Yesterday was a momentous day at our house. First of all, Caroline slept until 10:00 a.m. Let me say that again. Ten ‘o clock in the morning. Granted, it was really 9:00, but with the time change the clocks said 10:00 a.m. And now that the government conspiracy to force us to spring ahead is upon us, it’s all about what the clocks say, not about what the people may want, such as an hour of their life back.
Anyway, sleeping in until 10 a.m. was pure, unmitigated bliss.
By the time we got up, it was way too late to make it to church, so P fixed us all some breakfast complete with honey biscuits. Then, after breakfast, the second landmark moment of the day arrived. It was raining outside and I had been promising Caroline that on the next rainy day, I would set up her ladybug tent. So, I asked her if she wanted me to put up the tent.
Stupid question.
OH! MY! TENT! MY! BEAUTIFUL! LADYBUG! TENT! YES! YES! YES! I AM SO EXCITED!!!
And since I am so astute, I realized that she did, indeed, want me to set up the tent. I set it up in her playroom, put her Cinderella inflatable bed in it and got her portable DVD player out of the closet. Y’all, she stayed in that playroom with her tent for the better part of the day. She played with her dolls, her letters, read her books, and watched her movies. The only peep I heard out of her was when she needed some animal crackers or lemonade.
So, while she was so wonderfully occupied, the third momentous thing of the day occurred. I did my bi-annual closet clean out.
Shall we all have a moment of silence and reverence for the winter clothes that are no longer with us?
Every year at the end of Summer, I do a complete closet clean out and figure out what I need for Fall and Winter. Then, when Spring arrives, I do the same thing. I cleaned, I rearranged, I assessed my wardrobe needs for Spring and Summer.
Maybe it was because I was a little bitter about losing an hour as I slept on Saturday night, but I showed my closet no mercy. I got rid of things I have held on to for way too long, but couldn’t bear to get rid of them. Brighton belts anyone? I have always saved them before because they weren’t cheap and I kept thinking they might come back in style.
Today, I realized that even if shiny braided belts with tons of silver were to come back in style, there is no way one of these belts would fit around the waist of low rise jeans. They are made to go with high waist, tapered jeans….and if that look ever comes back the least of my issues will be what belt I’m going to wear. The belts are gone.
I also purged my closet of all maternity wear. Granted, it’s going to my friend E if she wants it, but even if she doesn’t, it’s not going back in my closet. It will be lucky if it gets a box in the attic.
I got rid of pajamas I’ve had since the mid-90’s, costume jewelry that was made to go with the Brighton belts, and underwear that I wore throughout nine months of pregnancy that no longer had a prayer of staying up without the use of safety pins and duct tape.
So, y’all would think with all that extensive cleaning out that I didn’t keep anything that isn’t going to be worn on my body in the next 12 months…well, you would be wrong.
After my cleanout last season, I posted a few pictures of things that I continue to hold on to and all of those items still remain in my closet. However, I discovered a few more things that still have a home, despite the fact that unless I undergo a complete lobotomy, will not be worn any time soon…or ever again.
This is my Diamond Darling jacket from college. I had to cover up part of it because it has my maiden name in cursive writing for that extra classy touch. Why do I keep it? It was covered in dust when I pulled it down from my closet and I can assure you that I wouldn’t put it on if it were 30 degrees outside and it was the only jacket in my closet.
However, I will keep it, along with my beautiful, gold Diamond Darling pendant that spelled out Diamond Darlings in cursive…you know, to match the name in cursive on my jacket.
Nice.
Now, these are a pair of black ropers modeled by Caroline (and yes, she was still in her pajamas at 3:00. So was I.). I haven’t worn them in at least ten years and don’t see that I will ever wear them again, but they are a part of a great romantic story. P bought them for me for our second Valentines day when we were dating. Actually, he didn’t so much buy them for me as tell me “Hey, why don’t you go buy yourself some black ropers and I’ll make that your Valentine’s Day present.” Oh yes, he has always been a smooth talkin’ devil.
The real mystery is why I wanted a pair of black ropers to begin with. I think it had something to do with going to the rodeo that year and I needed them to complete my outfit. It may be the only time I ever wore them.
This is not a large, mutant caterpillar. It is the removeable fur collar from a leather jacket that I used to own. The jacket was this gorgeous, black leather and was from Harold’s. It was one of the first really nice things I bought for myself with my own money and it was stolen out of the back of my car in a parking garage in Austin, Texas along with a faux fur leopard print coat.
I can’t talk about it anymore or I’ll start to cry.
At least I’d have this nice fur collar to wipe my tears on.
The last item that still inexplicably still has a place in my closet is this.
The bridesmaid dress that I wore in my sister’s wedding. I don’t know why I still have it other than the fact that I paid more to have it altered than the dress actually cost. This wasn’t on purpose. I was just naive and took it to seamstress who told me what needed to be done and I said “Sure”. After all, how much can some minor alterations cost?
I’ll tell you, ALOT.
The thing is even if P and I had some big, swanky party to attend, I would never, NEVER say “Oh, I’ll just pull out that periwinkle blue bridesmaid dress. It will be perfect!”
But, in spite of the things I can’t make myself get rid of, my closet is all ready for Spring. I am embarrassed to admit how many times this evening I’ve gone in there to admire it. Here, I’ll show y’all some pictures.
Please notice that there are no wire hangers to be found. I don’t know much, but I am certain that hell is full of wire hangers. They are a menace to society. But in true fashion, opposites do attract because look at P’s side of the closet. It’s where the wire hangers go to die.
Oh, and the big, white box way up at the top of my closet contains my wedding dress, which of course, I would never even consider throwing out. I’ll just keep it up there and let it take up a huge amount of space so that in twenty-five years Caroline can have the time honored tradition of telling me “There is no way I’m going to wear your wedding dress. I want my own.”
Maybe she’ll want the Diamond Darling jacket.