It has only been a week, well, a little over a week and I feel like it has been almost a lifetime since I last posted.
Last week was both full to bursting and quiet all at the same time. My step-son and his wife were visiting and we had a lovely visit both joyous and sad as they realized that it may well be the last time they visit us in the Hudson Valley. And this was sad for us as well, as we reminisced about shared history. Even knowing this the right thing for us now does not make the sadness of preparing to leave our home of 30 years fade away.
Among the good things was being able to spend time with my daughter-in-law, shopping, getting a pedicure, stopping for a mojito and just chatting. These are activities that our visits here or there have rarely seemed to include time for, usually because visits have been too short, too packed with activities, too stressed. We dined out with friends. We also dined in, mostly for very casual meals. No fancy cooking marathons for me on this visit, perhaps I will save those for a future winter visit in our new home.
This simple lunch of smoked salmon rolled around arugula leaves and mascarpone cheese flavored with herbs and scallions was inspired by a recipe in Jody Adam's cookbook In the Hands of a Chef. I didn't have enough arugula to use as a salad we used fresh local spinach and sugar snap peas instead.
I also purchased a few things for myself on our shopping expeditions even as I told myself that I have enough to pack. Luckily the things I did buy have already become mainstays in my summer wardrobe. My new rule is that it gets worn or it goes back; no saving things for "better". I picked up this purple/periwinkle linen tank top on sale at a store in Rhinebeck. It is by a company called Flax, and I really like it as it is very cool and breezy, which has proved to be important this week as the combination of high temperatures and high humidity are pressing in all around.
The top is very simple and I think I can copy it easily. It is a nice length and shape and think it will become a kind of hot-weather basic, and possibly a layering piece if I play with fabrics. I am actually looking forward to replicating this, either when I get settled, or if I come across a tempting piece of linen while I pack, as a brief diversion and respite from summer heat and the trials of sorting, discarding, packing.
In the photo I am wearing the tank with NYDJ straight-leg white jeans, natural espadrilles, and a linen blend scarf which was purchased a few years ago from Banana Republic.
I wore the same outfit again early this week, except that I figured out the scarf looked better wrapped and draped around the neckline of the top, not just dangling down. I felt it needed something at the neck though, something small, and I fished this single blue pearl out of my box of things I rarely wear. Almost perfect.
When it comes to jewelry, I am attracted to statement pieces and the small pieces seem out of scale or not me. As a result it seems I have a box full of pieces that all scream "look at me" and hog all the attention. I am only just beginning to appreciate the subtle joys of those quieter pieces. I see that I could actually benefit from having a few things that can be mixed and worn together in different combinations. This is something I think I need to explore a little further.
