What’s your schedule like during the W? Are you getting things done? How? Let’s chat about it!
Wishing us all a week of safety and amazing shoes!
Xo RA
Category: Sunday Chronicles
Happy Easter! Happy Passover!
The holidays look a bit different this year. This is usually the space where I would wish you a spring holiday, no matter what you celebrate, full of love, togetherness, and peace. Love and peace are still available, but for our future togetherness we have to be apart right now. It’s hard. There are days that I’m full of fear and anxiety, I miss family and loved ones, I miss going places. I get scared for so much. You may be feeling that way too. I have no idea what’s to come, but I do believe that we are promised that we don’t ever have to be alone. In the new normal of FaceTime and Zoom, I wish you comfort and togetherness. I hope when you’re feeling alone you remember how we love and need you. I wish that our collective fears will be calmed. And, as spring and these holidays are a message of renewal, I wish you new beginnings.
To us coming out of our apartness to better normals and sweeter togetherness.
Xox RA
Sunday Chronicles: Connection
We’re entering week 3? 4? of isolation. I feel like I’m still dealing with, and adjusting to all the changes to my schedule, my moods, and my thoughts. It’s a rollercoaster. One thing that I kept thinking about this week- connections. There is so much pressure right now to be so productive and be in all sorts of contact with our loved ones and friends. Yet, I had a week where I needed some alone time. Ironic? Maybe. But how are you balancing connecting with friends, with yourself, and the community?
Let’s chat about it!
Wishing us all a week of comforting connection and amazing shoes! Xo RA
Sunday Chronicles: Rountines
I started the Sunday Chronicles section of the blog so that there was a space where we, as a community, could share and grow things that weren’t directly related to fashion. Now, that the world is a bit tipsy turvy, I wanted to open up this space as a place where we can connect, share our feelings, and get through this together. Last week I asked how you are doing. This week, I’m asking what coping mechanisms are getting you through this time. Share, and I can share with the group. Or email me (racheladelicia@investmentpiece.com). Tell me what’s going on. I’m thinking of you and wishing us all a week of comfort and amazing shoes.
Xo RA
Sunday Chronicles: How are you?
Sunday Chronicles: Fear
Loves, it’s tough out there right now. There’s a good chance that you, or someone you know, are scared and worried about the COVID-19 virus and its impacts on our lives. I’m a fashion blogger and this not a medical blog. Please trust the medical professionals, take precautions, wash your hands, be kind, and let’s take care of the most vulnerable in our herds.
That being said, when we’re scared it can be hard, fear makes us do crazy things. People are stocking up on things like soap and hand sanitizer. Companies asking employees to work from home. Huge events are being canceled. For the record, I’m a fan of us all being cautious. I would rather events be put on hold and people be safe rather than events happen and people get sick. I’m a fan of protecting the herd. But I also know that caution can be fear driven and not fact driven.
So, what do we do?
Loves, I’m not sure. Again, I push us all to heed caution and take the health officials recommendations seriously. To balance living our lives (which we should! Dress fabulously! Shop! Hang out safely! Tip well! Order in Chinese Food!) and taking this pandemic as seriously as we should (don’t go out unnecessarily, wash those hands! Avoid crowds! Stay home and binge watch!).And I don’t have the answers.
What am I doing? Trying to support the people I can- calling my elderly friends, checking in on family. I’m also attempting to shop from local and indie stores. Everytime you shop here I appreciate it, as a small business owner. I’m attempting to pay that forward, shopping small, local, being aware that not only our health but people’s livelihood might be on the line. Then I’m avoiding gatherings that aren’t 100% needed. Staying in, resting, taking care all sound good right now, so I’m leaning into that. I’m also assessing and reassessing with every new release of information, etc. I’m trying to balance it all, and like us all, doing my best not to let my fears dictate anything.
What I truly believe this is a time to be kind to each other. We need each other- to help, to keep each other safe, to work together. Let’s do that. Let’s be kind, offer the best of us. We may all be scared, but let’s act like our best selves. We may all be a little (or a lot) anxious (I am), but being kind may be the perfect rememdy to the fear we have right now.
Wishing us all a week of fearless kindness and amazing shoes!
Xo RA
Sunday Chronicles: International Women’s Day
Here at Investment Piece we’re feminists (it’s not a dirty word). We truly believe that women and men are equal and should be treated as such. That being said, women are special. I’m sure that there are women in your life who’ve helped you, lifted you up, taken care of you, paved the way, and more. We love featuring other women entrepreneurs on this site, wearing women designers, and in general celebrating all the things that being a woman means.
Loves, let’s be honest there are times when being a woman is hard. (Just thinking about expounding on that makes me tired) So. Today, because it’s a day to celebrate us, instead of focusing on how hard it is, or how far we need to go, we want to hear about what’s great! What women in your life really helped you? Is amazing? Should be recognized? What do you love about the great women that you know? What are you doing to spread your greatness?
Today, I’m volunteering with a group of women who inspire me with their passion to make change and then having dinner with my mom (a real Shero).
I hope you get celebrated a bit today. I hope you celebrate women today. Here’s to us all!
Wishing us a week of equality and amazing shoes!
Xo RA
Sunday Chronicles: Reset
Happy March my loves! We are 2 months into the new year. It’s the end of one season and the start of another. Mercury in retrograde, Lent, all the things. And, like me, you may be taking a look at your goals or what you’d like to achieve this year. And, maybe like me, you’re ready for a little reset.
It’s not that January or February were bad months by any means, but they weren’t exactly easy. Some months are like that! But as the spring starts, I really wanted to take a step back and really look at my goals. Am I doing what’s best for me to achieve what I want? Do I need to go about things a different way? Adjust habits? Be more clear and intentional about what I do?
May be so. This week I’ll be looking at my goals and my days and really thinking about a reset. A new season means a new start, right? So, I’ve been thinking: how do we reset? Do we take some time off and then start anew? Begin all over with new goals and habits? Maybe a little bit of it all?
I’m not totally sure, but I know that I’m committed to a great month and feeling like I’m making progress on my goals. This is what I’m doing:
-I’m giving up wine for lent. I’m not Catholic, and was not raised in a home that practiced lent. And I still love wine–and can’t wait to have it again! But as I was thinking about my habits, I realized I (and those around me) had just gotten in the habit of opening a bottle whenever! And so much of Blog culture was about drinking wine (all the time!). I love wine, but want to be intentional about my drinking. So, I’m taking a break, and am a bit excited about it!
-I’m reassing other habits. I know my goals and I know my habits. I also know my faults. I can procrastinate. Get shy. Over feel and over think. This month I’ll be looking at goals and numbers and all the things. I’ll be very clear about where I want to get and trying different things to get there.
-I’m taking time off. Not from here! But I’ve found the in the past 2 months there was not a whole day I had off. I’m tired. And I can’t be my best when I’m spent. So, I’m giving myself a day off a week–and yes, that will look different each week. But as much as I love all the things, I need to recoup too!
-I’m open to ideas, and I’m excited. Maybe my biggest reset is I’m determined to get to a place where all of the things are fun. Even the failures! Sounds crazy, I know, but if we’re failing we’re trying and with the right attitude it just means we’re learning. That’s what I’m telling myself, and I’m a little curious to see if I’m right. So same goals, new ways? We’ll see.
I would love to know: where are you on your goals? Are you headed for a reset? Did you give up anything for Lent? Tell me all about it!
Wishing us a week of easy resets and amazing shoes!
Xo RA
Sunday Chronicles: Perfection
Ever have one of those weeks? When things aren’t great and life is a little tougher than it feels like it should be? And everyone rubs you the wrong way? Yep. That was me. Somehow this week in the middle of February felt both like the year was way too long already. What do you do when you feel down? I’ve been know to bubble bath, cry, wine about it, and dress up. In attempting to cheer myself up I stumbled across advice I gave to myself. I think it holds up, but would still love to know how you handle things!
Loves, things haven’t been great lately. It’s not that they’ve been bad, but I’ve been feeling off. Could you tell? I haven’t loved some of the ways I’ve looked, the outfits, the settings. Things haven’t been perfect and I’m a little embarrassed about how much that has affected me. How am I dealing with it? The only way I know how, fashion.
From thinking about the perfect outfit to trying to find joy in the process, these are my thoughts!
Wishing us all a week of perfect outfits and amazing shoes!
Xo RA
New Year, New Me
New Year, New Me. I bet money I don’t have that you’re seeing that phrase all over social media and your emails this week. New Year, New Me. What does that really mean? Is it supposed to encourage us to set new goals and go after them? Are we supposed to wake up on January 1st completely new? What if we don’t? My theory: people fall into two categories, those who believe in “new year, new me” and those who think that nothing really changes.
What if both of those categories of people are right?
If you didn’t hear, the beginning of 2020 got off to a slightly slower start than I thought it would.
You can see all about it:
But, the slow start has given me time to really consider my goals, and how I want to get to where I want to go. I’m great at big picture, but can struggle with small picture and action steps, and I’m thinking about how to conquer that. I’m thinking about what I really want and what’s really important to me. And, I’m using this guide from Groom+Style to evaluate my goal-setting techniques.
New year, New me? Let’s do it.
Let’s get real with each other? Along with this being the month of “new year, new me”, this month is essentially one long hangover recovery. Maybe that’s because of all the champagne on NYE, or maybe it’s just the holiday hangover that makes getting back to work and your routine a little harder. After a week of so of a little more freedom, this stretch of cold and what seems like endless work is difficult to jump into. Here at Investment Piece: we’re taking it slow, easing into “new year, new me”, if you will. From here on out you can expect new posts, but we’re working back into our routine and trying to make the first week of the new year feel as easy as possible.
We covered new year, what about new me? I love to think about this blog as a dialog between us. I hope that you get out of it what I love to put in. This year I’m looking to pick up some of my favorite series where we left off: Fashion Stories and What We’re Wearing. More videos. More exciting pictures And of course, my goal is to bring you exciting outfit inspiration. What about you? Is there something you love? A series you would cut? Is there constructive input you have on what we offer? What are your thoughts? I want this space to reflect you, as well as me, so I’m all ears!
In this year I hope we carry forward the best parts of us from 2019. I hope that we start amazing things, and become even more fantastic. And that there are amazing shoes for all of us!
Xo RA
I’ve linked the shopping for each of these looks here:
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