A New Week Begins

Hi friends. Where do we even begin? What. A. Week. 

Hurricane Harvey

First, on behalf of our Houston-based team, thank you. We appreciate all of your thoughts, prayers, well wishes, and contributions for our city as we recover from Hurricane Harvey. The devastation has been both surreal and heartbreaking.

I’m sure you’ve all seen the images of the flooding on TV, but even so, take a look at these visuals showing photos before and after the rain. As you move the slider across the images, you can really see the magnitude of the flooding. Indeed, the flooding and its effects were of epic proportions. 

And, frankly, the recovery is just now starting. Surely, it will take weeks, months, and even years before the city fully recovers and rebuilds. 

Ways to Help

Hopefully, you’ve already seen our articles highlighting ways to help. But just in case you haven’t, please allow me to highlight them once again. Like I mentioned, people are still in great need. While this story may not be leading the evening news or headlining the national newspapers anymore, the story is still in the forefront of the lives of people here. 

So, given the continuing need, here are our two resources for how to help: 

1. Pray for Houston + Give to Charities : Here, we highlight the various organizations which are directly aiding in the recovery.
2. Give Back by Supporting Brands Which Are Giving Back : Here, we highlight over 30 brands (and more added daily!) which are giving back 100 percent of proceeds. 

Personal Update

Just because so many of you have so thoughtfully reached out, I’ll share a brief personal update… 

About a week prior to the storm hitting Houston, baby Elle and I were in Aspen. It was her first trip, and she did wonderfully! I was so proud of her.

But what was supposed to be a five day trip turned into a 14 day trip, as we chose to wait out the storm – and subsequently the aftermath – in Colorado. And while Elle and I created great memories (more on that soon!), I sure did feel guilty being unable to help on the ground here in Houston.

And while our house is fine, someone who is like family to us lost essentially everything. Plus, many friends had to be rescued by boat or helicopter. Like I said, it’s just all so surreal and heartbreaking. 

In the coming weeks, I’m sure the whole team will share more about our Harvey experiences and insights…

Moving Forward

So, how do we move forward from here? Well, frankly, I’ve been at a loss… 

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably noticed that I have been exceptionally quiet since the storm struck Houston. And of course, as you know, we took a break from our regularly scheduled programming here. 

That’s for several reasons… First, it just took me a while to process the gravity of what was going on. Second, all of our efforts and energies have been focused on helping our family, friends, and community meet their immediate needs. Plus, to be blunt, posting about fashion or other frivolous topics seemed insensitive. 

Surely, there’s nothing like a natural disaster to put things in perspective! Suddenly, what truly matters comes into focus, while the rest fades away. I think we all hugged are loved ones a lot tighter over the last week. 

In fact, even now, it feels weird to just post a regular outfit post. 

But, move forward we must. We all need to be productive! And we all need a dose of normalcy and routine in our lives. Houstonians are strong resilient people. 

As we resume with programming here and on social media, please do not mistake it for forgetting about the tragedy or what people are still dealing with. Please do not at all think we are insensitive. In fact, we are all individually and collectively pitching in on the recovery efforts. And we also will have additional ways for you to give back here soon. 

Thank you so much for your support in so many ways. 

A Side Note

A big thank you to our brand partners who have been understanding and flexible with deadlines and deliverables. While this is a business, it is composed of humans with families who have just endured a great ordeal. So, we really appreciate your humanity in working with us. These are the sorts of businesses with which we are proud to partner!

 

Photos by Maritere Rice