Flu Shot Full of Fashion

   For those of you who know me personally, I apologize.  Wait, that wasn't right.  What I meant to write was for those individuals I regularly communicate with, it's no surprise to hear that I can be kind of a hypochondriac.  Of course, when I state, "kind of," what I actually mean is I'm a full blown, certifiable, "What About Bob," type when it comes to the spread of illness.  Basically, you name it and I have at one point in my life been certain that I had it.

  There was the great scare of '98 when I thought I had a brain tumor when in actuality I simply had a nasty boil on the back of my head that needed lancing.  I'm really not sure which of those things are more scary.  There was that fateful evening in 2001 that I watched a supposed, "documentary," on spontaneous human combustion and got so worked up I had to sit in a bathtub of ice cold water for fear that my body would burst into flames and the neighbors in my apartment building would only find a large black scorch mark on my carpet.  This of course, seemed a more logical way to burn myself up than my nasty little habit of chain smoking while binge drinking wine.  (Both things I can proudly say I do not partake in anymore.)  Lastly, the latest scare was the 2014 arrival of the Ebola virus in the United States.  This one was bad.  There were many occasions I found myself uncontrollably ranting to friends and coworkers about the horrors of this heinous illness.  At this time I'm also fairly certain I ruled out ever going to the state of Texas, talking to anyone with a Texas accent, or eating at a Texas Roadhouse ever again.  Of course by this point one could accurately state I was a tad hysterical.  I like to think of it as quirky.

   Anyway, my point is I have a very bad habit of self diagnosing and at times it can be fairly maddening for myself and those around me.  Last winter the local news focused heavily on the severity of this season's flu.  It got to the point that an individual couldn't even turn on her television without being confronted with an actual death count from...the flu?!  Every time I found myself watching one of these stories my throat would start to itch.  I would feel weak in the knees and an overall, "ooky," feeling would take over.  More than a few times I went to bed thinking, "That's it, I'm going to feel like crap tomorrow morning," only to wake up feeling totally normal.

   Interestingly enough, I did notice when I skipped watching the news, opting for the more enjoyable alternatives of going out with friends, sewing, or writing this blog I could enjoy an evening free of stress and feelings of inevitable terminal illness.  In fact, the more I concentrated on the things I enjoy, such as fashion, the better I felt about all aspects of life.  So now I would like to share a little nugget of wisdom it has taken me a long time to uncover.  Rather than focusing on the dark side of life, in a quest to be a "person of substance", I have opted to focus my attention on frivolous topics because these are the things that keep me happy.  I say, "Goodbye Scott Pelley of the CBS Evening News.  I've got a new Free People catalog to check out!"  From now on if I get an, "ooky," feeling I want it to be because I can't stomach the new socks with sandals trend for spring, rather than the atrocities on the news.  (Which by the way, I have really come around to that socks with sandals thing.  Thank you Pat.)  Lastly, one could make the argument that it's hard to maintain an attractive looking fashion blog when the subject is worried she may have Ebola.  Thank goodness, style seems to be the only serum this girl needs.

-r.

Jacket:  Wilson's Leather

Skirt:  Vintage

Boots:  Born

Purse:  Jonathan Adler

Necklace:  Thrifted

Ring:  Purchased at a craft fair.

Sunglasses:  Purchased at a gas station (Yep, that's right)