Zara coat (similar)
Uniqlo shirt
Sezane skirt (similar)
Mango boots
Vintage bag (similar)
Zara sunglasses (similar)
Linjer rings (c/o) (similar)
Mejuri earrings (similar)
Location: Osborne Village – Winnipeg, Manitoba
There is just so much time. Up until a little over a year ago, I would never have dreamed of saying that. My life was hurtling by at breakneck speed while I constantly scheduled and rescheduled myself to fit everything in. It was exhausting, but glorious. Since I was seven, I’ve been quietly preoccupied by a sense that no matter how long I lived, I would never have enough time to do everything I wanted to. My life, therefore was a race against a constantly ticking clock.
…and then, March 2020 came. Everything ground to a halt. I expected, or at least hoped, the shutdown would be quick one. I caught up on sleep, read books, started painting again… essentially, did all the things I hadn’t managed to schedule into my previously frantic life. At that point, my main preoccupations were surviving and keeping my wine collection well-stocked.
A year later, my brain gets tired because the pace of digital work continues to increase, but no matter how many long walks I take with my mask on, no matter how many new HIIT workouts I try, I can’t remember what physical fatigue feels like. I’ve read well over a hundred books, and painted more canvases than I have room to store. At this point, my main preoccupations include finding TV shows I haven’t yet watched to kill time, looking for the perfect Athenian apartment and finding exactly the right regimen of skincare products to address the perpetual allergy-induced puffiness under my eyes.
Yes, we’re at that point. I’ve done everything else so now, I’m testing an endless series of eye masks and eye creams.
I’m telling you all this not to complain, but because it’s the reality I’m currently living… the reality we’re all living, to some degree. The list of things I still want to do with my life continues to mount while I’m mostly trapped in my apartment, away from friends, family and new adventures. A year ago, lamenting that didn’t seem unreasonable. But now, the idea that this time might pass quickly seems increasingly remote. Maybe we’ll lose another few months, or maybe we’ll lose another year. No one knows. In the face of that uncertainty, continuing to dwell, day in and day out, on all the things I’m missing out on would be spirit crushing. So I invent new preoccupations, knowing they will be passing ones, to distract myself. This is how I cope. It’s not ideal, but it’s the best I can do.
If I ever do find the perfect cocktail of eye creams and masks, I’ll let you all know. I imagine that, like me, many of you have little else to do but wait for that update.
I’m honestly moderately horrified by the sheer amount of absolute garbage TV I have watched in the last year. I weirdly feel so mentally fatigued that it seems lying on the couch and watching trash is about the only “activity” I’m fit to engage in. At this point, if I weren’t going outside to play with Eleanor, I would probably just never even leave my house. For all of those reasons, I’m beyond excited to be getting my first vaccine dose on Friday!
Courtney ~ Sartorial Sidelines
Even though life still isn’t back to the way it was before last March, I still manage to feel overwhelmed everyday. Things might be reduced, but having grown accustom to nothing, even a little feels like a lot.
Boots! Beautiful look with these boots!