Sezane cardigan
Sezane tank
H&M jeans
Zara sandals (similar)
Sezane tote
Zara sunglasses (similar)
Promises Etc. necklace (c/o) (similar)
Stella & Dot necklace
Stella & Dot ring
Daisy London earrings (c/o)
Location: The Ambassador Apartments – Winnipeg, Manitoba
Most days, I dare to feel hopeful. There is no rhyme or reason to it. All of the evidence around me suggests I have no reason to be. We remain under a stay-at-home order, unable to see anyone we don’t live with, even outside, and forbidden from entering anywhere we can go, like the grocery store, accompanied. When I describe it – or, if I’m honest, think about it for too long – the situation doesn’t feel like one in which there is any cause for hope.
But most days, I dare to feel hopeful, anyway. I watch vaccination rates rise and case counts decrease, albeit slowly. I see faraway friends visit museums for the first time, or eat on restaurant patios with friends. Articles about COVID-tested flights, beginning to depart from Canada for Italy within the next month, pop up for me in Apple News. And I begin to think that maybe, just maybe, things are starting to change for the better.
Maybe it’s just the reappearance of sun and warm weather than brings these hopeful feelings back for me. I remember last summer as a time of relative freedom. We picnicked in parks with rose and spent time with friends on our balcony. It was imperfect, but it was something that felt like it might lead us back to normalcy.
…instead, it led to exorbitant case counts and a months-long stay-at-home order through the winter that meant Christmas was effectively cancelled.
That experience should have made me cynical, or at least skeptical, but it didn’t. I still look forward to the holidays this year, to gatherings that don’t involve FaceTime and sneaking extra champagne to the basement with my cousins and all the other silly things we took for granted just a few short years ago. There’s always something to hope for, in my experience. And even if you don’t get it, there’s something else just around the corner. We all have the same choice: look forward in hope, or dwell on what’s missing in the present. I choose looking forward, every time.
And so I let myself continue to be hopeful. Not because that hope will necessarily result in anything, but because the alternative is despair… and no one who owns as many fabulous shoes as I do can give in to despair before they’ve even worn those shoes anywhere.
I am definitely feeling a bit more hopeful now that the summer is here. I’m not sure totally what things will look like in a month or two but at least I know I can call next week to book my second dose and the warmer weather means meeting also vaccinated friends for long walks and back yard visits and, maybe just maybe, a short camping trip. At this stage, all of that sounds blissful to me.
Courtney ~ Sartorial Sidelines
Ah, yay so fun seeing you style & wear your S&D opal charm. I absolutely love mine!! And yours looks gorgeous layered with your delicate beaded necklace too. As for staying hopeful?! Absolutely!! I’m feeling the same and can’t wait to start seeing our life return to normal – little by little. SO lovely catching up this past Friday & hope your week is off to a fine start!! xo
My Curated Wardrobe
I would certainly like to remain hopeful that your shoes will get worn, and taken to fabulous places. I do find it interesting to see how Canada has continued to operate with extreme caution, while the US in comparison seems to be on the way to abandoning all restrictions. Restaurants are back at capacity for indoor dining, all the plexiglass barriers are down, mask wearing is now up to the establishment to decide. I hope it’s the right choice. But of course the desire to get back to some form of normal is overwhelming.
Love this look – the cardigan looks so amazingly soft, and your tote full of wine is making me jealous.