out to eat.  I enjoy going out to eat with my husband on weekends and I am already that annoying person who asks “Is there chicken stock in the queso?” “Do your tortillas have lard?”  ”Does the rice have any animal fat?”  Yes, I eat Mexican food a lot.  I live in Texas and Mexican food is fantastic.  So now I must be the super annoying person who asks about gluten and dairy too?  I am already annoyed with myself and I haven’t heard me quiz the waiter yet.

So, can I give into cheese and gluten at restaurants?  Is that undoing everything I am attempting to do?  Will it fix all my issues?  Who knows.  It is worth a try, right?  Have any of you given up these items?  How hard was it?  Any advice?

White Jeans Update

So I ordered the DL 1961 jeans (which are sold out on Shopbop) in two sizes, but I think they are not going to work for me.  I really, really wanted to like them, but  the bigger size is a bit too big in the waist, and the smaller size is a bit too small in the butt.  A week of not working out and living off of rum punches and french fries certainly didn’t help the fit of the jeans, but I am not sure I want to wait and see if my returning to eating normally will allow the smaller size to fit better.  I have sent back the bigger size and will probably end up sending back the smaller size.  The jeans are great, though.  Especially if you are not hippy.  The pockets are sewn shut and the material is thick. Today, while shopping with a client, I stumbled upon  these Gap jeans.  They came home with me.

 

The fabric is much lighter than the DL 1961 pair, but the pockets are sewn shut, and my size fit.  Plus, you can unroll them and make them more ankle length.  I think I have found a white pair of jeans.

While on Vacation…

 I saw many beautiful sunsets.

I took many walks on the beach.

Sometimes the only other living creatures on the beach were these guys.

I carried this gorgeous clutch from Etcetera, etc.

I sat and listened to reggae music at an outdoor bar.  There was dancing, too.

I think I had a good time.  Now, I’m trying to catch up on work.  I hope you had a great Easter weekend!