My At Home Life: Fashion for Computer Meetings to the Front Porch

Pamela Lutrell in JJill wideleg pants on Over 50 Feeling 40

I hope everyone is safe and was able to find peaceful, joyful moments throughout the weekend.  This will be my second full week of working (two jobs!) at home!  I still feel a little off my game and flustered, but hope by the end of the week to be able to find a good at-home schedule which includes workout time and quiet time!  I am attempting to do my day job during the morning and afternoon, and then work on the blog at night as I always did.  I have to laugh when I see the list of projects some at-home workers are doing…I have no time to clean out a closet or work in the yard, but so welcome the day that time comes.

Today’s outfit reflects what I typically need for the day now…an interesting, professional look at the top for video conferencing, and stylish comfort on the bottom.  This is mostly a JJill outfit (at least the pants and cardigan). This little print tank with the zipper V-neck style gives just the look I need for being on camera.  I needed to straighten it a bit more for the picture, but my professional (A-Hem) photographer husband did not notify me of the adjustment!  

I tried these full-leg capri pants on at JJill before the pandemic hit and I only wanted to see how they looked.  However, the feel of the fabric was why they came home with me.  They feel amazing and as far as comfort goes…they deliver that big time.  I have these in the slide show below.  I like them best with this shorter cardigan from JJill that I already owned…wish I had it in another color! Super, super comfort. 

THE RETURN OF THE FRONT PORCH

So, today I will wear them out to the front porch. I kind of have a black & white thing going on here.  Have you noticed that the social importance of the front porch has returned?  When I was a kid, we played outside and all over the neighborhood all day long in the summers and on holidays.  In the evenings, the adults would come out and sit on their front porches, watch the children play, greet one another and sometimes just relax and enjoy.  I have commented to my adult children often that it is sad that people became so busy…especially in urban areas…that the front porches became bare and neighborhood activities ceased to happen from the homes.  Until now. With more time on our hands, less distractions, sports gone from television, I now see people on the front porch.  Kudos to the photographers capturing memories and photographing families on their front porches. EXAMPLE OF FRONT PORCH PROJECTS.

Again, I agree this is an horrific event.  I am afraid to venture too far out since cases are rising in our community.  However, there are advantages to slowing down and appreciating life once again.  

WHO ARE THE FLOWERS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD?

Spring Flowers in San Antonio Texas Spring 2020

Mr. B & I took a little walk in the neighborhood yesterday and I thought I might share with you some of the beautiful spring flowers beginning to show off in San Antonio.

Pamela Lutrell shares springtime in San Antonio

Spring flower inspiration for fashion

I often am inspired by the masterworks of nature with my fashion.  Colors and color combinations in nature are so incredible and gorgeous that to bring those combinations to our own styles can be just fabulous and confidence building. Do you have flowers that inspire you?  I think one of my goals during this time is to bring more flowers to my front and back yard.  I told my husband that depending on the virus spread locally that I might go to the nursery with him next week…we will see. To be continued……

I am so glad that there are many of you who enjoy the slideshows.  They are full to put together.  With comfort in mind, I have curated this one and included the JJill pants above.

Now, do you agree with me about the front porch?  Do you see things going on now that might be a resurgence from the past?  Please share….stay hopeful…stay safe….and

Remember, in our social distancing world, your smile is the way you send hugs!  Stay safe…and

KEEP SMILING….and HUGGING THROUGH IT ALL!

 

By Pamela Lutrell

21 Comments

  1. We don’t have front porches in the condo where I live, but the neighbors (mostly retirees) are as friendly as they’ve ever been. At least half of us have a wipe in our hands as we wave. In Ohio, we were early to shut down, and a lot of people are getting stir crazy (but, like you, I am crazy busy!). Our metro parks have closed restrooms and playgrounds, but the trails are still open for walks and they are packed. Walks and car rides are being resurrected here for leisure. Sunday afternoon car rides were a fixture of childhood around here, back in the day.

  2. Thank you for this reminder, Linda. We always took a Sunday afternoon drive. I forgot about those!

  3. Pamela, I heard one lady was using her regular commute time to do her exercise at home. Maybe that could work for you as well.

  4. Good Morning Pam!
    I agree with you about the front porches of the past. Growing up, my family lived in two different houses with big front porches. We lived out on them in the summer months. Living in the northeast, our porch time was limited to a few months of the year. The house we raised our kids in had no front porch, but there was always a collection of neighbors and kids riding bikes or playing games in the front. We have gotten away from that social contact and it’s sad. The house we live in now has a deck, which I love for the sunshine and fresh air but it’s in the back of the house, so no socializing with the neighbors. But I have been taking long walks during this time of isolation and I have spent time chatting with some neighbors I never really knew. I’m learning their names and history in the neighborhood and find it fascinating! I have been trying to find the silver lining in all this misery and that’s one good thing that’s come out of this.
    Thank you for the slideshows! They give me so many ideas. The other day you had the Cloudstepper sandals listed and I forgot how much I loved them and that I have a coupon for DSW…will be ordering them for sure!
    I’m on the lookout for a good daytime facial moisturizer for “older skin”…lol. Any suggestions for something that won’t break the bank would be appreciated.
    Have a great Monday and thanks, as always, for brightening my morning!
    Linda

  5. Thanks for the suggestion. My schedule has become top heavy with assignments due early in the mornings…I will figure it out…but I appreciate the suggestion. You would think there would be more time, but the pandemic has created more work for us. I am in public higher education and it is a daily challenge to help our students in a new world.

  6. Oh, I can see that university employees would be crazy busy right now. My son’s college (McGill, in Montreal) has gone to online only. There are scared students from 150+ countries trying to get flights home. Kids with no place to go as the dorms close. Kids with no jobs and running low on money. Instructors who may have never done distance learning, trying to set up the necessary technology. Support staff making decisions for those year end events, finals, recitals, graduation! You are doing important work in uncertain circumstances.

  7. Busier than ever in healthcare. No time for cleaning out closets etc. My spare time is spent cleaning, making meals and trying to sleep!

  8. You hit the tip of the iceberg but you clearly understand what my days look like!

  9. Stay safe and healthy, Janet. Make your sleep a priority! Thank you for the work you are doing.

  10. I miss the huge wrap around porch we had when I was growing up. We spent a lot of time out there (and under digging in the dirt). I haven’t had a house since that’s had a covered porch. We have a deck now with a beautiful view, but it’s not covered and usually too cool and breezy to get much use out of it here on the Oregon coast. We have many bird feeders out and enjoy watching them. Our neighbors are mostly gone at the moment and like others, everyone’s outdoor spaces are in the back, anyway.
    I had a thought this morning. My husband loves to plant things. My thought was, wouldn’t it be nice to plant up some cheery flowers or herbs in little pots we have around and leave them by the front doors of all of our friends? Anyway, at least the idea makes me smile.😊

  11. A smile & a wave carry so much more meaning these days. If you’re driving or just stepping out to get the mail, take time to notice others. Our condo community is rather fenced in & private, but I always try to look around when I’m outside. Our recent weather hasn’t been conducive for much outdoor activity, but I’m hoping for sunnier days. As a Keds girl, I loved seeing them in the slide show.

  12. We didn’t have a front porch as our daughter was growing up, but we had a driveway that opened on to the cul-de-sac and faced all the other houses. In the summer every night after dinner everyone would bring their lawn chair over and sometimes a treat to share and we’d sit and visit the evening away watching the kids ride bikes and have a great time themselves. We all still fondly recall our nightly driveway time. Sadly, the younger families of the neighborhood no longer have a gathering like this and we don’t get to know the newer families as well–if at all.

  13. I think that has been the case in many neighborhoods, Carol. Maybe this event will help connect neighbors again.

  14. Loved your post today. My husband and I went for a drive yesterday, which we haven’t done in years. We stopped at one of the few farm markets that are still open. Only one person was allowed in at one time, so folks stood waiting well apart in the parking lot. It was lovely to see other people and chat a bit. The big entertainment was the farm’s laid back black lab wandering around and a mother hen shepherding her 8 chicks around. Such a blessed afternoon.

  15. Thanks for a great post. I have several essays on the front porch in my files. One was written the first night of our cross country trip in the motor home after I retired. We were out for several months and those initial observations of the RV equivalent of the front porch held up throughout a coast to coast trip and back! The other essay became a short story that then became the working draft of a novel, so I owe much to the front porch. Here, we use a deck at the back of the house.

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