My Wardrobe, Myself

Recapping Balance and Striving for Peace

Debbie Roes

February 17, 2017

NOTE: This post was originally published on my previous blog, Recovering Shopaholic.

So much has been going through my mind since I published my last post. Crystallizing the thoughts I shared with you earlier this month was a breakthrough for me and has created an opening for new breakthroughs. I believe that this is the year when things will finally fall more into place for me after years of feeling stuck in the mire of my anxiety and discontent. Granted, I still feel stuck in many ways, but I see a light at the end of the tunnel, a clearing for a new and better reality.

Seeing a Clearing for a New and Better Reality…

Today’s post is another one I’ve been intending to write since the beginning of the year, but I wasn’t able to slow down and take the time to pull it all together. These more introspective essays don’t necessarily take longer to write than the ones with lots of photos and numbers, but they are more difficult for me to complete. I need to have the internal clarity in order to be able to express myself in a way that makes sense. My brain has felt like a big jumble for quite a while now with so much inner noise that it’s been hard for me to relax or sleep.

The End Game of Project 333 and Capsule Wardrobes

Debbie Roes

68 comments

February 3, 2017

NOTE: This post was originally published on my previous blog, Recovering Shopaholic.

Back in September, I attended the San Diego session of Courtney Carver’s “Tiny Wardrobe Tour.” As I mentioned in my post the following day, knowing that I’d be attending this talk motivated me to create a hypothetical summer Project 333 capsule wardrobe (which I later decided to dress with for the month of October). At that time, I promised to share some of the insights I gained from the Tiny Wardrobe Tour presentation, but I haven’t been able to do so until now…

Courtney Carver’s “Tiny Wardrobe Tour” – September 2016, San Diego

A lot of thoughts came up for me during Courtney’s talk and I found myself on the verge of tears several times. I started capturing my thoughts shortly after the event, but I was unable to finish the post for some reason. I came back to it a couple of times, but ended up leaving it unfinished again. It wasn’t until this week that I was able to complete it to my satisfaction and share my musings here. Sometimes we need to sit with something for a while, and perhaps what’s happened in my life over the ensuing months has helped to crystalize the lessons in my mind.

Gray Hair Transition – Rounding the Seven Month Mark

Debbie Roes

51 comments

November 18, 2016

NOTE: This post was originally published on my previous blog, Recovering Shopaholic.

It’s been over three months since I gave an update on how I’m doing with my gray hair transition, so I thought this would be a good time for me to fill you in on the journey. I’m now at just about the seven month mark and there have been some changes to my transition plan since I last reported on the process back in August. I’m still planning to stay the course, but it definitely hasn’t been easy! In today’s post, I’ll update you on recent new developments and share photos and thoughts on how my transition is progressing.

Since I’ve written quite a few posts about my gray hair transition, I created a new blog category to make it easy to access this content for those who are interested. If you’re pondering the process – or are currently in it – and would like some tips and advice, be sure to check out my “Going Gray & Getting Out of Hair Prison Follow-Up” article, as it is chock full of suggestions from readers and useful links to gray hair transition resources.

Transitioning to Gray Hair Continue reading

Photography Interlude – Pacific Beach

Debbie Roes

16 comments

November 10, 2016

NOTE: This post was originally published on my previous blog, Recovering Shopaholic.

I’d like to highlight another one of my favorite places today. In the midst of all of the chaos and upset going on right now, this also seems like a good time to focus on what’s good and beautiful in the world. The lovely scenery abundant to the area where I live is a wonderful example of this, as I’ve shown in previous photography posts.

A few weeks ago, my husband and I drove to Pacific Beach for a walk and to photograph the sunset. It’s just a twenty minute drive from where we live, but it can feel like a world away. We took quite a few photographs on that mild autumn evening, the best of which are featured below.

These kids were enjoying a beautiful October evening in Pacific Beach.

Photography Interlude – Lake Tahoe & Half Moon Bay

Debbie Roes

6 comments

September 23, 2016

NOTE: This post was originally published on my previous blog, Recovering Shopaholic.

In my last post, I debriefed what I packed for my recent trip to Lake Tahoe and the San Francisco Bay Area. I appreciate all of the great comments and packing suggestions I received on that post. Some of you are seasoned packing pros who have gotten things down to a fine science! I’ve found it helpful to take some time to review what I’ve taken on my trips and how it worked out (or didn’t) for me (you can read all of my posts on packing for travel here). I made some mistakes this last time, but I now have a better understanding of how to pack for travel during a “cusp season.” I feel confident that I will fare better with packing for my next similar trip.

I finally had a chance to review and edit all of the photos I took on my trip. While I didn’t take as many as I did on my September 2015 Tahoe trip, there were still quite a few to look at from my time away. I decided to share my favorite photos with all of you in today’s “photography interlude” (see previous editions here). I also highlight some key information about the locations shown for those who are interested in learning more.