It started with a knotted skirt. I was on Instagram when Sarah Nicole Landry crossed my feed with turning a maxi dress into a carefree skirt. I thought, I have a maxi dress! I don’t wear it all that much because sometimes I think it makes me look like I’m expecting. But I love that dress. So I thought I’d try it.
I slipped the dress down to my waist, smoothing the top so it didn’t look so bunchy. Then I paired it with layered tank tops. The result? Adorable!
Unfortunately I did not get a good full body shot, so you’ll just have to take my word for it.
This look made me feel like I was on vacation, as my vacation wardrobe is much more liberal and colorful than my drab everyday basics. And so I lived the day as if I were on vacation. I went grocery shopping in my breezy vacation wear, smiling at every.single.person that crossed my path, and buying myself flowers to brighten my ÂÂÂÂÂdining room. I met a client for coffee, and we spent an hour of our 90-minute meeting just shooting the breeze over lots of caffeine. I booked a haircut, and then waited at a local wine bar with a good book and a glass of prosecco. And when I got my haircut, I had her wash it, layer it, then style it, even though I was just going home to sweat over the barbecue.
In short, it was a perfect vacation day, even in my own backyard.
I think we miss these opportunities to enjoy our home lives as much as we enjoy visiting new places. It’s habitual to go about the day-to-day, treating every moment as ordinary. What if, instead, we created celebration around the ordinary?
Wear that fancy dress to the grocery store. Splurge on that pedicure in the dead of winter. Drink bubbly with your grilled cheese. Spear your umbrella in the sand at your local creek and enjoy the view. Read a book from start to finish. Listen to your favorite band’s latest album in ginormous headphones (hello Bon Iver). Indulge in that basic Pumpkin Spice Latte. Watch that movie that makes you cry happy tears, even if you’ve seen it a million times (hello Walter Mitty). Take yourself to lunch. Peruse the downtown art gallery. Window shop to your heart’s content.
Stop lamenting that you don’t have the life you wish you had, and start loving the life you’re living now. Live your day like you’re on vacation. There’s so much good to enjoy, I’d hate for any of us to miss out.