Life Lately – A Brain Dump

You guys. I’ve been writing here at Pocketful of Joules since 2011 and sometimes I run out of things to write about. I mean, I have plenty of things to say. But some things are just for me (and not for the blog).

Sometimes I wonder why I keep up with blogging at all, with all the changes that have come over the years. Bloggers previously lived for visit numbers and comments, only to have a different world now. People just don’t *follow* blogs the way they used to. AI search engines scrape our websites. People can be quite mean behind a computer screen. Often it feels like just yelling into a void. And on and on.

When it comes down to it, I blog because I enjoy it. I love looking back at life over the years, especially those adorable baby Jack photos and stories. It’s a great way for me to remember when and where we went on our adventures. And I love giving advice about things that might make someone else’s life a bit easier or better.

With all that being said, I just don’t know what I want to write about right now. In one way, my world feels content and settled. But in another way, it feels helpless.

So, here’s a mishmash of a few things inside my head that might make the blog at some point:

  • Perimenopause. A lot of perimenopause.
  • Jack has agreed to try out for a couple of the running teams when he starts high school. So, this has somehow turned into me helping him with a ‘couch to 5k’ program. Which I’m pretty sure is about to turn into me running again (even though I don’t want to).
  • A lot of anxiety. About lots of different things.
  • I’ve lost between 15 – 20 pounds over the last year due to some diet changes and workout changes. EOE issues are a big motivator… vomiting is no fun. While part of me wants to write about it, another part of me doesn’t want to jinx myself and/or invite any conversation about my body. I certainly didn’t want anyone to bring it up when I slowly gained weight over the years, so why bring it up when I slowly lost weight?
  • Stained glass art projects – I finished another panel and I’m working on a suncatcher/mobile thing. Every step is a problem to solve and trying something new, which I feel is good for my brain.
  • Retirement. Will I be able to retire at 65? What about 60? Should I be doing more now to make that happen? Or, should I make sure to give us little treats now because the future is not guaranteed?
  • Loneliness.
  • Do I want another tattoo? And if I do want another tattoo, am I just going to fall down a rabbit hole of trying to find the perfect artist to make the idea in my mind happen on my skin. And what if they look good online, but actually suck. And I think I’d want a female artist. Because men.
  • Ollie, my little old man puppy dog, has been getting older and he’s now 14ish. He has moments where he’s not doing well and I am absolutely not ready to lose him. Which in honesty, I will probably never be ready to lose him.
  • Parenting a 14 year old. Holy crap. I want to love him to death and I want to sit on him. And why do his feet smell bad? And why does he want to keep putting them on me? And how is he able to eat so much? And OHMYGOD the kid just grew 2 more inches in a month. But at some point, I think I need to stop writing about him because he’s like a fully formed human.
  • I’m so tired.

Anthropologie Embroidered Applique Midi Dress: Online vs In-Person

I saw that Anthropologie was having their sale where all sale items were an additional 50% off + free shipping + free returns, so I did a little clicking around to see if there was anything that caught my eye. Well, while I was clicking, I put a dress in my cart and it disappeared from my cart before I was able to check out.

So, I kept poking around. I put a different dress in my cart, then saw the original dress popped back up in my size, so I lightening fast put it in the cart and checked out before it disappeared. Which is how I accidentally impulse bought two Anthropologie dresses.

Oops.

Anyways, one of them is definitely being returned because the bust fits super weird, but I thought it would be fun to show you the Online vs In-Person look at the Embroidered Applique Midi Dress. (Note: it’s basically sold out, so I’m not going to bother linking to it)

Here it is on the model:

Source: Anthropologie.com

I like the color and the embroidered petals. I also typically like the way this cut fits on my body… more fitted at the natural waist and then lots of volume in the skirt. The model has a very small bust though, so I was hoping the bodice has a bit of room. Also, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about the puffy sleeves, so I was curious to try it on.

Here it is on me:

This is just one photo, but if you click over to my Instagram here I did a couple short videos that show how the dress moves when I walk and I paired it with two different belts. Also, I have no makeup on and my hair is in a very messy ponytail because I was going to workout after my quick try-on session. So don’t judge the look too harshly!

First, let’s talk sizing. I’m typically a large at Anthropologie or a 10/12-ish in their clothing. There were no larges left when I ordered this dress, so I grabbed an XL figuring that it’s easy to take it in where it might be needed. Friends… it was NOT needed. This XL is quite fitted in the bust and I would have most likely been busting out of a large like the Hulk.

I wish the waistline was just an inch or two lower, as it’s a bit high and more of an empire waist that I expected. However, it looks nice with a belt. The fabric is a mid-weight cotton, the applique is well done and there are pockets.

As for the puff sleeves, they are awfully cute! I like the look, but it would most likely be a bit bulky if I added a cardigan for tattoo coverage at the office. I did try it with a denim jacket and I love the combo. I could see styling it like that for the office, or adding some cowboy boots for a fun date night look.

The green is really pretty and vibrant too and I think it will look nice with my hair down (rather than in a sweaty ponytail)

The original price of the dress was $188 and it was marked down to $119.95 before the additional 50% discount. I paid $59.97.

I think this one will be a “keep” for me. It looks nice alone, topped with a belt, and also paired with a denim jacket. I can easily style it for a bridal shower, office day, or date night. Most importantly, it has that ‘a little bit special’ look that I like in my clothing items and reminds me of older Anthropologie, back when the brand was more twee with their designs. Honestly, it needs a good session with my steamer, a supportive bra, and some washed hair to really take it to the next level (lol).

Would I pay $188 for this dress? Absolutely not. But for $60 I think this will be a fun addition to my closet!

My Style: June 2026

June was a pretty busy month over here with some in-office time for a fun campaign, Jack’s middle school graduation, and a trip to the beach. Thankfully, we haven’t had too much super hot weather (yet) with temperatures in the 80’s and low 90’s. Of course, later this week is up to 100*, so there’s that…

Let’s take a look at my June outfits:

The first week of the month I popped into the office three morning’s in a row and all three looks are quite similar with a shared color palette. I’ve never really been a ‘button up blouse’ kinda girl, but I had these two (left look and center look) from when I was in a ‘tie a blouse over a dress’ phase and decided to style them in more of a 1950’s fashion tucked into a swoopy skirt.

The left look is making me think of drinking wine while exploring cobblestone streets in Italy. The middle is quite ‘Americana’ with the blue and white striped blouse, red skirt and chucks. As for the right look, I paired a dark blue skirt with buttons with a gingham linen top and… yet another cardigan.

Look, I mixed it up with a dress! I bought this black eyelet dress from Nordstrom Rack a couple years ago and I love it paired with a brown leather belt, brown wedges and a pretty cardigan. I’m so disappointed that the cork heels of my wedges somehow got ruined somewhere between walking up a hill, sitting on bleachers for my kid’s graduation ceremony, walking back down a hill to my car and going out to lunch. Each cork wedge has a big crack in the middle of it and I’m not sure if it’s worth trying to fix them.

For the last look on the right, I actually took scissors to a secondhand Johnny Was embroidred tunic. I know, I know. But it was knee length, boxy and more of a swim coverup looking thing. Now that it’s cropped, it looks so cute tucked into skirts or very boho topping a pair of denim shorts.

New vs Secondhand Tally

This month, I count 4 items that I purchased retail and 14 items I purchased secondhand.