Monday madness! Lots going on at work and at home. Family arrived home super early so Logan could spend the day both doing his final packing for the dorm and see his girlfriend before heading out (she's a senior). It's an emotionally tricky day for him, no doubt. Navigating a complex HR issue at the office where I am working to turn a potential release of one employee into a welcomed management challenge for another new hire. The character of the challenging employee is upstanding - he's just very new to working in a professional setting and needs someone to work with him on how to excel in an office environment. More of a relaxed outfit today to try to help with the potential intensity of the meetings. Summer blues with classic preppy texture for a video-conference workday: • Jacket — SJ-015 (Brooks Brothers): A lightweight white-and-mid-blue cotton seersucker jacket with a matte finish and partially lined construction. Its pronounced stripe supplies the outfit’s summer character while remaining polished on camera. • Trousers — SL-026 (Suitsupply): Mid-blue straight-leg trousers in a summer-weight wool, silk, and linen blend. Their understated plain weave grounds the stronger seersucker texture without resembling an attempted matched suit. • Shirt — DS-040 (Charles Tyrwhitt): A formal white, non-iron, two-ply cotton-twill shirt with a classic point collar and rounded French cuffs. Use approximately 2.5-inch collar stays—an estimate because the stay size is not recorded in the shirt data. • Undershirt — US-002 (Ralph Lauren Polo): A simple white cotton crew-neck undershirt that remains discreet beneath the opaque white twill. It adds comfort without affecting the visible color story. • Tie — NT-050 (Paul Fredrick): A steel-blue and gray silk herringbone tie with silver-white and gold accents scattered through the pattern. Its texture bridges the solid trousers and striped jacket; use a balanced Half-Windsor with the classic point collar. • Suspenders — SB-001 (Kirby Allison): Navy silk suspenders with white polka dots, black leather button loops, and silver hardware. They reinforce the blue palette while remaining largely concealed and appropriately business formal.

Since my last visits here, I've gotten a TON of new stuff from estate sales, mostly art but some clothes and shoes as well. These two pair are from this weekend's haul. A pair of Florsheim loafers and a pair of Bruno Magli wingtips, with seude and leather. I polished both of these since buying. The Florsheim's were pretty much like new, but the Bruno's were pretty beat. They still have some character marks, but they are certainly wearable still. Pretty unique too.

Hey guys....it's been a minute since I came on here, but I wanted to show one of my current projects. A couple of months ago I had to put down my 14+ year old pitbull. It was not easy, but it was definitely time for her. Anything longer would have just been extending her misery. Everything was getting difficult for her, and the past few weeks she was eating only sporadically. I put some much into her that I even had a dedicated bedroom for her to use as a bathroom. I put down a large piece of leftover vinyl flooring over the ratty berber carpeting that was already in that room when I bought the house. I had been using the room for storage, and even painted some of my project toolboxes and whatnot in there. I told my girlfriend that when Spooky (my dog) was gone, we'd turn that room into a walk in closet. We did all of the work ourselves, which included ripping out vinyl and old berber carpeting, then using Nature's Miracle on the particle board subfloor where urine had soaked through. Let me tell you, that stuff is AMAZING! Once the subfloor was treated with that and it dried completely, I put 2 coats of Zinsser BIN shellac primer on the subfloor, then we bought and installed vinyl plank flooring. The original owners just had 1x4 material as molding along the floor. I used a bit in my router table to give that a nice top edge and not look so blocky. I also patched all the walls and painted them. The original owner had created this room by encroaching on the original garage, then built a full 2 car garage onto the existing garage. Kind of wonky but it worked. They didn't however have any ceiling mounted lighting, choosing rather to mount some wall sconces on the one wall which were inadequate and pretty redneck to me. I re-routed those wires up into the attic and then drilled holes into the plasterboard ceiling for ceiling mounted lights. To explain the ceiling situation.....there is a drop ceiling they installed, that's about 2" below what used to be the old garage platerboard ceiling. The drop ceiling is only 6'8" tall, and because of the limited height and limited options, I went with some very slim LED panel lights that I managed to wrestle into the drop ceiling grid (that was not a super fun part of the job). The lights are adjustable for light color (3.5k, 4k, or 5k) and have 3 different lumes settings. That was the basic shell of the room.

I know not everyone shares my enthusiasm for Mondays. 😂 But for me, Mondays represent a new beginning. A fresh week. A clean slate. Another opportunity to reset, get organized and be intentional about how I want to approach the days ahead. Today starts in the office and then takes me out for a few meetings with my attorney, so I wanted an outfit that could comfortably move between both settings without feeling overly formal. A tan plaid sport coat, pink shirt, brown trousers and brown shoes gave me exactly that balance. Polished enough for the meetings later, but still relaxed and seasonally appropriate for a warm August Monday. And since I’ll be out and about, the Panama gets to come along as well. 😎 The more I think about intentionality, the more I realize that it often lives in the small things. Choosing what I’m going to wear. Planning the day. Taking care of the details. Deciding what kind of attitude I’m going to bring into the week. None of those things are especially dramatic, but together they help me feel like I’m beginning the week on purpose rather than simply reacting to whatever comes my way. That’s a big part of why I genuinely love Mondays. They aren’t something I’m trying to get through. They are another new beginning. And I plan to make the most of this one. 🎉😎 Hope you all do as well!!🙏