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Hi Readers and Followers! I want to tell you how much I appreciate all of you taking the time out of your day to come visit my little place on the blog-o-sphere. Though I don’t respond to comments as frequently as I should, I do read all of them. I appreciate the link-backs to my blog, tweets and mentions. So, for being awesome Readers and Followers, I thought it would be fun to have a Giveaway to “kick-off” the holiday season. And, as you know from my past giveaways, I will have more than one winner.

Three lucky Followers will receive a J Crew Reusable Canvas Tote Bag filled with a few little goodies to get you through the holiday season. Included in this tote bag are: Archie Grand J Crew Notebook (so you can keep your shopping lists organized and in one place), and a $5 Starbucks Gift Card (grab a coffee or one of their Salted Caramel Mocha’s to start your shopping day).

So for fun, answer the following questions. My answers are in parentheses.

  1. What’s your favorite holiday movie? (A Christmas Story followed closely by Elf.)
  2. What’s your favorite holiday song? (The Christmas Song sung by Nat King Cole. It always puts me in the Christmas spirit.)
  3. What’s your favorite holiday shopping day? Or do you avoid it all? (The day before Christmas, Dec 23/24. I don’t shop so much as people watch that day. Especially the Husbands and Kids trying to do their shopping at the last minute. Hilarious and sweet!)

Rules:

  1. One entry per person please. You need to be a Follower.
  2. Leave your name AND email address in the comments. Don’t forget to Subscribe to the comments.
  3. Entries will be taken through Sunday, November 27th, at 7 p.m. Central time. No entries will be counted after that.
  4. United States and Canada entries only please. 
  5. I will use Random.org to select the winners. Please respond in a timely manner so I can ship quickly. A new winner will be chosen for those who do not respond within 48 hours of my email/announcing.
  6. I will contact the winners via email and also post it on the comments/blog on Monday, November 28th. Please check back and see if you’re a winner.

You don’t want to miss out on this! Good Luck!

This is not a sponsored giveaway. All items in this giveaway were purchased by me.

/ Reviews

I stopped by J Crew Friday morning to do some returns and try on a few new arrivals.

Heart Me Sweater – #54949, Acorn Black, Medium – I know some like this and it’s a cute sweater but I don’t really want a heart on my chest. I tried this on over the perfect shirt and it seemed to fit well in my usual Medium.

Perfect Shirt in Tartan – #35236, Black, 8 – I missed out on this last year. I had too many plaid shirts and just couldn’t justify another one. Glad it came back this year.
City Mini – #50305, Black, 6 – On sale in store $59.99 +30% off – I liked this skirt when it originally came out and now it’s on sale. I took the 6 even though I could wear the 8 for a touch more length.

You can laugh at the next one…it’s o.k.
Merino Cambon Cardigan – #57758, Heather Acorn Black, Medium – This also comes in Heather Graphite Black. I actually like this sweater and have added it to my wishlist. The fit was good and I would wear it layered like I am now.
Blythe Shirt – #37871, Neon Azalea, 8 – Wow, is this bright. Adding the leggings doesn’t help of course.
Homestead Waffle Leggings in Thermal Stripe – #57941, Neon Azalea, Medium – These are very comfortable but I’d only wear them to bed or around the house with a long sweater. Never outside.

Natasha Top – #54024, Creamy Peach, 8 – I have this in a few colors in a size 6 which is the better fit for me.
No. 2 Pencil Skirt in Harvest Tweed – #55821, Camel Coral, 6 – Pretty skirt with a nubby tweed. I have the Café capri in the Olive Mint. My normal size 6 fit well.

Natasha Top – #54024, Creamy Peach, 8
City Mini – #50305, Heather Aluminum, 6
Fair Isle Sweater Leggings – #60057, Flame, Medium – I am glad I was able to see this IRL. They were comfortable and perfect for lounging. Not sure how I would style them. I liked it from the catalog but I have a feeling I can find something similar at Forever 21 or at least cheaper elsewhere.

Tweed Bow Skirt – #55689, GMU, 6 – This is a new skirt in-store right now with a cute little big bow in front. The pattern is plaid and the material is 100% Wool. This fit a little snug. I couldn’t tuck in the top and I was afraid to sit down. The size 8 fit a little looser.

Size 8

Whew! So that’s my last review of the week. What do you think of these new items? I think the bow skirt is cute and is reminiscent of the Double-Serge Bow skirt from a few years ago.

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As soon as I saw this coat on the cover of the October catalog I put it on my wishlist. I ordered it this week on sale in a size 8. I have the Italian Wool Blazecoat from last year and that was perfect for the layers I wore under it during the cold spell we had. I was hoping this coat could be the dressier coat in my wardrobe.

Flared Perfect Coat – The perfect mix of classic style and contemporary minimalism, featuring a chic flared silhouette. Crafted from plush wool and alpaca, it’s finished with a collarless neckline that’s perfect for setting off a string (or three) of pearls or for framing a turtleneck sweater. Long sleeves. Flap welt pockets. Functional buttons at cuffs. Fully lined. Hits above knee. 

This coat is so plush and a gorgeous color. This fits perfectly in the shoulders and arms. And I like that it is collarless. The flare starts a little higher than my natural waist and the length is about two inches past my knees. I think that this could fit better in the waist, maybe an inch on each side.

Buttons at cuff

Hidden front buttons

This was the first image that popped in my head when I saw myself in the mirror in this coat. LOL! Where are my flying monkeys?

Flair Skirt in Floating Rose – We love how the gorgeous print instantly lights up a room. With becoming box pleats in a swingy, to-the-knee length that nods to vintage but feels completely of the moment. Wool. Full A-line shape. Sits at waist. Contour waistband. Fully lined.

After asking for measurements from the online rep, I decided to go with an 8 Petite. I’ve tried on the 6 and 8 before here.
8: Waist=30.5 in, Length=22.5 in
8P: Waist=29.5 in, Length=20.5
10P: Waist=30.5 in, Length=20.25


This is the perfect size and I really like the print on this too. Now that I have finally tried J Crew petite sizing I really like it. I wish my store would carry petites. I’ll just have to use the online chat feature to get the measurements.

That does it for my recent purchases. I have returned quite a bit of what I ordered after seeing the item IRL. I am glad I ordered them because my store didn’t get most of it during the Holiday roll-out this week. That post is coming up tomorrow.

Have a Great day!

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The last of my orders were delivered Friday and I wasn’t able to open them until today. I was really excited about one in particular because I ordered, and was promptly Wait-listed for mid-December shipping, the Brompton Hobo in Suede in Tropical Green.

I was very excited that this item shipped on Monday with a delivery date of Friday.

But, this bag and I were not meant to be. I received the Marceau Purse in Faded Woodland instead. Boo J Crew. I am not a happy JCA. I don’t mind the wait-listing and possibly “Sorry…blah blah blah…not going to ship…” email. But to send the wrong item altogether? It’s not like it was missing the tag that has the style number on it to QC with the item number on the actual order.

The Marceau Purse is cute and the color is true to the online pic.

I should consider myself lucky that this hasn’t happened to me more often. This is only the 3rd time in the 5 years I’ve been ordering online from them. Earlier this week an order I received contained this…

Men’s Lambswool Sweater in Heather Harbor
…instead of this.
Women’s Cashmere Tee in Navy

My original wrong item shipped experience was a sale item that kept popping back so I won’t really count that. I eventually found it on ebay instead.

I understand the QC process fails at times but it still leave a bad taste in your mouth, doesn’t it? The customer service reps each time were very nice and apologetic, especially in the case of the purse since it is now wait-listed until January. But there’s no reason to get mad at them. They aren’t in the warehouse processing orders. They are just apologizing for the warehouse processing the orders.

Stay tuned…the last of my reviews are coming up today.

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You had to know a review of these were coming. J Crew Mona Oxford Pump

Description from J Crew: Meet Mona, our perfected pump boasting a universally flattering silhouette and a chic round toe. Incredibly comfortable (and supremely versatile), now in fresh spectator-style black and white with oxford-inspired details. Crafted in Italy (of course) and finished with enchanting glitter, this is a pair that’s proving to be completely irresistible. Italian leather and glitter-coated cotton twill upper. Man-made lining and sole. 3 3/4″ self-covered heel. 

The first thing I did when I pulled them out of the box was shake them really hard. I wanted to see how well the glitter stayed on the shoe. Only one little spec fell off. I rubbed my finger across the heel and no glitter came off either. I like the spectator detail at the toe and that the back and heel are completely covered with glitter.

I took my normal J Crew size 7 but the right shoe had gaping at the front. The other Mona’s I’ve tried did not do this. The left shoe doesn’t have any gaping but that foot is slightly bigger/wider. Sizing down would be too tight so I may have to use an insert on the right shoe. They were comfortable when I initially tried them on but I can’t determine if they will be comfortable after a few hours of walking and wear.

For now, I’ll keep these. I need to try and style them to see if they really are keepers. I would love to see these in other colors as a spectator-style and without the glitter. 
What do you think of the Mona Oxford Pumps?