Nothing says Happy Hump Day quite like a good ole soliloquy on feeling stuck, because let's face it: everyone has times when this blah feeling creeps into their life. There are different remedies depending on the stickiness of the situation, and if I had to make a comparison between concrete, quicksand (a phobia of mine since The Jungle Book), and mud - I would compare my recent sticky situation to being stuck in the mud.
That being said, I did what any person stuck in said metaphorical mud would do, and flooded all of my friends'/family members' phones with questions asking for advice. While said advice was awesomely insightful, the conversations ended with me, myself, and that still very much stuck feeling (kind of like after a shopping therapy session at Barney’s). After a couple of tries at the getting-advice-game, I came to the realization that I was trying to get someone or something to pull me out of the mud. However, this time, I needed to use my own muscles to pull myself out.
Whether it be meditating, reading various forms of self-help (Reb especially knows that I'm a self-help junkie), or jumping in my new favorite #ootd - the kind of stuck that I was experiencing required me to build up my lady muscles and put in the emotional work - in order to get out of the mud. You know what ended up helping me this time around? Remembering what The Crystal Press is all about. Despite sounding like Rebecca and I jammed a couple of sparkly words together when we created our blog name, The Crystal Press has a very intentional meaning behind it. It means expansion, similar to the way light expands when it reflects off of a crystal. The word expansion can be a lot to wrap your mind around, but it is exactly the reminder I needed to get unstuck. It was time to make like Taylor Swift and get clean of the metaphorical mud. It reminded me that when it comes to doing tedious things, like making to-do lists, expanding your focus leads to finding a bigger purpose and the right inspiration.
So what better way to celebrate becoming unstuck than turning an HM dress (which features 1% spandex, perfect for an action shot) into a jumper and literally jumping for joy? Besides drinking a glass of yummy champagne or being gifted the most beautiful Birkin, nothing immediately comes to mind. When I tried on this HM dress in my usual size, I got too many bodycon vibes for my style. To downplay the bodycon aspect of this dress, I sized up for more length and wiggle room (necessary if you plan to jump around) and juxtaposed the structure of the denim dress by adding a dreamy OTS chiffon shirt underneath. If you are looking to repurpose your favorite summer dress, adding a shirt underneath is a great way to do so!
Cheers to expanded focus.
Chiffon Top: 