Welcome to the Sunday version of Ask Ashley, Sunday Best, where we share stories through clothes, essays, and other works of art.
It’s Sunday.
Sundays have always felt like a breath of fresh air to me. When I had my son, Sundays were my day to dress up and be a real person after a long and lonely week that all new mothers can relate to. I would walk to a coffee shop and write, feeling a small sense of normalcy I was desperate for among the other patrons tapping away on their computers and laughing with their friends over coffee.
When I lived in Connecticut, Sundays were my day to go into the city and pretend to be Someone. I would envelope myself in the Garment District and nearby book shops, meet a friend for a long, leisurely brunch on the Upper East Side, then take the train back home.
Again, it was my opportunity to be me.
Now, Sundays have become sacred in a more family-focused way, and on days like today where I sleep in while Jake takes the kids to church, I have an entire hour to myself to write, think, create, and dream. It’s the one day a week I feel calm, happy and like I have my sh*t together.
All of this to say that Sundays are a chance to start your week over. A clean slate that was muddied and splattered the days prior with feelings of self-doubt and insecurity, the chaos of keeping it all together in the name of scheduling, cleaning, paying bills on time and trying to understand what it means to be a fully functioning adult. Another chance to do better and be better.
On that note, I’m sharing some quotes I love that always get me back on track when I’m having a shitty mental health day, or I don’t know what to wear, or my kids are driving me nuts.
“It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.” -Samantha Jones
“You have to be a little delusional to make things happen.” -Unknown
“If that isn’t cause for alcohol, I don’t know what is.” -Moira Rose
“If you have the instinct to wear something, wear it.” -Olivier Rousteing
“You only live once. Wear the outfit.” -Me
“It isn’t where you came from. It’s where you’re going that counts.” -Ella Fitzgerald
“The formula of happiness and success is just being actually yourself, in the most vivid possible way you can.” -Meryl Streep
“Don’t take advice from someone you wouldn’t trade places with.” -Heather McMahan
“Don’t take fashion advice from the unfashionable.” -Me
“Writing it down is key to making it real.” -Marie Forleo
“When a woman becomes her own best friend, life is easier.” -Diane von Furstenberg
Thank you for reading. Keep being you. Happy Sunday.
Xo, Ash
