In search of a chaotic mind remedy

The first two months of 2024 have been a comedy of mishaps in our household. 

I have no details to dispense, but I am here to let you know that it's okay to take a break and lament for a while. 

What I am trying to do now is to look around just within my arm's distance. Look at something I like, someone I love, and take a deep breath. It's that cliché  mantra; "Not everyone has what you have."  

But I cannot say that it will always work its magic. I wish. What's going on in my mind now is a twister of chaotic worry, anger, and sadness snowballing with no ends to be seen.

Have you been in this situation? Have you tried my method, or do you have another trick to handle it?

Zara Picken's illustrates it well here.

Illustration by Zara Picken

Talk a little nicer

to yourself...

Isn't that a simple yet powerful thing to do? How often do we actually do it? Or have we done it ever?

With the Indonesian Presidential Election coming (two more sleep, eeeeeks!), the media platforms have been flooded with news about all three candidates and their vices. Sadly, thanks to social media and its bullet-like speed, so much of the news is either hoaxed or heavily edited to benefit a certain party. They all had a fair share of doing this practice!

Then there's the heartbreaking genocide, the constant domestic abuse and crime news, and more... and more. 

I admit, I have been consuming them all more than I should and it has taken its toll on my sanity. There's this weighing amount of anger, anxiety, and agitation in me and I just do not like the person that I am becoming. So I am pressing a pause button on social media for a few days and see how it goes.

Have you ever taken such an approach? A much-deserved break from the world that does not stop talking just so that you can hear yourself better and talk to yourself nicer?

Did it work?

A Better Way to Thrift

It has been a minute since I last talked about fashion. I am surprised that I do not write about it often, while it's one of my biggest passions. 

So here's a pop quiz to start the week:

Thrifting, yay or nay?

If you remember my post about Conscious Fashion and our wedding theme;

A Conscious Love Story, you'll know I will forever vouch for thrifting and trying to minimize shopping from fast fashion brands. 

I am not 100% there yet, hence this topic. 

I recently learned a few things:

1. Here in Indonesia, we have somehow exported second-hand clothes from countries like Korea and China to then be sold on the thrift market. Not sustainable after all isn't it?
2. Knowing the source is the key to sustainable fashion. Now that I question my first method, I try to buy second items from familiar communities friends, and families
3. Cost per wear is easily overlooked, but prioritizing quality can get you there. The more often (and longer) you wear the piece, the lower the cost is
4. Here's a trick to make your fashion items worth more: When you're eyeing a particular item (jeans, blouse, jacket, anything), try to think of at least three styles that you can rock in it. Picture your wardrobe and scan through it with your mind if you already have something similar (chances are, you do). After that, think of at least three items you can pair with the new item. Not two, but three. Got it? If yes, then you can go to the cashier
5. Organise a garage sale with your group of friends, book club, or church friends? Making "clothes swap" a birthday theme is also a way to make birthdays feel more priceless. 

Illustration by Grace Farris