I’m bored again, so I may as well write a blog post and make all my readers as bored as I am.
It is a cold, blustery day outside today. From my nest on the couch I can’t easily see outside any windows (I’m at the wrong angle) but I can hear the wind a-blowing. My Accuweather app tells me it’s 19 degrees but feels like -8 (F). I can believe it, based on what I’m hearing. It’s been a good week to be confined indoors next to my fireplace.
Yep, still on the couch. However, I’m pleased to report that in another four hours I see my surgeon again. He’ll likely change my bandages, which based on my “dry run” at this surgery last summer, means I’ll have a slightly less bulky foot for the next week. The total volume of bandage decreases with each visit. I may also get moved to the next stage of recovery, in which I still have to keep it elevated as much as possible but don’t have to elevate at night anymore (which is the best change for me!) and can walk around the house more. So wish me luck.
I’ll still be mostly trapped indoors, mostly because there’s several inches of snow outside and my foot won’t fit in any boots. This creates one big issue: My husband and I had a conversation this morning about what to do about the dogs during the day. He’s been home with me all week and, although he’d normally be back at work today, he took the day off so he could drive me to my doctor appointment. I actually drove myself last time I had this surgery but I’m not turning down his offer! In any case, he will have to go back to the office starting tomorrow. Auggie isn’t quite old enough yet to comfortably “hold it” all day, and I can’t walk outside in the snow. DH works a 30-minute commute away, longer if there’s snow on the roads, so he can’t really run home mid-day to let the dogs out. We’re working on creative problem-solving.
Meanwhile, looking ahead to the following week when I get stitches removed and almost immediately have a work trip, I’ve been pondering the whole “foot doesn’t fit in boots” issue. Even though I’ll be pretty much bandage-free at that point, my foot will still be swollen for several weeks. None of my current cold-weather footwear has room for that. Nor will I really have enough time for serious boot-shopping between having stitches removed and getting on that plane. Enter Trunk Club.
I did Trunk Club last year for three or four shipments but was pretty unenthusiastic about the results. I kept getting sent things I’d already said I didn’t like, and rarely felt like I was really listened to, despite being able to have a lot more conversation with the stylist than I do with StitchFix. Somehow, only communicating once per box with StitchFix, I got a whole lot more I really liked and worked for me than I ever did with Trunk Club, even though I could have entire conversations with the TC stylists.
But, when one is trapped in one’s house, one starts looking at “How can I try on a few different pairs of shoes without having to walk the malls?” I signed back into my latent TC account and tried again. I have a different stylist this time, but had a similar experience right off the bat. Explaining my situation and exactly what types of qualities I need in a boot (ankle height, no heel, zippers or ties—no slip-ons, etc.), she sent me the email/app post with my trunk to review. The first pair of boots in there was a knee-high riding boot. Umm, didn’t I say I needed exactly the opposite of that? There were another couple of pairs of booties but they were slip-ons. I can’t bend my toes enough for awhile to be able to do that—I really need lace-up or zippers or something so I can just slide my foot in almost sideways. Which I had already told her. Only one pair of booties looked like they might work—the ones pictured here. I have high hopes for them because they’re also pretty dang cute.
Yeah, they’re pricey. But if they work, it’s worth it to me. Besides, they’re adorbs. I’d wear them a lot. They’re not exactly snow boots for plowing through drifts, but for walking on shoveled sidewalks and on slushy surfaces (what I’ll be doing when I travel) they’d be fine. What I mostly like is that they’re laced all the way down to the toe, so presumably I’ll be able to keep the left one as wide as I need now, but still be able to wear it well after my foot has heeled. And by the way, the folded top can also be worn unfolded, so it covers my whole ankle area if I need. I love that I can wear this one either way—it becomes much more versatile that way.
The nice thing about Trunk Club is that you do get to review the Trunk before it gets sent, and remove items you don’t want. All the boots except the ones above got ditched, plus a couple of other things she’d added in that I don’t need. I had also mentioned that I don’t have a hat, scarf, or gloves to match the winter coat I’d bought for myself at a big sale (paid $20 for it!) at the beginning of the season. It’s a bright emerald green puffer jacket—the warmest but lightest winter coat I’ve ever worn, and slightly more stylish than my parka. The parka is for sledding. I wear the puffer jacket for everything else, and I’ll be wearing it on this work trip. So, in the pic, you’ll see at the bottom a peek at some of the other options she’s sending—a couple of pairs of gloves, a couple of knit caps, and a couple of scarves. She also threw a couple of sweaters and a cardigan, plus a pair of leggings, in the initial trunk. I’d removed a bunch of things from the review trunk as they were similar to stuff I already owned or really don’t need right now. In the trunk I’ll be getting, she replaced those with some other items that do actually have some possibilities. So we’ll see.
I imagine I’ll be getting the trunk towards the end of this week. I get five days to try things before sending it back. I never took all five days before because it takes me all of about 30 seconds to try something on and know if it’s going to work or not. This time, however, I may have to time the boots try-on for after my stitches are removed, so the 5 days will be helpful.
We’ll see. I’m still not enthusiastic about Trunk Club because I really had given her enough information that, if she’d paid attention to it, several of the items wouldn’t have been in there. I often felt like TC stylists are given certain things they’re supposed to include in all the trunks regardless of client’s wishes—“Here’s the top we need you to push this week”—or something. But they are handy for situations like this. I’ll keep you posted.