I have done good work.
Even the most prolific among us needs to write love letters to ourselves.
I have done good work.
Your life, your story, your words have meaning.
You have done good work.
​~Brandi Cheyenne Harper

The story of these secondhand pants for me...starts with a shopping trip to not-secondhand stores. I was missing the feeling of shopping new season collections in-store rather than online...taking in the new colors...trying things on...possibly choosing something to take home. 

We walked through a few stores + were met with racks of things that held no appeal. I finally found a few pieces at Eileen Fisher that I liked. The women who work there were a delight + the whole experience just felt like relief.

Back home, I took a look around the website + was reminded of their resale site Eileen Fisher Renew. Because I had tried pieces on in the shop, I was able to navigate these preowned pieces with a little more confidence regarding sizing + style preferences. This site has the added perk of accepting returns...quite a luxury in the online secondhand realm.

In the end I was able to try on three pairs of "like-new", Eileen Fisher pants (which altogether cost less than the price of one new pair). I haven't quite decided which ones to keep yet, but I feel like I will wear these pants differently than I would wear a pair I'd bought for three times the cost...which is not to say that I will value them less. I will simply wear them like the tool they are...rather than feeling they are too precious to risk ruining. I will wear these pants to my physical job...to get cuddles from the young pup in our lives...to relax at home...and to look + feel put together out + about too. Clothes are meant to be lived in after all...and if they can be lived in by more than one person...well, that's pretty cool.

Love,
​Jane

This week's everyday climate action seems to have a theme of connection. The more connected we feel to the land, our food, our things, the weather and, most importantly, to each other...the more we will be motivated toward climate action. Slow down. Move in closer. Take notice. Connect the dots. Let it sink in deep.

• 99 :: keeping those onions regrowing :: changing the water + keeping the roots submerged
• 100 :: planting the garden :: connecting with where food comes from...which means people...weather...pollinators...
• 101 :: observing, connecting with, and caring about the creatures with whom we share our neighborhood
• 102 :: celebrating with beeswax candles + composting them afterward
• 103 :: wrapping gifts with reusable + reused wrapping :: reusing those indigo-dyed bandanas + folding envelopes out of magazine pages
• 104 :: eating those regrown onions
• 105 :: enjoying zero-waste treats out + about...served on dishes that can be washed
• 106 :: keeping those worn sheets in use a little longer 

I like to do this exercise where I try to figure out the smallest number of clothing pieces that would offer something to wear in all the foreseeable situations + weather in which I might find myself. 

My current list :

• a few tees
• a sweatshirt
• an oversized pullover
• a pair of jeans
• a pair of soft pants 
• a pair of leggings
• a pair of sandals
• a pair of trainers
• a pair of boots

This covers situations + weather as follows:

work (colder) :: tee + jeans + trainers + sweatshirt 
work (warmer) :: tee + jeans + trainers

home (colder) :: tee + leggings + pullover or sweatshirt
home (warmer) :: tee + soft pants 

out (colder) :: pullover + jeans + boots 
out (warmer) :: tee + soft pants + sandals

athletic wear :: tee + leggings + trainers + sweatshirt

pajamas :: tee + soft pants

formal-ish (colder) :: pullover + soft pants + boots
formal-ish (warmer) :: woven tee + soft pants + sandals

This exercise feels liberating. It feels like possibility. It lets me feel like a vacation with just a backpack is possible. It feels like security. It lets me feel like starting over (if we had to) might not be completely impossible. It feels like adventure. It lets me feel like living in a tiny house or van could work.

Less is the best way, in my opinion, to set ourselves up to be able to value farmers, garment workers + the planet by using less resources, using up our clothing, and making less waste. I like to do this exercise at different points in time with my current preferences in mind. It's not an excuse to change everything in my wardrobe, but it is fun to apply some of my current favorites to the list. If I'm getting by without something on this list, I can probably wait to buy an item until the predicted situation arises. (I haven't gone anywhere that requires more formal attire in the past couple of years, for example.)

With this list in front of me, I can easily see that the pieces I already have are indeed enough. What a gift! 

All lovely photos via links.

Love,
​Jane

Color has my attention again. It has to do with how one color plays off of another. It's in the solids...simple shapes...vintage. Nothing looks too precious. It's casual...not taking oneself too seriously. It's for the wearer...like medicine for the soul.

All lovely images via links.

Love,
Jane

knitting for radical self-care by Brandi Cheyenne Harper :: much anticipated, worth the wait, gorgeous in every way, would read just for the meaningful words

Sante Fe Modern by Helen Thompson :: taking me on a trip (to a place I love) in my mind

Regeneration : Ending the climate crisis in one generation by Paul Hawken:: hopeful, motivating

(All worth a trip to the library.)

​We know the best thing we can do is make less new.

Creation can be pretty simple + genuine..taking something old + reimagining it.
​
​These shifts would account for a quarter of the required emissions reduction needed to keep global heating down to 1.5C + increase pressure on government + the private sector to make necessary far-reaching systemic change.
​
Hope your weekend is off to a nourishing start.
Much love,
Jane

I don't think many of us realize how closely linked
creative deficiency is to our unhappiness.
Creativity is an ever-present buzzing of possibility,
+ it flows through everything 
feeding our purpose.
Creativity gives us access to what we are + have always been.
​~Brandi Cheyenne Harper

Sometimes I feel like I wake up...again...to the fact that we can make things out of things that already were other things...and it just seems so incredible. This usually happens when I see a particularly beautiful example of this concept...or notice an item that inspires a thought in that direction. These are those for me today.  :)
​

• The fabrics that make up this jumpsuit pose the most beautiful contrasts + look intentional at the same time.
• Of course, a tired desk chair can look better than it ever did with a tender repair!
• Discarded tees become colorful, cushy rugs or chair pads when simply woven together on a giant potholder loom.
• Two or three button-downs from his closet or the thrift store =  a new dress.
• Denim shoddy makes so much sense as stuffing.
• Just cut it up + sew it back together. 

Keep it out of the landfill. No need to harvest or extract new resources. Good stuff can definitely come from the discards! 

All inspiring photos via links that are entirely click worthy!

Love,
Jane

You may conclude that I consider ethics + aesthetics as one.
~Josef Albers