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Hi everyone! We are in the home stretch of holiday shopping. Is everyone ready for Christmas? I have some presents to wrap and a few more gift card/stocking-stuffers to buy. I’ll do that on Friday, after grabbing my Peppermint Mocha from Starbucks.

I was summoned to the office for the last visit of the year and was able to wear my flair skirt again. I’ve worn all three of mine at least twice each this month. I think my they are my favorite purchases of the year and probably the most worn!

Cardigan: J Crew Cashmere
Blouse: J Crew Natasha in Savannah/Wildcat
Skirt: J Crew Flair Skirt, Heather Acorn
Shoes: Cole Haan Booties
Tights: Forever 21
When I got home I changed into jeans and un-tucked the Natasha before heading out to dinner.
Jeans: J Crew Bootcut Jeans

Today, I have on the most coziest sweater from Anthropologie. I hope to post an OOTD of it tomorrow!

Merry Christmas!

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I haven’t taken advantage of any of the J Crew-palooza promos since Cyber-Monday. But with today’s 30% off online and in-store I decided to stop in and make an exchange and see what new arrivals there might be. There were some bright new items for the Spring 2012 Collection. I was really excited to see new colors of the Tippi sweater. You’ll see three of them below. I tried my best to capture the truest color of everything but without the right light it was a little difficult.

Tippi Sweater – #46725, SGR (something Green), M, $72.50 – Love this color! I couldn’t pass up the 30% off so this one came home with me.

Truer to the real color

Tippi Sweater – #46725, NAZ(Neon Azalea), M, $72.50 – This is a great color too and not as bright as the Blythe in this color.

Floral Perfect Shirt – #60715, BBL, 8, $88, 57% Cotton/43% Silk – The texture reminds me of the Rose Vines Perfect Shirt. I do like it with the Neon Azalea Tipp and it looks good with the other Tippi below.

Jules Dress in Floral – #61607, BBL, 6, $188, 100% Silk/100% Acetate Lining – On the hanger this print is a lot to take in. But once you get it on it’s not so bad. I love that it’s 100% Silk.

Stripe Sweater Dress – I tried this on here and this one is the size Small. I decided to exchange the original Medium for the Small. It fits better and will probably stretch a bit.

Tippi Sweater –  #46725, LBL (something Blue, maybe Lagoon?), M, $72.50
Collection Striped Silk Tunic – #56512, FGR (something Gray), 8, $128 – This size was big on me but I didn’t have the chance to try on the 6.
Ankle Toothpick Jean in Garment-Dyed Twill – #62443, LCI (Light Citron), 30 – These jeans are so comfortable and soft and bright! But they do show things you might not want shown (dimples and extra things and stuff). Not sure if the Blue Grotto will be the same. The Neon Persimmon looks like a good color too.

Such a pretty color for Spring!

Closest pic to the true color.

Stretch Perfect Shirt in Classic Stripe – # 44175, SUN (Sunflower), 8 – I like it tone-on-tone with the jeans.

City Mini in Blackwatch Plaid- #62440, BLA (Blackwatch), 6 – This must have been just an in-store only release. Cute and there weren’t many left in the store. But I was able to snag the Schoolboy Blazer in Blackwatch Tartan on sale plus the 30% off so I passed on the skirt.

What do you think of some of these Spring items? I am really liking the Tippi colors and you’ll be seeing the green on me soon.

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Many years ago I disliked Cashmere very much because it was too itchy. My opinion has since changed and I love wearing it alone or layered. I must have had a bad batch or something because cashmere is no longer itchy to me but so soft and cozy. I could wear it all day, every day. And I pretty much have been doing just that.

Right now I am a J Crew snob and only have J Crew Cashmere BUT I do want to try other brands (Talbots, LE, etc.) if I can find just the right color. I have purchased at least one “fun” color and one “staple” color a year. I have a range of Tees (short and long-sleeve), Cardigans, V-Neck Sweaters, and Shawl Collar Sweaters. I have only bought my Cashmere on sale or with a % off or both (as it seems to be with JC these days). The rest I have found on ebay, quite the treasure trove out there, but I know you KWIM.

As far as my “fun” colors, I have Bright Dahia, Deep Poppy, a true Red from Old Navy, Jalapeño, Viridian Green or something similar to that, Dark Orange, Pink and Turquoise. For my “staple” colors, I have Snow (white), Black, Navy, Heather Caramel (camel), Cobblestone (gray) and Green. I like the fun colors because they do liven up a pair of jeans or pants. 

So, I found some time to take 3 outfit pics this week. I am lucky I have found made the time to get dressed every day. But each day I’ve had little errands to run so I’m not doing it at the last minute on Christmas Eve.

Monday…I felt patriotic but very warm and cozy. My legs were a little cold and could have used tights and boots instead of flats. I LOVE the Flair Skirt. It was a sizing issue for me that made me originally not like it but when I found my perfect size I was happy with the fit and “flair” of it all.

Sweater: J Crew Cashmere L/S Tee, Dark Poppy
Skirt: J Crew Flair Skirt, Navy, 8P
Shoes: Prada Calf Hair Flats (I’ve had these beauties for 6 years!)

Wednesday…I really like the color of these cords. I never saw them online so I believe they were an in-store only color. I had these hemmed for flats even though I bought the 29 Short. I think she removed at least two inches. As for this tee, I thought I had lost it. It had been missing for almost a year and then one day when I was going through my “handwash” only laundry I found it. Yay!

Cardigan: J Crew Cashmere Cody, Cobblestone
Tee: J Crew Reindeer Tee (2009)
Pants: J Crew Stretch Vintage Bootcut Cords, Bristol Blue (in-store color)
TOMS Shoes Black Glitter
Today…I wanted to somewhat re-create this look. I know the image is a little small and blurry but you can go here to see it. 
I liked the Tuxedo pant with the scarf and the glittery shoes. I completely missed out on this scarf but was able to find it at ASOS for much less than the JC Cashmere Scarf. Thank you Andrea, over at Life’s Divine blog, for pointing me to it! (Also see the Forever 21 scarf!) I wanted to layer the Cashmere Tee but realized I do not have a black button-down shirt other than the Tartan Perfect Shirt, which I wore Thursday (sorry no pic) so I couldn’t wear it again. (You can see it in my Polyvore strip on the right.) I settled on a J Crew Haberdashery in White from a few years ago along with Wool Tuxedo pants. I added the Asos scarf and I was off to J Crew. 
Shirt: J Crew Haberdashery, White
Sweater: J Crew Cashmere Tee, Snow
Pants: J Crew Wool Tuxedo Pants (ebay)
Shoes: Steve Madden Madee, Glitter

Scarf: Asos
I think I finally found a present for Husband the he will not expect. Not only is he hard to buy for but he spoils his gifts every year, including the Kindle he was going to get this year. He also found a stocking-stuffer and tried to use it before I caught him. The Boy is easy – cash and gift cards to Barnes & Nobles. But I am working with Santa on a special gift this year. Something he’s not expecting at all. As for what I want, thank goodness for the Amazon Universal Wishlist Button or I wouldn’t have anything under the tree. Not that I really want anything but it’s helpful for the in-laws so they can pick something they know I will like.
Well, I’m off to try and wrap some presents this evening. Tomorrow I will be shopping for the nephews and niece and grabbing stocking-stuffers.
Have a Great evening!

Merry Christmas!

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Husband and I are off to an office Christmas party this evening. The dress code stated “Christmas Casual”. This is about as “casual” as I’m going to get and still feel fan-cee.

Sparkley top, bright pants, fab shoes = Christmas Casual
Let’s add bangs…
OK…let’s not.

And talk about those shoes…my favorites from last year, the J Crew Flannery Platform Peep-Toe. I love everything about this shoe. The different textures: flannel, suede, patent. The heel height with a platform making it very manageable to walk-in. The mary-jane strap and the peep-toe that has the maroon patent peeking out.

The top is J Crew Factory I purchased last month and the pants are the Lolli’s from last year. I’ll throw on my Boutonniere Blazer from last year and be ready to go. I must confess it was really hard to keep this outfit my version of casual. And from also being too typical “Christmas-y”. You know, lots of red and or green.

How would you do Christmas Casual?