Thinking About Miscellaneous Shopping

J.Crew Hammered Metal Bangles (affiliate link) in silver. I might consider getting these in gold.

Ooph, I ended up being extremely busy at work last week so I wasn't able to write or post any blog entries. But things have calmed down again at the office for now, just in time for the Fourth of July long weekend. My workload this year has been very feast or famine, with only a few intensely busy periods here and there and significant lulls in between. Accordingly, my billable hours for 2021 aren't looking that strong. 

Now that it's July and the Feedburner "subscribe by email" feature has officially been discontinued, this is also the first blog post for which I'm sending out a (non-automated) email notification using TinyLetter. Hopefully it worked alright for those of you who are subscribed.

One non-shopping, non-fashion thing that have been on my mind recently: The United States recently selected its women's gymnastics team for the Tokyo Olympics! I'm not a very serious fan of women's gymnastics, as I prove completely unable to tell any of their skills apart or even to accurately distinguish more difficult and complex skills from easier ones. But I've been following the American women's gymnastics team closely since 2018 or so. The athletes are so incredibly strong, especially those who had to endure the Karolyi era and its failures of reporting and abuses of power. (Some of these issues were covered in the Believed podcast series, which I recommended back in 2019.)

Because of the COVID pandemic and the delayed Olympics, this has been a difficult eighteen months for so many of the athletes. A number of the ones I was most fond of were, sadly, unable to seriously contend for the Olympics this year due to injuries. But I'm so happy for the athletes who were selected! Jordan Chiles has a particularly great comeback story. I'm also so glad that Sunisa Lee was able to perform so well and make it to her Olympic dream, through so many challenges. And obviously Simone Biles is undeniably the greatest of all time in the sport. I could also go on to praise all the other women who were named as well, but I feel like I'm starting to ramble already. 

Please note that this post contains affiliate links that could result in my earning a small commission - at no extra cost to you - if you click and make a purchase. Thank you for your support! 

Today's post is a fairly light one, about some of the miscellaneous possible shopping for my wardrobe I've considered in the past week or two. I'm not sure how serious I am about any of these ideas, however. 

J.Crew Hammered Metal Bangles: I've historically had pretty good luck with J.Crew costume jewelry. I think they come up with lots of pretty designs, and the pieces typically all feel quite solid and fairly good quality. Their items generally also prove to be reasonably durable when compared to a lot of other costume jewelry on the market. It's been a while since my last J.Crew jewelry purchase in 2018, but I continue to browse their jewelry selection every few months to see if they've put out anything that looks interesting. These hammered metal bangles, pictured in silver above, have really caught my eye. (I would get them in gold, though, as I strongly prefer gold jewelry.) Sadly, this item seems to have been excluded from most of the recent J.Crew sales and promotions. 

In practice, I don't really wear bracelets often, so I'm not sure I'll actually end up ordering these. I don't like that some bangles tend to bump up against things a lot, in particular my desk or computer keyboard, as I go about my day. 

Birkenstock Gizeh Sandals: My main pair of Fitflop sandals (current season version) is around two years old now - though it's admittedly like they're only one year old because I stayed home pretty much all of last year while COVID social distancing - so I might be in the market for new sandals before long. I'm a bit of a stickler for replacing sandals rather frequently - generally after roughly a summer and a half's worth of heavy wear - because I think my emergency dental work-requiring accident back in 2017 was partially caused by wearing overly old and worn out sandals (first purchased in 2014 and used heavily for three years). With the Fitflops, the strap starts to loosen up over time and the shoe doesn't stay on the foot as well, making it easier to trip and fall. I care a lot about trying to use everything in my wardrobe as often and for as long as possible, but obviously this can't and shouldn't be taken to the extent of risking possible physical injuries. 

Before I bought my first pair of Fitflop sandals back in 2014, I briefly considered getting a pair of Birkenstocks instead. But when I tried on the classic Birkenstock Arizonas, they really did not flatter my wider than average feet. Out of all the most popular Birkenstock styles - the Arizona, Mayari, and Gizeh - I think the Gizeh might stand the best chance of suiting my wide feet. There's certainly a lot of Birkenstock options out there, between the "Birko-Flor" fabric and leather varieties. With the Gizeh there's also the possibly more trendy "Big Buckle" design or a pretty metallic rose copper-flecked leather color. 

Ficcare Ficcarissimo Clip: I've been sitting on a Nordstrom gift card that was my mom's 2019 Christmas gift to me, but I haven't really had any ideas for how to spend it. (I forgot I had the gift card when I made my only Nordstrom purchase since receiving it.) One possible thing I could use part of the gift card on is a new Ficcare hair clip, given that I know from experience that they're durable and highly functional, and that I reach for them quite often. For a while, I thought that if I got a new Ficcare clip, I'd like a tortoiseshell one. Though actually, I think I'd like the ivory-looking "alba" color instead, because it would have better contrast and look more striking on my dark brown-black hair. 

Madewell Herringbone Chain Necklace: One other possible thing I could use part of my Nordstrom gift card on is this Madewell gold-colored herringbone chain necklace. I've been rather intrigued by the idea of a gold herringbone chain necklace - maybe 16'' to 18'' in length and 3 to 5 mm in width - for nearly a year now, but I still don't know if I'm ready to commit to a pricier version in solid 14k or 18k gold. In particular, I don't know if that necklace length will work well when layered with the 16'' necklace I wear every day, a Tiffany Diamonds by the Yard pendant that was a gift from my mom to commemorate my law school graduation (visible here). Plus, I think herringbone chains are supposed to be somewhat fragile, so one might need to be a little careful with it. So it might be a good idea to test out this idea with a costume jewelry version first. 

Do any of you follow women's artistic gymnastics? Are you particularly excited about any of the athletes going to the Tokyo Olympics, in any sport? I confess, I still don't believe it's a good idea for the Olympics to be going forward this year, given that many countries across the world haven't yet been able to attain that high a COVID vaccination rate. But all the selected athletes have worked so hard, and it is nice for them to have a chance to shine, even if no foreign spectators are going to be allowed. Also, are any of you Birkenstock wearers, and if so, do you have any shopping tips?