Hi. My name is Rachelskirts.

My life is a bit more topsy-turvy than normal right now, and I’m loving it. Usually, I would start an introduction by telling you where I live and what I do for a living and how I spend my free time—but in September 2023, I quit both of my jobs, got dumped by my boyfriend of nine years, and moved to a new state. I spent the entirety of October with little stars circling above my head like a cartoon character who just tumbled over the edge of a cliff and hit every branch on the way down. So welcome to the chaos!

But honestly, I love a fresh start, and I shared recently how I have spent the entirety of 2023 preparing for just such a change. I also have some pretty big goals for 2024—and while I might not know exactly how those will pan out or what's ahead of me, I’m always grateful to have this space on the internet to call home.

Things You Will Find Here at Rachelskirts.com

The archives of this site date back to 2007, but surprisingly, the content has not changed all that much over the years. I share the life lessons being sent my way (whether life sends those gently or aggressively), and whenever I find something new to obsess over, I lovingly bully you into obsessing over it, too. Currently, we are swooning over photos of tiny hedgehogs in tiny hats.

I publish new content on Wednesdays and Sundays, so if you really, really like me, you can subscribe to get new posts via email. If you’re flat-out in love with me, you can also follow me on Instagram or Bluesky or almost any other social media site out there.

A Brief History of Skirts, the Person

Technically, my name is Rachel, but my friends have been calling me Skirts since college. Before that, I was called Cookie, and before that, hundreds of other nicknames. Sorry, Mom and Dad, but no one seems to think that I’m a Rachel at heart.

Speaking of my parents, they met in a computer programming class in college, so my younger brother and I were destined to be introverted nerds—the highest honor, really. My dad is still a computer programmer, and it’s his fault that I love math and technology and geocaching. My mom died in May 2021, and I think of her constantly—but especially when I’m carrying on her love for shopping, jigsaw puzzles, and organization. Adam, my brother, is a gifted illustrator and storyteller, but his greatest gift to me is laughing at my very dumb jokes.

I grew up in Chicago with this very cool and very supportive family. I spent my college years in Texas with very cool and very supportive friends. But then I returned to Chicago to spend my twenties with the most uncool and unsupportive people imaginable, an era I later described to a therapist as “a weird detour into abusive relationships and toxic work environments.” (Oops.)

So in 2016, a few months after I had turned 30, I burned the bad bridges and moved to rural Tennessee to take care of my grandparents as they transitioned from full independence to needing full-time care. I poured all of my energy into that (wonderful, unforgettable) experience, and by 2020, I decided to step down from caretaking. Of course, then the pandemic hit, my mom got sick, and all of the things hit all of the fans. I developed my own health issues for the fun of it. And finally, in January 2023, I reached out to a therapist, who took me back to square one: reminding me that I am not alone in life. I have very cool and very supportive family and friends.

And that brings us to today! I’ve closed a pretty big chapter by leaving Tennessee, and I don’t know what the next chapter will bring. But like I said earlier, I love a fresh start—and I’m excited to take y’all with me on the next adventure.

Speaking of Good Friends, Let's Talk!

If you are a friendly type person and would like to chat and/or send me pictures of hedgehogs in hats, please do not be afraid to say hello!

Email address: skirts@rachelskirts.com
Google Voice number: 847.462.4627

Colophon

This site is powered by Ghost and hosted by Digital Ocean. I designed the theme using Adobe Photoshop; I customized the theme and related CSS in Sublime Text. Custom web fonts are provided by Google and Typekit.

All photographs and videos are mine unless otherwise noted, taken with a Sony Alpha ZV-E10 or iPhone 14 Pro Max. Any editing of the photographs is done in Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop, or Afterlight; videos are edited with iMovie.

Look, poppet. I love you. But all of the content on this site is copyrighted to me unless otherwise noted, and that means that you can't copy/paste it to your site. In fact, it means that you need to get my written permission before you can use my content anywhere else, and I will love you twice as much if you honor that.

Every single last bit of that glorious, copyrighted content here is my own opinion. My employers may or may not share my opinions. My family members may or may not share my opinions. Future me may or may not share opinions with past me. I hereby pledge to try my best to be good-natured and respectful in sharing my opinions; I ask that you do the same.

Sometimes, I promise things like coffee or doughnuts to people who read all the way to the end of a long entry or who give feedback when I ask for it. If you've made it to the end of this about page and would like me to buy you a coffee or a doughnut, let me know! Let's hang out and eat good food together.