Another Colorful Coat

For someone who lives in such a mild climate, I sure do buy a lot of coats! You might remember a couple weeks ago I posted about this gorgeous pastel check Kate Spade coat. Today, I am featuring another colorful check coat, which is from Boden. I love that this coat is classic, yet colorful, which is a perfect match for my style! A fun fact about this coat and these photos is that I actually wore this coat in the snow before taking these pictures. My husband and I went to Apple Country here in Southern California. My original plan was to take photos there in the winter wonderland but it was a literal storm of snow! While it was beautiful, it did not make for good pictures, but I will say that this coat, while being somewhat light, did keep me fairly warm and dry! Once my hair and coat had dried off, I was able to take these pictures, which sadly are just in front of a bland white wall as opposed to falling snow.

 

 

Below you will find some of my favorite winter coats, most of which are on sale and none of which are bland and boring! Hopefully you live in a climate where you can actually wear winter coats or, if you are like me, you can just get a bunch and wear them when the temperatures drop to 60 degrees, as that's what passes for cold in Southern California!

 

 

Coat: Boden here

Sweater: J. Crew similar yellow sweater here

Jeans: Old Navy similar here

Shoes: J. Crew here

Sunglasses: Yves Saint Laurent Budget friendly version here

 

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Falling for Black Friday Sales

I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving! In addition to Thanksgiving looking different for many people this year, I'm sure that Black Friday will also be different. For example, many retailers started their sales on Monday of this week, both in store and online. While I have already done a little online shopping for Black Friday this year, I'm not planning on going out to shop in person, which is something I traditionally enjoy.  My husband and I got a taste of Black Friday shopping earlier in the week when we visited an outlet mall in Palm Springs. While the mall was not particularly crowded, many stores had long lines due to Covid restrictions. I can only imagine what it will be like with crowds today! Luckily, I will not have to find out, as I will be shopping from the safety and comfort of my living room!

 

One Black Friday Sale that I always enjoy is at Anthropologie. This year for Black Friday, Anthropologie is offering 30% off of everything, including this fun, fallish floral skirt that I'm wearing in today's post. It's currently on sale plus the extra discount, which makes it a great buy! Below, you will find some of my other Black Friday picks from Anthropologie that have definitely made it into my shopping cart! As you can see, there's plenty of shimmer, shine and color!

 

Skirt: Anthropologie here and similar here 

Sweater: Target here

Shoes: J. Crew similar pink suede shoes here

Bag: Clare V. here

 

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Butterfly Alley

Spread your wings and fly to Mariposa Alley in the city of Riverside where this beautiful butterfly mural is located! While the city of Riverside is mostly known for the historic Mission Inn, Riverside also has a vibrant art scene including this installation by the artist Martin Sanchez. I visited the city of Riverside last weekend, not only to check out "butterfly alley" as it's called but also to take in all of the gorgeous architecture and culture that Riverside has to offer! Because the city gets very busy during the holidays due to the Christmas light display at the Mission Inn,  the week before Thanksgiving seemed like the perfect time for a visit. In order to match the vibrant monarch butterflies on the mural, I wore this new pleated skirt and a matching purple sweater for the occasion!

Due to the autumnal color scheme of oranges, yellows and purples, I think this outfit would be perfect for Thanksgiving! I know some people like to stay casual and comfy for the big (or maybe this year small) Thanksgiving meal but, no matter the size of the meal or the crowd, I like to get a little dressed up! I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to wear this year to our very intimate family gathering but one thing is for certain: whatever I end up choosing as an outfit it will have a lot of autumnal colors, just like the outfit I am featuring today. Who knows, I just might end up wearing some variation of this same outfit for Thanksgiving! No matter what you end up doing or wearing this year, I hope you and your family have a Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Skirt: J. Crew here

Sweater: Target here

Shoes: J. Crew here

Bag: Chanel similar orange quilted bag here

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G.O.A.T.

 

This dress from J. Crew is the G.O.A.T., not only because it's a great dress but also because it features cute whimsical goats on it! It's no secret that I love animals, especially goats (I would get a pet goat if we were zoned for it in my neighborhood!), so this dress is right up my alley! In addition to the goats, I also love the pretty color palette of this dress. Between the colors and the goats, this is one of my all time favorite prints from J. Crew, thus making it G.O.A.T., or the greatest of all time! It should come as no surprise that I also purchased the blouse in this same print, which I am hoping to feature at a later date on my blog!

 

 

I am very thankful that I have this entire week off from work for Thanksgiving! While I'm going to enjoy hanging out in my PJs and getting some rest this week, I still enjoy getting a little dressed up when I go out. This would definitely be the type of dress I would wear for work (if I wasn't doing distance learning this year!) because the modest length and silhouette create a very professional look. I added a pink blazer to the dress to create a more polished look, which, again , would be perfect for work.  It also would make for a wonderful outfit to wear for a more formal Thanksgiving feast with family!

 

Dress: J. Crew here

Blazer: similar pink blazer here and velvet version here

Shoes: similar mint pumps here

Bag: Louis Vuitton similar yellow bag here

 

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Embroidered Butterflies

 

 

I purchased this embroidered butterfly dress last month. With the sale promo and all of my rewards from J. Crew, it ended up being cheaper than a what I would pay for an order of fries at McDonald's! I definitely love getting things on sale, which is why I am anxiously anticipating what the sales will be like this year for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It looks like many retailers are featuring their sales early this year, which hopefully means more of a selection to choose from and a longer period of time to take advantage of the deals before they fly away like the butterflies on my dress!

 

 

I wore this outfit for a weekend excursion to my favorite local bookstore. One of the things that I miss lately, especially with the holidays approaching, is being able to shop in brick and mortar stores. While most stores have been open here for a while, getting into a store that can only operate at 50% or 25% of its maximum capacity often translates into long lines. Given this, I have been doing a lot of online shopping. The other thing I miss lately is getting dressed up to go to work. This outfit with the shift style dress and a little cardigan is the type of outfit I would normally wear to teach but since we are currently doing distance learning, I am all about cute tops as opposed to dresses or skirts. When schools and other places eventually reopen here, I am definitely going to be ready with some great new outfits, much like a butterfly ready to emerge from its cocoon!

Dress: J. Crew here

Sweater: J. Crew similar yellow cardigan here

Shoes: J. Crew similar purple suede shoes here

Bag: Louis Vuitton

 

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Purple and Green

 

I've mentioned before that purple has always been my favorite color but I'll say it again! My second favorite color, although it is a distant second, is green. I've always loved the combination of purple and green together, not just because they are my two favorite colors but because I think they look amazing together, although I know I'm a little biased! This floral top that I am wearing in today's post combines my two favorite colors together, plus I love the adorable tie that forms a bow at the neck. As you can imagine, due to my love of purple and green, not to mention flowers, the print of this top was love at first sight. It is also on sale right now, which makes it all the more attractive!

 

I decided to pair my purple and green floral top with a pair of green pants to really bring out the green color in the print. While I think this top would also look great with jeans or something more casual, I do think the vintage vibe of the top lends itself to dressier pants or, perhaps, even a pencil skirt if you really want to be retro. I also might pair the top with a cardigan but, unfortunately, our weather has skyrocketed into the 80s here in Southern California so I didn't really feel like adding a sweater to this look today. Once the weather cools down a bit I will definitely be layering this top a little more, so stay tuned for a restyling in the near future!

Top: J. Crew here

Pants: Banana Republic similar green pants here

Shoes: Christian Louboutin similar nude pumps here

Bag: Mansur Gavriel

 

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Colorful Coat

 

Earlier in the week, I mentioned that I would be featuring some coats for the cooler temperatures that we've been experiencing here in Southern California. I think I'll start with this bold, colorful plaid coat from Kate Spade that just might become my "signature coat"! One of the reasons that I fell head over heels in love with this coat is that it combines all of my favorite colors such as purple, green and pink! The color palette pretty much goes with everything in my wardrobe, including my new purple bag! I have my fingers crossed that more cold days will be in our future so that I will have lots of opportunities to wear this colorful coat!

 

Not only does this coat match most of my wardrobe, it's also the perfect match for this lovely rose mural in Pasadena. Last week, I talked about the growing art scene in Pasadena, including all of the new murals cropping up in the area. This rose mural, located on the side of Dots Cafe, was created just last year. While the roses featured on the mural are beautiful, they remind me of the fact that the Rose Parade that's held in Pasadena every year on New Year's Day will be canceled this year. While I will miss watching the event, I'm trying to look at things with rose-colored glasses and be optimistic that it will be back next year. Who knows, maybe I can even go in person to the Rose Parade and wear my colorful plaid coat for the occasion!

 

Coat: Kate Spade here

Sweater: J. Crew here

Skirt: H&M here

Shoes: J. Crew similar silver pumps here

Bag: Chanel similar color quilted bag here

 

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