Thank you Shonda Rhimes

Dear Shonda Rhimes, 

I wanted to say thank you.

The world has been extremely stressful and very strange for a long time now. But thanks to you I have discovered a happy place I can go when things become overwhelming.

 That's not to say that my life isn't wonderful, I'm safe, loved, grateful and surrounded by SAD lights. I do wish I wasn't in Seattle, but it's an 18 hour plane ride and two weeks in solitary confinement in a hotel if I wanted to go to NZ to see my family and some sunshine, so that's not happening, either. They are living life like normal down there, by the way. 

Here in the USA we are in the middle of an emotional storm and it's winter, my least favorite season here. The skies are a dull gray, I'm still recovering from foot surgery which makes it hard to walk in nature, one of my mood stabilizers. I've subscribed to International Living and am scaring my husband by leaving it casually open at pages featuring remote locales where they don't speak English but do have tropical climates. He's eagerly awaiting the vaccine being available so he feels safe to whisk us away somewhere, but right now I'm also binge watching Home Hunters International (all the wanna be ex-pats appear as idiots, FYI) or at least the episodes set in Costa Rica, Mexico, Belize, Roatan, Barbados Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, or anywhere sultry and humid sunny in near a beach. 

But back to Shonda.

You gave me Bridgerton.

You gave me costumes that make my heart sing. 

Bridgerton (unlike Sandition which left us with annoying cliffhangers) has joined the ranks of my happy places, along with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice.

For those of us who love wearable art....oh, heaven. Yes, yes, the Duke is a highlight, the fabrics, the beading, the lace, the shimmer. The endless costume changes. Delicious. 

It also inspired me to pull out my Regency dress. Yes, I have a Regency dress. I had made for the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen's death in 2017 and I still pull it out whenever I need a boost. Or want to pretend I'm Elizabeth Darcy nee Bennet.

Style icons come in many forms, by the way.

Although now that I work from home people can only see my wonderful Regency outfit from the waist up, since Shondaland gave us back Regency England (the fantasy version, anyway) I've been wearing it to meetings.

Usually it brings a smile (occasionally a wary and worried look) to the faces of my clients, my friends, my colleagues. And we need a smile right now. 

So...go binge Bridgerton if you haven't already. Trust me, it will help. Mask by WearTranscend- made sustainably in India by local artisans.

Aroha Erin. 

Ps. 

If you would like to look wonderful from the waist up join my Zoom-Ready workshops in which we focus not only on what you're wearing and how you come across on camera, but what's behind you. I'm talking about your in real life background, not the virtual image of Pemberley. Here's the link for it right here.

Oh, and if you get a chance, listen to inspiring and amazing women on my @ 20-30 minute podcasts. I make a twit myself on many occasion, but the women will absolutely blow your mind. You should be able to find them on any platform. Book to be a guest here, it's big fun.