One month in: How are you doing on your new year goals and resolutions? I keep seeing jokes that January was 119 days long, but for being my least favorite month, I think it actually went by really quickly this year. Punxsutawney Phil may have predicted more winter, but I feel spring coming and am beyond ready to start breaking out all my skirts and dresses (not for the fashion perse but for the sake of my “percent of closet worn” videos, obviously).

What’s New?

• I went to Boise for a very quick weekend this month to celebrate my brother’s 30^th birthday (!!!). His name is Peter, so we threw him a “Peter” themed party. What does that mean, you may ask? Well, I asked everyone to come dressed as their favorite Peter, real or fictional. Think: Pete Carroll, Peter Pan, Peter Parker, Pete Rose, Peter Yarrow, Pedro Pascal, Peter Griffin, the list goes on… The prep took a lot of time in January but it was absolutely worth it, as the party was a huge hit. I love how committed all of his friends (and of course our family) were to the theme. I went as Peter Quill, aka Starlord, from Guardians of the Galaxy! I looked great, if I do say so myself, but very few people recognized me…
• I’ve been feeling really “bleh” and unconfident about my hair lately (for example, I hate how it looks in these photos). I don’t know what it is, but I just can’t get it to look good. I’ve always been prone to greasy hair but I feel like it’s been worse than ever lately. Help! I keep looking up “greasy hair hairstyles” on TikTok and am sorely disappointed by the results. All these girls say they have greasy hair… but come on. If you don’t look like Gollum, with all of three strands of hair, then your hair ain’t greasy.
• Another one of my new year goals, which I didn’t mention in last week’s post, was trying to feature every clothing item I own in a blog post. One of the columns I track in my cost per wear spreadsheet is “last blog post” which is, as you might have guessed by the clever name, the last post where I featured an item in “real” photographs (mirror-style pics don’t count). There are about 72 items in my closet that have never been worn in a blog post before. I say “about” because I might decide a couple of the pieces don’t warrant a full post (like my gaudy neon green jumpsuit, for example). But I would love to be able to link to the last blog post for every clothing item and accessory I share. Today’s outfit is comprised entirely of pieces that have never been featured before, so I’m already getting that number down to 68!

Today’s Outfit

This outfit saw a lot of iterations before I landed on what you see today. I really wanted to work in a belt and half-tuck moment, but the thick waistband of the sweater, along with the mid-rise of my pants, did not combine in a flattering way. I opted to leave the sweater untucked and layered a pendant necklace on top to elongate the look. Several people said these pants were their favorite in my loafers styling video, so of course I had to give the combo its moment to shine. While I still contend these pants look better with heels, the loafers are pretty cute with them, too. And that pearl purse?! Swoon…

Top Performing Blog Posts This Month

• What to Wear in Nashville in the Winter
• December 2024 Month in Review
• Six Ways to Wear Houndstooth Pants

Top Performing Social Media Posts

• Week 2: Percent Worn
• Closet Wrapped Part 1
• Polka Dot Cardigan OOTD

What I Watched

• Derry Girls—I still have two episodes left, but I cannot recommend this show enough if you’re looking for something fun and lighthearted to watch. If you’re not familiar (I would be shocked) it’s about a group of Catholic girls living in Northern Ireland in the 90s. It’s hysterical, especially as someone who attended Catholic grade and high school. I can’t remember the last time I watched something purely fun and I will surely miss it when I finish it.
• I’m also currently watching season two of Arcane with my boyfriend and season 2 of Severance! I love Severance soooo much. New episodes are released every Friday so the anticipation has been thick!

What I Read

• Not a book review, but I finally started a Goodreads account! I used to keep track of all the books I read in my Passion Planner, so I was able to go back through a couple of old planners and retroactively add some titles. It makes me wish I started my account years ago!
• Counting Miracles by Nicholas Sparks—One of my hopes for the new year is to join a book club. I attended a book club session at my local library where this was the chosen novel. It was perfectly fine—a quick read, nothing to write home about but not bad either. It was actually my first Nicholas Sparks book, though I have seen a handful of his movies. This book was lacking a bit in the love department but very successful in sappiness—I expected nothing less.

January Spotify Playlist

This month’s playlist is composed mainly from three categories: the Gossip Girl soundtrack (I’ve been rewatching it as my “background” show while doing chores), the Derry Girls soundtrack (lots of Cranberries), and whatever playlist they were playing at the golf simulator last Friday night. You can listen here.

What I’ve Been Loving Lately

• My vegetable chopper. This was a Christmas present a few years ago and I still use it all the time. It’s especially great for onions—no teary eyes here.
• My Passion Planner. If you’re a long-time follower then you’ve heard me talk about this planner before. This is my seventh year using one! I wasn’t reaching for it much in December but I got back into it this month—and was really good about holding myself accountable to my goals (and setting realistic goals).

What I’m Looking Forward to in February

• My other brother’s birthday is this weekend. He and his wife moved to Denver last summer (which has been amazing) and my parents are coming to town to celebrate. I can’t wait to hang out with everyone!
• I’m also really looking forward to Valentine’s Day this year. My boyfriend and I made reservations at a cool restaurant nearby that’s doing a set menu for the event, with wine pairings. Now what will I wear…

This Month on Grace per Wear

• Week 1: Percent Worn
• Closet Wrapped 2024: Part 1
• Closet Wrapped 2024: Part 2
• Closet Wrapped 2024: Part 3
• Week 2: Percent Worn
• Week 3: Percent Worn
• Trying to Style Loafers
• Week 4: Percent Worn
• Week 5: Percent Worn

What are you looking forward to in February? As always, thanks for stopping by the blog today.

 

Miles of smiles,
Grace

 

Sweater: Banana Republic, $45 ($5.00 per wear) | Pants: Thrifted, $5 ($0.45 per wear) | Loafers: JustFab, gifted for collaboration, $47 ($15.67 per wear) | Purse: Kate Spade New York, gift, $110 ($22 per wear)