first of all, happy mother's day to all you beautiful mommas out there! i have made it pretty clear before that i absolutely revere my own mother and i also long to one day join this exclusive club of women, so this is a day i do not take lightly. i wish i could say i spent all day with my own madre, pampering her and pretty much doing whatever she wants; alas, it's the weekend so instead i worked all day. but that's fine - my gift to her this year was to have a momma/daughter day sometime soon when i am actually not working. she had purchased us spa vouchers at some crazy promotional price and i got her a gift certificate to white house black market which happens to be virtually next to the spa. why white house black market, you ask? let me tell you a little story...
back in december i was going through quite a lot: mostly, preparing for my store to open and my professional life to begin full-force, moving out of a fun apartment with friends in wicker park and into my childhood bedroom with my family in the suburbs (due to the job change - the commute was just too much with my crazy hours), and having my college best friend admitted to a mental health institution nearby. whew. that's stressful just remembering...
but anyways, i had to go shopping for an entire new wardrobe to fit my new professional life. i had nice clothes, sure, but now i needed really nice clothes - all tailored, all quality, all black. it was one week before the store opened and i realized that i had created a dress code for my employees that i could not comply to myself -- business professional, all black, optional 10% color; no sleeveless, no bare legs, no cleavage or midriff (although those last three were no issue for me). so i went on over to white house black market, prepared to drop quite a bit of money buying quite a bit of clothing. there's one right on the way to the hospital where my best friend had just been admitted so my plan was to shop first to get my spirits up and prepare me to see her in what i knew would be a difficult state. the problem was, i went in jeans and a hoodie. and with a generic brand purse. and i look 12. no one in the store took me seriously. no one gave me any attention. i had absolutely no idea what size i was, no idea how to shop for suits, and no one helping me. near tears, i texted my mom "s.o.s." in the fitting room. i guess she was at home, eating popcorn in her sweats and grading papers. but she got my text and jumped in the car and was there a half hour later.
my magical mother took the situation from bad to beautiful.
she helped find me incredible clothes, she made me speak up and ask for help from the consultants, and she most importantly soothed my anxiety over seeing my friend in the hospital. we finished shopping early but she didn't leave me quite yet, as she knew i would just stress and stress and stress until visiting hours at the hospital had started. so instead of letting me ruminate, she took me "dream shopping." we went to pottery barn, williams-sonoma, and most importantly - crate + barrel . we built my dream apartment and took home fabric swatches and catalogs and all-in-all had a good time.
she saved my day.
she made me strong enough to go see my friend as the rock of support i needed to be, instead of the ball of anxiety i would have been. that's what my mom has always done in my life - made me stronger. made me more confident. made me into a better me.
so of course it makes sense that now i take her shopping to white house black market, and help her feel beautiful! she never buys quality things for herself so it's about damn time! i honestly cannot wait. oh and the massages afterward? yeah, that's gonna be nice too!
i'd also wish a happy mother's day to my dearest grandmothers - ema and nana. here is a picture of my ema (mother's mother), momma, and i: taken when i was but a child, only 17, and on the day of my high school graduation. we are all wearing purple to commemorate my college choice (it's my alma mater's school color), which also happens to be where my mother attended, and where my grandmother is an honorary alumnae.
and then me as a real child, with 5 generations of amazing mothers: my own, my father's mother, her mother, and HER mother!
man, i have some big shoes to fill!!
xx, kait
back in december i was going through quite a lot: mostly, preparing for my store to open and my professional life to begin full-force, moving out of a fun apartment with friends in wicker park and into my childhood bedroom with my family in the suburbs (due to the job change - the commute was just too much with my crazy hours), and having my college best friend admitted to a mental health institution nearby. whew. that's stressful just remembering...
but anyways, i had to go shopping for an entire new wardrobe to fit my new professional life. i had nice clothes, sure, but now i needed really nice clothes - all tailored, all quality, all black. it was one week before the store opened and i realized that i had created a dress code for my employees that i could not comply to myself -- business professional, all black, optional 10% color; no sleeveless, no bare legs, no cleavage or midriff (although those last three were no issue for me). so i went on over to white house black market, prepared to drop quite a bit of money buying quite a bit of clothing. there's one right on the way to the hospital where my best friend had just been admitted so my plan was to shop first to get my spirits up and prepare me to see her in what i knew would be a difficult state. the problem was, i went in jeans and a hoodie. and with a generic brand purse. and i look 12. no one in the store took me seriously. no one gave me any attention. i had absolutely no idea what size i was, no idea how to shop for suits, and no one helping me. near tears, i texted my mom "s.o.s." in the fitting room. i guess she was at home, eating popcorn in her sweats and grading papers. but she got my text and jumped in the car and was there a half hour later.
my magical mother took the situation from bad to beautiful.
she helped find me incredible clothes, she made me speak up and ask for help from the consultants, and she most importantly soothed my anxiety over seeing my friend in the hospital. we finished shopping early but she didn't leave me quite yet, as she knew i would just stress and stress and stress until visiting hours at the hospital had started. so instead of letting me ruminate, she took me "dream shopping." we went to pottery barn, williams-sonoma, and most importantly - crate + barrel . we built my dream apartment and took home fabric swatches and catalogs and all-in-all had a good time.
she saved my day.
she made me strong enough to go see my friend as the rock of support i needed to be, instead of the ball of anxiety i would have been. that's what my mom has always done in my life - made me stronger. made me more confident. made me into a better me.
so of course it makes sense that now i take her shopping to white house black market, and help her feel beautiful! she never buys quality things for herself so it's about damn time! i honestly cannot wait. oh and the massages afterward? yeah, that's gonna be nice too!
i'd also wish a happy mother's day to my dearest grandmothers - ema and nana. here is a picture of my ema (mother's mother), momma, and i: taken when i was but a child, only 17, and on the day of my high school graduation. we are all wearing purple to commemorate my college choice (it's my alma mater's school color), which also happens to be where my mother attended, and where my grandmother is an honorary alumnae.
and then me as a real child, with 5 generations of amazing mothers: my own, my father's mother, her mother, and HER mother!
man, i have some big shoes to fill!!
i only hope that one day i can be HALF as great a mother as those in my family.
xx, kait
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