I presented a short talk to about a hundred people on Sunday and I began with a number:

17, 288

That’s the exact number of days I was alive when I opened my eyes on Sunday morning.

And except for one young lad who was celebrating his 17th birthday and had lived a mere 6,205 days, most of the people in the audience had clocked upwards of 11,000 days in their lives.

You, too, have lived thousands and thousands of days.

But how many of those days do you remember?

I mean, you remember the happy milestones, right?

A graduation, a wedding, a birth, a coveted award, the day you moved into your dream home or you opened the doors of your business.

And you remember what I call your Meteor Moments — those events that happened while you were sailing down life’s highway in one direction but got slammed onto a completely different trajectory.

Maybe you were hit by the Divorce Meteor or the Bankruptcy Meteor or the Cancer Meteor.

But of the thousands and thousands and thousands and THOUSANDS of other ordinary days, you probably remember very few.

And of these, isn’t it interesting that often a day when you were six or seven years old is easier to remember than Tuesday morning from two weeks ago?

Certain days, certain memories, are so clear that decades later you can still smell the salt air or taste the sweetness of the cake or identify the exact shade of orange in the sunset or hear the drumming beat of the music.

And yet you often completely forget even these hyper-clear memories for years at a time until something you see or hear or smell triggers you to remember them again.

When I traveled to Costa Rica with my daughter more than a decade ago, I arrived at the hotel and discovered that I forgot to bring my camera battery. With no chance of replacing it, I was devastated at the thought of having no pictures to remember the trip.

But what a gift this was!

Knowing I couldn’t rely on my camera lens to remember the trip for me, I knew I would have to really experience my days in Costa Rica if I wanted to remember them. This meant I was much more present and alive in each and every moment.

I engaged with the line of ants crawling up the wall of the bathroom. I felt the squishy mud seeping into my sneakers as I dismounted my horse on the ride up the mountain. I noticed the air whipping past my cheeks as I held tight to the zip line and sailed across the canyon.

Of all the vacations I’ve enjoyed in my life, it is this one — the one where I was forced by circumstance to feel most alive in the moment — that has imprinted the strongest memories in my consciousness.

Being present will always be the most important step in remembering more of your life but there are other things that help you bear witness, too, and it’s perfectly okay to utilize these tools. If keeping a journal, looking at photographs, holding on to mementos or recording conversations helps you access your memories later on then by all means use them!

Perhaps this is why so many of us have a garment that we wore on some memorable occasion tucked away in the back in the closet.

Of course, I still haven’t figured out if outfits help to create memorable moments or if moments just make outfits more memorable!

Either way, I think we can all agree that dressing in clothes that celebrate your unique sense of style will always help you to be more memorable to others.

Which means the gal who sports today’s VPOD, a pair of vintage 1990s studded punk leather shorts by Gianni Versace, will be unforgettable.

Available at Vagabond NYC.

(To receive the VPOD free via email with detailed size and price information, sign up for the growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)

I’m a firm believer in what Brenda Ueland calls moodling, “long inefficient, happy idling, dawdling and puttering.”

In a weird time-twisting way, I’ve discovered that one secret to getting a lot done is being willing to spend a lot of time alone doing nothing at all!

Gazing out a window with a cup of tea. Soaking in a bath. Sitting still and paying attention to the breath.

And listening. Lots of listening.

But not to the radio or the TV or a favorite selection in iTunes. Listening to the sounds of silence around me.

The hum of a heater. A distant ambulance siren. The rumble of the FedEx truck. The pitter-patter of a squirrel scampering across the roof.

It reminds me of years ago when it was necessary to let my car idle for a few minutes before shifting it out of park. My mechanic insisted that it needed this time to warm-up every morning in order to keep the engine functioning properly.

And so it is with our lives.

We all need to do a little idling to keep our imaginations warmed-up and working smoothly.

And like so many skills in life, if you don’t use it, you lose it.

As kids, we were all fabulous moodlers. Yes, even you.

Maybe you can remember gazing up at the sky and being mesmerized by the shifting shape of the clouds or a twinkling blanket of stars. My nephew once watched a parade of ants at a picnic for half an hour. I could spend an entire morning searching for four-leaf clovers in an empty lot near my house. And I remember once when a bunch of us neighborhood kids dug a hole for two straight days just to see how deep we could make it!

No adult would ever engage in such foolishness, right?

Well, thank goodness some grown-ups still do or we wouldn’t have things like wonderful literature, breathtaking art, ingenious gadgets, toe-tapping music, scientific breakthroughs and inspiring films.

Moodling, without a doubt, is an integral part of the creative process, which means it’s not just for the artists and inventors of the world.

It’s a worthwhile activity for moms and dads, employees, students and business owners, too.

Doodling. Coloring. Humming. Skipping. Daydreaming. Zoning out.

Perhaps more grown-up moodling is just the prescription needed to remedy the boredom, malaise, and routine that has replaced the childlike wonder, excitement and imagination that used to fuel our days.

But, like children, we tend to not want to take our medicine, so we immediately counter with “I don’t have time for that!”

Ah, but remember the time-twisting nature of moodling?

When you make time for moodling, moodling somehow makes time for you.

It gifts you with creative solutions to old problems. It contributes to flashes of insight that help you remember exactly where you left that thing you’re looking for before you have to spend an hour searching. It cuts the time to write your monthly report in half because while you were moodling, there was a subroutine running in the background that was organizing your thoughts without you realizing it.

And there’s no better time to give moodling a try than right now in the middle of winter.

Cozy up to a fire in a comfy, lambswool sweater like today’s VPOD.

Allow yourself to get recharged by plugging in to nothing at all.

Remember what it’s like to take two hours to do a crossword puzzle, or to slowly cross-stitch a few rows of your sampler, or to sketch horrendously but gloriously, or to get lost in reminiscing.

It’s just one more way to unleash creativity, in fashion and in life, for any Vintage Crusader!

Available at Twin Hearts Vintage.

(To receive the VPOD free via email with detailed size and price information, sign up for the growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)

Right around now is when parents start pulling out a pretty strong behavior card: Santa’s Naughty and Nice list.

Think about it.

You don’t hear parents out in public with unruly kids in June sternly admonishing them, “Behave! You don’t want to end up on Santa’s Naughty List or he won’t bring you any presents!” But it’s a common occurrence during these last few weeks before Christmas.

And putting aside my feelings about the whole Santa myth for a moment, I have to ask why there has to be a Naughty OR Nice List and why there can’t be a Naughty AND Nice List. After all, sometimes it pays to be Naughty.

For instance, we all learned that we should respect our elders and not talk back, right? That’s playing NICE.

But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t use your voice and speak up for yourself if someone is taking advantage of you. No, go ahead, SPEAK UP! Even if it means that you’ll receive one big black mark on that person’s Naughty List for doing so.

Or, here’s another example.

We all learned that we should try not to hurt other people’s feelings, right? NICE people don’t do that.

But don’t you most respect the friends and loved ones in your life who can be brutally honest with you? Who can call you on the excuses and rationalizations that work with everybody else but don’t work with them because they hold you to a higher standard? The people who aren’t afraid to bruise your feelings if it means helping you see a truth that’s in your blind spot and holding you back?

And where do these people live? I know I have them on my Nice List.

Or let’s take the example of a hassled, frazzled mom juggling a bunch of kids and a job. Or a single person juggling her career and caring for a sick or elderly loved one.

What’s NICE is to unselfishly give and give and give until you can’t give any more.

What’s NAUGHTY is to say NO once in a while. To selfishly say I NEED A BREAK and this next hour is for ME. And then to take that time to re-charge so you can return to your challenges conscious and refreshed.

Now, is there anyone out there who would put you on a Naughty List for doing that? If so, I say THEY’RE the ones who should go on the Naughty List! Don’t you agree?

Debbie Ford, author of The Dark Side of the Light Chasers among other bestsellers, has spent her career teaching about our Shadow. It’s that part of ourselves that we bury, that we don’t want to acknowledge, that we try to suppress or hide. It’s the NAUGHTY side. The part of us that we identify as lazy, critical, controlling, selfish, angry or weak.

But rather than trying to tame this beast and making sure every one of our actions shows up on somebody’s NICE List, we need to integrate and reclaim these Naughty aspects of ourselves and use them to serve our purposes.

Just as there are often gifts hidden in our greatest challenges, there are also gifts hidden in our greatest weaknesses. And by shifting our perception of what’s NAUGHTY and NICE about ourselves, we are empowered to live out lives that are so much more whole and authentic.

So don’t feel like you have to choose between today’s Naughty and Nice VPODS.

It’s quite all right to admit that you find both of them appealing whether you’re more drawn to the sleek, wicked, attention-grabbing vintage 1990s Jean-Paul Gaultier catsuit or the more innocent and demure vintage 1950s beaded circle skirt.

They’re both naughty AND nice choices for a Vintage Crusader!

Available at Chi Chi and the Greek.

(To receive the VPOD free via email with detailed size and price information, sign up for the growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)

My daughter is invited to a Friendsgiving dinner this weekend. It’s a get-together celebrated annually with her friends in Chicago before they all journey to various corners of the United States to spend the actual Thanksgiving holiday with their families.

Now, since I’m a vegetarian, the conventional menu for Thanksgiving doesn’t appeal to my taste buds. But I’m not too fond of the idea of taking one day a year to give thanks either.

After all, isn’t that something we should be doing all the time?

In 2001, the year I began journaling for real, I listed four things I was grateful for every day. Here ‘s just a few of the things I was thankful for that year:

** waking up without an alarm
** the stranger who tracked me down in the grocery store to tell me my headlights were on
** growing up in America where I was taught to read and got a free education
** my Mom’s cooking
** a parking spot opening up right when I needed it
** a bill that was lower than I expected it to be
** purple tulips
** a great waitress
** people who return phone calls
** suitcases with wheels
** a flat tire in front of my house instead of on the road
** a safe journey home
** the library
** a pep talk from a friend
** ripe pears
** every man and woman in the US military
** a compliment from a stranger
** an uninterrupted conversation with my sister
** windshield wipers

It was a marvelous journaling exercise and a true reminder that every day can be a day of thanksgiving.

Which reminds me to let all of you know how grateful I am for your daily support and your kind emails. Zuburbia couldn’t exist without each and every one of you!

And, as you plan your own Friendsgiving and Thanksgiving festivities this year, including selecting the perfect outfit, perhaps you’ll find today’s VPOD to be a fine option.

This vintage 1970s velvet blazer has a subtle turkey feather print that gives a nod to the history of the holiday without being too literal.

It’s a fabulous Friendsgiving and Thanksgiving find for a Vintage Crusader!

Available at Posh Vintage.

(To receive the VPOD free via email with detailed size and price information, sign up for the growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)

When we talk about someone who’s “on the fringe,” we’re referring to someone far out there near the very edge, on the periphery. Maybe they’re on the fringe of a personal breakthrough, on the fringe of stardom, on the fringe of madness, or on the fringe of a world-changing idea or scientific discovery.

But being on the fringe can be a very lonely, scary and uncomfortable place. By definition, “fringe” ideas—in science, art, fashion, education, politics, or anything else—have yet to be accepted by the masses.

And have you noticed that the good folks with the most innovative ideas, the inventors delivering technological disruptions that completely change our lives and the people that we like to call geniuses, all tend to live closer to the fringe than to 123 Main Street?

That’s why I like to pay attention to people on the fringe and what they’re talking about. Their wacky, crazy ideas often described as “out there” might seem to have no place in our current world but are often the very ideas that we all end up embracing years down the road.

It’s their ideas that often end up changing art. Or changing fashion. Or changing our lives.

And this season, loads of fashionistas have their attention on the fringe, too—but specifically the kind of fringe that you’ll find on today’s VPOD.

This vintage 1970s suede skirt is perfect for the ’70s revival vibe we’re seeing this fall.

And it’s a fab little fringe-y find for a Vintage Crusader!

Available at Time’s Up Vintage.

(To receive the VPOD free via email with detailed size and price information, sign up for the growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)