Waypoints: May 2026

Getting ready for a summertime glowup

just planting plants in old shorts and a stained t-shirt

What’s on my mind this month:

I’ve been on a circumstantial break from clothes shopping for a few years now: when we put everything in storage at the start of 2023, I cultivated a really strong carry-on capsule (which did include some strategic purchases), and wore those clothes heavily for a year+. When we started building the Earthship, I started rotating through a lot of old pants and tops that could get destroyed by dirt, cement, plaster, and the rigors of building a house. While I’ve picked up one or two pieces over the past few years, safe to say my closet is very ready for an overhaul in terms of both wear & tear, and style. (Apparently skinny jeans are no longer a thing?)

So this month I’ve been working on putting together a new system. Beau built me a super cool style editor on a self-hosted AI model (we use an open-source (free) self-hosted model on our local server, which means our data stays internal, and we power it via our excess solar power collected that would otherwise go to waste.) I was able to page through a bunch of images that looked just like me (or pretty darn close) in a variety of outfits, adding star ratings, until a cohesive style profile was created and then paired with my brand and material preferences.¹ I used that to build a 60-item digital capsule wardrobe (including a travel sub-capsule), and I’m working through it a piece at a time to find: what do I already own that fits this need? What gaps am I trying to fill? And, with the style profile and color palette, I feel like I’m going to walk away with a coordinated wardrobe for perhaps the first time in my life. I’m starting slowly when it comes to buying, but I’ll be listing a few items on Poshmark or sending off a box to ThredUp in the coming days, too. I’m excited to build this into a wardrobe tracking tool that eventually shows me things like outfit suggestions, cost-per-wear, and more. Stay tuned!

I’ve tried so many shopping and styling box options in the past: this solution scratches that itch of having someone else curate for me, without the extra items that always seemed to sneak into the boxes from brands I didn’t like, or in styles or colors I’d already rejected. I’m excited about re-building an intentional wardrobe that meets my needs and style at this chapter of my life.

Lately:

• Watching:

  An unintentional academic theme this month!

  • Abbott Elementary. We recently re-discovered that we had a whole season of this delightful show, and it’s suddenly available on a platform we currently subscribe to? (I thought we’d previously watched it on Disney+ which we don’t currently subscribe to but maybe I’m misremembering? It’s so hard to keep track of all of the shows and all of the services.)

  • Star Trek Academy. Every time I wonder whether a new Star Trek show can deliver, I’m pleased to find it does. I especially loved the return of Tig Notaro as Jett Reno, and found Kerrice Brooks as Sam to be delightful. I’ve also never really seen Holly Hunter in much, despite her lengthy career, and found her character to be a welcome and fresh take on a female leader.

• Reading:

  • Lots of books for potential inclusion in an upcoming bonus in the What Should I Read Next Patreon community, so I’m holding those close until that bonus releases.

• Listening:

  • I loved this episode of the Armchair Explorer podcast, taking me through a part of Australia I’ve not yet had the joy of visiting.

• Growing:

  • Well, last month I shared my hopes for a round 2 (or maybe round 3 by now) effort in my emerging vegetable garden: that didn’t happen in May. Honestly - between visitors, weather, and other projects, it just keeps falling to the bottom of the list. On the upside, we’ve fully planted our indoor greenhouse now, and it looks fantastic and brings such a lovely sense of calm and greenery into our space. I’m excited to see how it continues to develop.

  • Oh, and I’ve added a few more friends to my outdoor planting area alongside my cypress and lavender. (Since this photo was taken, I added two more plants thoughtfully gifted by a recent friend who visited us.)

    

• Building:

  • Our indoor waterfall! May has been the month of the indoor planter, with a lot of other big projects deferred based on timelines and accessibility of materials.

    

Where else you’ll find me on the internet this month:

I was part of this super-fun conversation with some of my Modern Mrs Darcy teammates over in the What Should I Read Next Patreon community: How Team MMD adds books to their personal library (This is a paywalled bonus for Patreon subscribers in that community)

What you may have missed on A Liminal Life this month:

What’s coming up in June:

May went by quickly, and I’m left with a few drafts in the works but not quite as many finished publications as I’d have liked. In June, I’m hoping to share with you a final post about our recent Japan travels, a closer look at building our Greenhouse planter, reflections on the art (and joy) of living in an experimental house, or perhaps a few other topics that come up as we ease into summer. Expect to see 1-3 of these published in the month ahead for paid supporters.

Thanks for being here! I appreciate you reading along with me.

1. If you are instantly thinking of Cher’s wardrobe database from Clueless, yes I was too.