Fashion - Pocketful of Joules

My Style: May 2026

It was another Maryland spring month with a swing of weather from the mid-90’s, down to the low 60’s and then back up again. I turned on our AC one week, just to turn the heat back on the following week. I mean, part of it is nice because after boiling us for a couple days it’s suddenly chilly again. However, I don’t know how I’m going to survive summer this year when I’m constantly feeling one rage fit away from a hot flash…

Let’s take a look at my May outfits:

Office Style

I wasn’t really planning to wear this black dress into the office (it’s a little boobilicious for work), but it was super hot that day and I needed to run around for some work errands. I was only in the actual office for less than an hour, so I popped the cardigan on top. For the rest of the time, it was a ‘suns out, guns out’ kinda day.

I am thinking this dress could use a little snip-snip though. It’s about ankle length right now, which is weirdly hot for such a lightweight dress… so I’m thinking I might hem it to around knee length.

Here is the outfit I wore to unload a bunch of boxes from my vehicle, drag the cart full of stuff around a parking lot and into a building and then unload everything for conference set up. Comfy dress, comfy shoes, hair out of my face = easy peasy. This is one of those dresses that I thrifted over a decade ago that is just so easy to wear and style that it’s probably going to stay in my closet for another decade.

Casual Style

This was my Mother’s Day outfit for a potluck dinner at my sister’s house. What can I say, I love these floral cowboy boots so much and they basically scream Spring! I paired them with a secondhand skirt and classic black v-neck tee.

Yup, cowboy boots again. This time for a secondhand shopping extravaganza day with my friend. For this outfit, I topped my boots with a thrifted ASOS skirt with deep pockets and an (also secondhand) gingham linen top.

New vs Secondhand Tally

This month, I count 1 item that I purchased retail and 10 items I purchased secondhand. That’s right, only the black v-neck tee was purchased retail… and I got it from Nordstrom Rack for a steal!

Funem Swift Loom: Learning a New Skill

I’ve talked about my love of visible mending in the past and over the years have mended jeans, sweaters and quilts. When I saw a little loom pop up on my Instagram feed with a way to cutely patch small holes, I immediately clicked through to check it out.

I ended up purchasing a Swift Loom set from Funem Studios, which came with the swift loom pieces and a Cotton Warp Thread bundle of three colors. (It doesn’t look like my set is currently available, but the loom is here)

And yes, I’m also quite tempted by the larger looms to make scarves, napkins, place mats and even bookmarks (SO FREAKING CUTE), but I figured I’d try the little loom first to see if I enjoyed it. Also, I JUST set up my stained glass studio, so I don’t have a ton of other crafting/art making time…

Anyways, it was honestly pretty darn easy. I had a couple smaller holes in my jeans to experiment on, so I followed the Funem Studios instruction video that came with my order and hooked the loom into my jeans.

I made a few mistakes initially. Stopped the video. Rewatched it again. Tried again. Repeat. Repeat.

After my first square, I moved onto the second and realized that I might have made a mistake in the weaving portion the first time, so I experimented with a different way. This actually worked out great because I could look at both weaves and see exactly what the changes I made did as a result.

I LOVE it. Once I figured it out, it was pretty easy, quite quick to do and there are so many ways I can personalize it with different thread colors, thread weights and weaving patterns. Each mend becomes a tiny piece of art… kind of imperfect, visible and full of character.

Most importantly, it’s so satisfying to turn something worn-out into something uniquely mine. I can’t wait to use this new mending loom on everything from jeans to sweaters to tote bags!

Also, I am really wanting one of the larger looms too. Perhaps in the fall/winter when it’s too chilly to do my stained glass work in my sunroom…

Oh I do have one question though — does anyone know what that hook/needle thing on the top photo with the bend in the middle is for? It came with my set and I have no idea what it’s used for!

Disclaimer: Not sponsored and no affiliate links.

My Style: April 2026

This month has been a roller-coaster of weather – ranging from days in the high 80’s to days that barely break 60. So yeah, normal Maryland spring weather. I did take a little time to pack away some of my heavier winter sweaters and pull out some springy clothes, so this month has been a little transitional.

Let’s take a look back at my April outfits:

Spring Break Looks

Here are three outfits from our Spring Break trip. There were more (lots of mixing and matching), but I guess I didn’t do a very good job of taking outfit pictures. I brought three skirts with me on our trip, so this red one made two appearances.

On the left, I paired it with a secondhand linen striped top. For the second outfit, I mixed in a black v-neck tee shirt and bandana. The outfit in the middle used the same bandana, but I paired it with a secondhand Athleta tank top and black leggings.

Work Looks

This month I had a work conference to handle, so we’ve got two looks for my prepare-and-load-up-the-car-at-the-office days. For the outfit on the left, I paired my new-to-me embroidered boots with a mustard colored linen skirt, navy blouse and gray cardigan. I love the ways the colors work together, but pretty much the whole outfit was about those gorgeous boots!

The right outfit is what I wore to be around conference people, so the extra comfortable shoes were the most important part to schlep stuff from my vehicle into the conference hall. I’ve worn this Lucky Brand dress a bazillion times and it’s comfortable and looks nice. I like it with the navy cardigan and orange sandals. Also, Cooper is giving his all to steal the spotlight (and winning) with his cuteness.

Princess Party Fun

I love that I’m at the point in my life that when I’m invited to my niece’s Princess birthday party, I have a crown sitting around in my closet ready to go. For her outdoor party I went with a pretty patterned pink dress, floral cardigan, sparkly silver boots… and my crown. Perfectly appropriate to hang out with the other princesses.

New vs Secondhand Tally

This month, I count 5 items that I purchased retail and 12 items I purchased secondhand.