Skincare and Sweatshirts: A Memoir

If the last 11 months told the story of my life, it would be called “Skincare and Sweatshirts: An Introvert who Decided to Love Herself First”. I am confident that I have done a million things wrong during the past 11 months because everyone makes mistakes and this is the first time I’ve ever lived through a pandemic. One thing I’ve done completely right though is embracing what I love most. Namely, my family, quiet time, exercising, meditating, baking, and skincare and sweatshirts. Fully recognizing that the world is still on fire and that people somehow still allow themselves to believe COVID is not a thing, I’d like to take a break from our regularly scheduled programming to give you my pitch for upping your skincare and sweatshirt game.

If you are anything like me, you feel better when your body feels good. And while drinking all the water is always your best bet to feel like a person again, happy skin makes a big difference too. I started taking care of my skin when I was 12 and had the biggest dark circles a 12 year old had ever seen (that’s what a fellow 7th grader told me one day in band class about my face). My dark circles came because of my allergies but it was as good a time as any to make my skin happy and my mama is the best so she bought me eye cream and let me do my thing.  Side note: that kid was super mean. He said rude stuff like that all the time. Not cool, dude. Please keep your feelings about someone’s face to yourself. And if you are reading this and have a kid, please teach them to be kind and respectful. And if you see my kids being rude, you better feel free to check them because rude isn’t allowed in my house, please and thank you. 

Anyway, I became somewhat obsessed with having good skin and put way too much product on it throughout high school and college. Sensitive, dry skin is not a huge fan on products that have a ton of acids in them for anyone like me who didn’t learn this lesson until they were 26. But now that I’m a kind of grown up person who wants to make herself feel good instead of looking good for someone else, I use skincare that makes me feel glowing and happy. All this to say, if taking extra care of your skin isn’t something that brings you joy, please find something that you can do for yourself truly just for you that helps just you. And if you’re looking to switch up your skincare game, I’d like to recommend the TULA brand. I’ve been using their products since last May and they make my skin feel very happy. If you are interested and want a coupon, let me know and I’ll hook you up.

Which brings me to sweatshirts. I love sweatshirts. There’s nothing more comforting to me clothing wise than a big, cozy sweatshirt. Bonus points if the inside is super fuzzy and makes me feel like I’ve been wrapped in a just out of the dryer blanket all day long. I’m extra proud of how much I’ve upped my sweatshirt game in the past 11 months. From the ones that have happy, hopeful messages on them to the snarky ones that are just plain true, I’ve got ‘em all now and am showing no signs of slowing down my gratuitous sweatshirt purchases. I wouldn’t say I’m a big fashion person, but I do enjoy pretty pretty things so the fact that I’ve fully embraced the sweatshirt loving side of myself makes me really happy. I’m still excited for the days when I can wear the beautiful dresses I got from Stitch Fix last March again, but I’m never going to give up the sweatshirt all day life that I’ve embraced since then. Does anyone else feel extra ready to take on anything when they are in their comfy clothes? It seems counterintuitive that sweats would be the clothes to motivate me to handle my sh*t, but here we are. The right sweatshirt proves on a daily basis to be pure joy for me.

I like to think of myself as a bit of a sweatshirt connoisseur (thanks to spell check because I had no idea how to spell that word). Much like some people find joy in putting together perfect make up, I find joy in picking the sweatshirt that matches my mood for the today. Today I chose my sister’s high school sweatshirt that I fully stole from her when she went to college. It reminds me of home and is a little big on me so it feels extra cozy. Yay!  Do you have a favorite sweatshirt? Or 10? I would love to hear about it and share the joy of cozy clothes!

Now that I’ve hopefully given you reason to embrace what brings you joy today, please please please keep wearing a mask, social distancing, and being on the look out for when you can get the vaccine. And take time each day to do what you can to dismantle white supremacy. If you don’t know where to start, your heart and your home are your answers. Happy Wednesday!