The Sweater That Broke the Camel's Back

I have a hard time following rules and directions the last few years.  Maybe it has something to do with me having kids, and the necessary responsibility that naturally comes along with it.  I'm by nature a very rules and structure person, especially when it's self-imposed.  But I'm realizing more and more that the times I get the most stressed are when I am on someone's time schedule, or playing by someone elses rules. 

When I initially signed up for the Kendi Everyday 30x30 Challenge it sounded like a good idea.  Choose only 30 items to wear over the course of a 30 day period and don't shop.  Sounds simple enough right?

Well not exactly.  What I did not take into consideration was that in the course of those 30 days I would have to take 1 set of family photos, take 2 work trips to NYC, and take 1 trip to the snow with my family.  Not exactly an ideal situation for remixing the same wardrobe pieces through 3 climate shifts, and coordinating outfits with 3 other individuals.  I get hives just thinking about it.  Oh, and the taking daily pictures part?  That turned out to be a total stress inducer all on its own.

I lived through my first trip to NYC and Black Friday without shopping.  But it was the family photos with Miranda that did me in.  We were taking studio shots against a white background, so I wanted some sort of texture in a creamy pale color to make the pictures seem extra bright, but not blend in, hence the texture part (this is me faking my way through photography styling speak).  It's the God's honest truth, but I did not own any cream or white sweaters.  How was that possible?  So during a speedy 5 minute trip to the only decent shop within 3 minutes of me, I picked up this sweater from The Loft.  It was on sale for $36.99.  Instead of chastising myself, I sort of at that point threw in the towel for the challenge and reveled in my beautiful new sweater.  Do I regret giving up so easily, after just 1 week of the challenge?  Absolutely not, I love my sweater and have worn it almost everyday since.  You can see how it's already pilling a bit from just a couple of weeks' worth of wear.  Best $37 bucks I've spent in a while.

Sorry Kendi, I had high hopes for me, but it just wasn't in the cards for me this time around.

You can visit Miranda's site to see the sweater photographed in all its glory, along with a freakin adorable little boy in a fisherman's cable knit sweater.  I seriously die for toddler boys in cable knit sweaters.