theseventhsphinx - The Seventh Sphinx

It’s getting cold here, time for the serious sweaters. This cozy Donegal wool sweater with its simple, speckled design was a great find in the men’s section of J Crew. Another fisherman’s sweater.

I love these colors. It’s rare to see a mix of grey and brown done well.

Sometimes simple clothes can provide a clean frame for a complex face, I mean a distractingly made up face, but sometimes simple clothes call for a simple face.

It’s strange the extent to which thinking about my identity is equivalent to, parallel to thinking about my face. Or not strange, rather a combination of natural, the face being how we identify one another, being the feature that evolves with us, and arbitrary, the face being one of many, many things we do not choose about ourselves. Strange that it is what everyone sees but means nothing, in a way. Serves only to identify, and it’s not so simple to pin down just what it is identifying.

9-10mm metallic freshwater pearl studs from Pearl Paradise

My own face gives me so much grief, its troublesome skin. And maybe it’s on account of eating so many sesame bagels lately but it seems especially round, like its childself. To you it looks always the same, perhaps, but to me it has so many moods. Looks so different depending on the angle. Is at times inexplicably (or perhaps totally explicably) unpleasant, ghastly, at times unexpectedly fine and radiant. Now irritates me with some quirk or asymmetry, now charms me with another. Is of endless interest to me, for good or ill.

It feels like it is mine, which I will say for it. It feels like a reflection of me…or part of me, as it can be deceptive as well. I wonder how much I am a reflection of it, rather than the other way around. Like names, faces can shape destinies.

This ultra natural look is Tarte cheek stain in Blissful (love), MAC Nude on Board ProLongwear Bronzing Powder (I really like this, LE but findable), Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector, and the teensiest lashing of mascara. This is how I look most days, with my hair in a 10 second bun, or some harried version of this.

Stay warm.

To have a big breakfast in a big bed, this is my idea of a satisfactory morning.

I seem to do most things in bed. It’s one of the only pieces of furniture I have. A bed and several bookcases. Various sets of drawers. A drafting table. No dining table. One small stool at my dressing table and one office chair on which I store a hatbox and a pile of scarves, and never sit. I am not to that point of grown-up-ness that involves the owning of much furniture. My tableware doesn’t match, either. This is surely all down to commitment issues.

In the last few years I finally got all of the pieces together to have the white bed I’d imagined for so long (thanks, Ikea). I’d wanted it but hadn’t given it priority, so the buying of the ingredients kept slipping down the to-do list (usurped by skincare and jam and lipstick). Trying to do a lot of those things I’ve been meaning to do (ex. making baguettes today). I highly recommend this.

White on white on white. I cannot have too much white in a room. White walls, white ceiling, a mountain of white pillows, white duvet, white sheets. A sanctuary within a sanctuary.

More spelt waffles! J Crew silk camisole, Victoria’s Secret flannel pyjama pants. A good silk camisole is a solid wardrobe staple. A wonderful all-purpose underthing, luxurious against the skin, simple and elegant as a casual top or sleepwear. If you like to lounge (I love to lounge, though there seems to be less and less time for it), upgrading your loungewear adds distinct charm to the experience.

Author: theseventhsphinx

getting cozy

breakfast in bed