Zara dress (similar)
Dior heels
Celine handbag
Celine sunglasses
Linjer rings (c/o)
Pamela Card Jewelry earrings
Location: Calle de Zorilla 18 – Madrid, Spain
Just wandering the streets of Madrid, doing my best impression of a lady of leisure… it was our last day in the city, which is to say my last day of enjoying holiday life. Naturally, I wished it never had to end.
This afternoon, I was trying to explain the reality of trying to manage competing demands at work. “Most of my day goes like this,” I said. “I’m on conference call. Someone calls me on my main line. The phone rings in my ear while I try to stay focused on the meeting. I have three group chats pinging on Microsoft Teams, plus two individuals messaging me directly, and two messages from others I haven’t read yet. A text comes in on my work cell, and another comes on my personal cell at the same time. Meanwhile, I get a notification from Outlook that there are new items in my inbox – which is Outlook’s way of saying that so many messages have come in so quickly, it wasn’t able to count them.”
Is it any wonder, then, that I revel in moments spent as a lady of leisure? Even if, truthfully, I’m only pretending for a little while? The pace of life is absolutely frantic most of the time. By the end of most weeks, whenever that comes – there’s no guarantees, when there are so many ways to get ahold of someone, and we need to be so vigilant about setting boundaries to truly disconnect – I’m ready to collapse. Rest is critical, but can be hard to come by when I’m not physically removed from my work environment, which is also my home. Holidays aren’t just a treat – they’re almost a necessity.
I’m not a lady of leisure, of course. I’m not sure such a person really exists. But for brief moments throughout the year, I get to escape from my regular life and pretend to be one temporarily. It’s glorious. I take my time getting ready in the morning. I choose my outfit based on my mood, and also based on the restaurant where I’ll be dining for lunch – on this day, it was the Palm Court at the Mandarin Oriental Ritz. And then, I make my way out into the world, to take a walk, pause in front of shop windows that catch my eye, and perhaps stop for a cup of coffee. It’s the opposite of what my real life is like, which is, of course, why I appreciate it so much.
Lady of leisure. It’s not reality, but it does have a nice ring to it.
