My 5th grader self would have made fun of me for wearing such cropped pants with socks.  “Haha, she’s wearing high waters!”  But I’ve become accustomed to this look.  It is a tad dorky, but I do this so I can still make good use of my summer trousers in the winter.  I think if I were staying in NYC any longer, I’d invest in more ankle covering pants, but given it will be my last winter, I’m not going to waste my money on that.

I’m wearing a new pair of organic cotton leggings (that replaced my worn out American Apparel winter leggings) underneath these pants and faded dark brown wool/cotton socks underneath.  This kept me pretty warm today in 29 degree F snowy weather.  When wearing light colored pants, I like to avoid black socks.  Black socks and light pants look too harsh and contrast-y.  I tend to go with faded dark colors for socks or a subtle heathered pattern.

A few posts back, I mentioned my dire underwear situation.  Since then I’ve added 7 more pairs of organic cotton underwear to my collection.  I feel much less stressed out now when it gets closer to laundry day and my supply starts to run low.  My emergency panties is just that, now only for emergencies, rather than a regular thing I dip into.  I bought them from a company on amazon called Hesta that’s based out of LA.  They make a good standard basic panty.  Just simple quality panties with good seams, and no frills.

Other than the leggings and panties, I don’t have much to update you guys on my wardrobe.  I haven’t had a strong desire to buy any new clothes lately.  Not even the new Elizabeth Suzann items anymore.  I got really excited about them initially but those feelings faded quite a bit.  So maybe I’ll buy more ES when things warm up but not anytime soon.

Actually I do have a little update.  One of the metal buttons on my old Everlane winter puffer fell off on its own.  There was no tugging or damage that I inflicted on it.  I actually never use the buttons.  I usually just zip up my jacket and keep the buttons unbuttoned.  But suddenly a button fell to the ground.  On closer inspection the metal buttons are made of two pieces that are then cauterized together.  It’s slightly annoying that the button fell off without any stressed put on it, but it’s hardly noticeable so I’m not going to try and replace it or fix it which would be near impossible anyway.  But this does not give me confidence in the quality of Everlane’s winter puffers and I would not recommend anyone invest in one from now on.

Recall how I did a 60 minute workout on Monday to make up for 3 days of laziness.  Well, bad idea!  I still feel very sore, especially around my shoulders, neck, and upper abs.  I know this is supposed to be a good feeling, but sore shoulders make me feel like I’m anxious or stressed even when I’m not.  And my abs hurt if I yawn or sneeze.  It’s very strange.  Again, I’m new to this whole working out thing (as of January 1st).  The day after the 60 min workout, I didn’t exercise because of the soreness.  I’m not sure if you’re supposed to push through the soreness or take a rest, but mentally I wanted to rest.  Yesterday I did a 30 minute work out and it felt good and went by really fast in comparison.  I think doing the 60 min workout gave me perspective on the 30 minutes ones so I’ll be more inclined to just get the 30 minute ones done in the future.

I’m still not losing any more weight but I’m kind of over that goal.  And I haven’t lost any inches either.  But it is easier for me to do planks and hold downward dog poses now so I know that I’m getting physically stronger.  I’m glad that working out is becoming more of a habit for me, something I never thought possible.  I’ll probably live a few years longer as a result.

Other updates.  I’ve been battling winter dryness these past few weeks.  My lips and ears were really chapped to the point of cracking and bleeding.  I’d also wake up with a parched throat and feel desperate for water in the mornings, which is annoying because that delays my coffee consumption.  But anyway, I’m doing much better now because of two things I’ve added to my routine:  1) I’m turning on the diffuser at my bedside every night.  It really works!  On nights where I forget to use it, I wake up with a dry throat.  On nights I do use it, my mucous membranes are nice and moist (“MMM” for those of you in medicine).  I haven’t used any essential oils with it, but I’m glad that is an option for me if I wanted to in the future.  A humidifier would do the trick even better, but they are all ugly and bulky and I didn’t think I needed something so powerful.  2) I started using the cerave healing ointment on my lips.  Within the first day of using this my cracked lips healed up significantly.  And it didn’t heal up when I used standard Chapstick or a very expensive Korean lip balm that I received as a gift for Christmas.

[outfit:  street vendor scarf, *apiece apart boat neck cotton top, *vince trousers, hopp studios essential oxfords, baggu crossbody; *=pre-owned; base-layer:  thirdlove 24/7 bra, hesta organic cotton panties, In Touch organic cotton leggings (made in USA)]