Tinsel Time!

When I was a kid my family would always get the most beautiful Christmas tree and on a few occasions the finishing touch to decorating the tree was draping silver tinsel on the branches. As a kid, I thought this looked pretty, especially with the multi-colored lights reflecting off of the tinsel. Gradually, I came to find this tradition to be a little gaudy and I suppose trends also change. Now, as an adult, I guess you could say I am back to loving tinsel, albeit this time it's in the form of a colorful peplum top! This peplum top, which is another piece that I scored from the Halogen x Atlantic Pacific collection, is the perfect top for the holidays be it for a Christmas party or for NYE!

I wore the top out for just a lunch date with my husband (he said I was overdressed for the occasion, but I am always over dressed!) so I decided to go with a more casual take on the look with a pair of skinny jeans and these pink flats. If I were to go to a party or something more formal, I think some black velvet pants might also look amazing with the top! For those of you who want an even dressier look, this tinsel fabric also come in a dress, which is equally stunning and saves you from going through the effort of figuring out what to wear as a bottom! As you can see, I am head over heels in love this fabric, perhaps so much so that I just might reconsider putting tinsel on the tree this year, although maybe it's better on a top than a tree!

Top: Nordstrom here

Jeans: Old Navy

Shoes: J. Crew here

Bag: Louis Vuitton

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Cozy, Colorful Cashmere

Now that the weather has become cold and rainy here, there's nothing that I love better than throwing on a cashmere sweater. They are just so soft and cozy! This colorful polka dot cashmere sweater is the latest addition to my rather large collection of cashmere sweaters. While cashmere can be quite expensive, I never buy it at full price. In fact, if you read my last post, on Black Friday I picked up a cashmere sweater for under $25, which was quite the deal! While this one isn't quite as cheap, it is currently on sale at Nordstrom.

Although it is cold here, or maybe I should say cool because it's actually in the 50s, it's not so cold that you can't wear a skirt. Normally, I would say that this yellow pleated skirt that I am pairing with the sweater is more of a summer weight fabric but I loved how it complemented the fun colors in the dots! Plus, it has a great "twirl" factor! I actually wore this outfit (including the sparkly, glitter shoes) to Costco because my husband wanted to check out some of their Black Friday deals last weekend. Sure, I was overdressed for the occasion and for eating a $1.50 hot dog but I do think it added a little color and fun to an otherwise mundane shopping trip!

Sweater: Nordstrom here
Skirt: Target similar here
Shoes: Kate Spade similar glitter shoes here
Bag: J. Crew similar cobalt bag here

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Polka Dot Tulle Skirt

While the flowers might be dead everywhere else, here in Los Angeles they are in full bloom, even though the ones that I'm standing in front of here are fake! (I guess you could insert the obvious joke that there are a lot of "fake" things here in L.A.!) Well, this store front with its pretty, albeit fake, flowers made for the perfect backdrop for my new polka dot tulle skirt. I spied the skirt when I was doing some shopping before Thanksgiving and it was love at first sight! As you know, I love anything that's tulle and this particular skirt is so cute with the embroidered polka dots!

As you will see in an upcoming post, I'm also crazy about cashmere for winter! I mean, who doesn't love how soft and luxurious it is? I actually stood in line at the pre-Black Friday sale at J. Crew for an hour to get the cashmere sweater I'm wearing in today's post! I purchased it along with another cashmere sweater and each turned out to be under $25 a piece, so I want to say it was worth the wait to get such a good deal, at least in retrospect. Also, they were serving mimosas at the store, so that helped to assuage the boredom of standing in line! Like cashmere, mimosas are one thing I don't think you can ever have enough of!
 

Skirt: H&M here
Sweater: J. Crew here
Shoes: J. Crew here
Bag: Milly similar rainbow clutch here

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Cyber Monday and a Rainbow Skirt

If it's possible, I think I just might be "shopped out" after spending the last week or so searching through the numerous Black Friday, Pre-Black Friday, and other holiday sales for the best deals. That being said, it is Cyber Monday tomorrow, so I just might shop online for some gifts, but I think I've pretty much purchased everything I want, and then some, for me! Speaking of which, one of the items I picked up for myself last week was this sequin rainbow pencil skirt. I did debate if I should wait and get the skirt this weekend, thinking that perhaps the price would be lower, but I honestly loved the skirt so much that I just couldn't wait!

If you love colorful clothing as much as I do, I highly recommend checking out the current new arrivals at New York and Company, which is where this skirt is from, because they have so many colorful things for winter! (Plus, they have a really great sale is going on for Cyber Monday!) I don't shop at New York and Company often but every year I find a few really good pieces, like this skirt, that I just love! I actually came across this skirt because a friend on Instagram sent me a picture of the dress in this sequin rainbow print. While I loved the dress, I thought that the skirt would be more versatile and indeed it is! For winter, I'm wearing it with a fuzzy cream sweater but I can easily see this piece transitioning into spring. So, while the sales might come and go, I think it's safe to say that this skirt is here to stay!

Skirt: NY and Company here
Sweater: H&M similar here
Shoes: J. Crew similar suede pumps
Bag: Mansur Gavriel here
Sunglasses: Gucci here

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Happy (Early) Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is just a day or so away and I've been busy getting ready for the big feast by going grocery shopping and watching cooking tips on the Food Network! Since Thanksgiving can be such a hectic time of the year, with people traveling, shopping and cooking, I thought I would get in a Thanksgiving post a day or two ahead of time! This outfit, which I wore earlier this week, is the type of outfit I might consider wearing for Thanksgiving but, due to the fact that these jungle print pants are made of silk, actually wearing them on Thanksgiving is off the table! First, it's going to rain here on Thanksgiving and silk and water definitely don't mix! Second, after having several incidents involving near misses with relatives and turkey grease on Thanksgiving, I now have a hard and fast rule about only wearing things that can be washed!

I guess you could say that this outfit makes for a good Pre-Thanksgiving look! I think it could also work as a great Christmas outfit too. In fact, I was originally thinking about pairing these pants with a green cashmere sweater to bring out some of the other colors in the jungle cat print but that pairing will have to wait until after Thanksgiving. Speaking of after Thanksgiving, just a quick reminder for all my J. Crew loving readers: remember that for Black Friday, J. Crew will be offering a discount of 50% off just about everything, including these pants! In fact, the sale has already started for rewards members, so you can start your shopping early! I know I have! On that note, happy Thanksgiving and Happy Black Friday!

Pants: J. Crew here
Sweater: J. Crew similar here
Shoes: J. Crew here
Bag: Gucci similar purple crossbody here
Necklace: J. Crew similar gold necklace here

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Sequins, Tulle, and Satin

As the holidays approach, there's nothing I love better than all of the gorgeous, sumptuous fabrics that are associated with this time of year. Cashmere, silk, satin, tulle, and sequins...bring it on! Also, because it's the holidays, it's okay to go all out and wear two, maybe even three of these fabrics together at once for a look that's a little over the top...but not really! Today I'm wearing a combination of sequins, tulle, and satin, which includes this new sequin sweater from the Halogen x Atlantic Pacific Collection.

This sequin sweater just arrived in the mail last week along with several other pieces from the Halogen x Atlantic Pacific Collection at Nordstrom. One of the things that I really like about this Collection, in addition, of course, to the fun fabrics, are all of the colors! This time of year, I often get caught up in wearing a lot of plaid and darker colors, which I love, but I also like to stay true to my colorful aesthetic. So stay tuned in the coming month for a few more surprises from the Halogen x Atlantic Pacific Collection, as I can't wait to show them off!

Sweater: Nordstrom here
Skirt: similar tulle skirt here
Shoes: J. Crew here
Bag: Mansur Gavriel here
Sunglasses: Gucci here

Moody Floral

One of the trends that seems to be very popular right now is something called "Moody Floral", a type of print characterized by deep, dark florals. To be honest, I think this trend has been going on for at least a couple of years now in the fashion world and, come to think about it, it's really been going on for hundreds of years because it's very evocative of Dutch floral paintings dating back to the 16th century! As the saying goes, what's old is new again. Well, this floral skirt from J. Crew is a great example of what is known as "Moody Floral" and it's currently on sale, which makes it all the more appealing to not just the senses but also to the pocketbook!

I paired my "Moody Floral" skirt with a couple of other new finds including these velvet flats, which  are also on sale right now. I love that these velvet flats have pretty satin bows for an extra luxurious touch! Speaking of satin, I'm also wearing another turban knot headband here, which I picked up a couple of weeks ago from Anthropologie. This style of headband is fast becoming my new favorite accessory. Although I realize it's another trendy item, much like "Moody Floral" is, it's also pretty classic, so, hopefully, I will be wearing these trends for years to come!

Skirt: J. Crew here
Sweater: Target similar here
Shoes: J. Crew here
Bag: Mansur Gavriel here
Headband: Anthropologie here

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