Now the Christmas Season May Merrily Commence!

I've been steadfast in waiting to leap into Christmas cheer until after Thanksgiving. I do love Thanksgiving and fall/harvest themes and decorations so I like to savor them. Now, however, it is time to usher in December and go full out holiday. I love this picture from a long gone J Crew and if you have followed me for a while you will know that I post it every year. I have the same coat in red and still love it. It just radiates Christmas cheer. Are you ready?

The Ugly Item of the Season Winner!

Ding, Ding, Ding! We have a winner for the ugliest item of the holiday season. I give you the J Crew sequin buffalo checked pants.

I don't even know where to start with these. Elastic waist, cotton, dry clean only. And at $248 it's not even cheap and ugly. I like some sparkle and bling at the holidays, who doesn't? But if I showed up in these, my family would die of laughter.

Wearing the Pants

I know I have posted about some of the recent wardrobe changes I have made given my foot issues and the need to only wear flat shoes. I've trended to slim ankle pants with either pointed toes flats or loafer inspired shoes. I have some great picks to share below. Apologies for the small pictures.

 These are the Lands End Slim Legged wear to work pant. Beautiful navy wool pattern, 29 inch inseam and great quality. The rise is about an inch higher than I tend to like but not so much that I feel like I'm wearing granny pants. I live in Northern California so these are likely to be a year round pair of pants for me.

 Both these red pants above and black watch plaid ones below are also from Lands End. They are the mid rise wool pant. Fully lined and the kind of quality you don't see everyday any more. I went with the red ones because I have a pair of black watch plaid wide legged wool pants from the long past J Crew days of splendor than I wear at Christmas time. Adding another pair seems sort of redundant because they feel like the kind of pants you can only wear in December. But I'm really tempted and maybe I can work them into January in this shape? Stay tunned

This red pair is from Talbots and looks fun but very limited to the holidays. I think I'd go black watch plaid before I went with these but they could be a contender in the right context.

 

 

Any good pants in your life this year?

What a big family looks like

Now, my husband comes from a big family. He is the youngest child of 9. My kids are numbers 16, 17 and 18 in the list of grandchildren. It's a huge difference from my family where there is just my sister and I and my three kids plus my sisters 2. My kids are also the youngest of the grandkids. Most of them are grown up and starting to get married. This picture was taken just recently at one of the cousins weddings.

 This one is all of the original kids and spouses with my mother in law. My father in law passed away several years ago. My husband and I are on the far right.

My mother in law, who will be 90 in the spring, is in the center with the bride and groom. My family and I are on the far right. Missing from this picture are 5 adult cousins, 4 spouses and 4 great grandkids. It's quite a group!

The Good and the Bad

I can't seem to help myself with regards to J Crew. It's hard for me to give up on them despite their current lack luster offerings. Holidays is one of the things J Crew has done really well in the past so I had hopes for the new arrivals. Breathlessly, I went to the web site.

 

These beauties are the Sloan Plaid d'Orsay flat with bow. Yes, they are pricy at $168 but I jumped on line to order them at once. Unfortunately, they are sold out in all sized but 12. I'll keep stalking these though. Perfect with wool pants and a cashmere sweater for holiday fun. They also have a pretty pump in the same bright plaid but with an almost 4 inch heel, they are not in my plans.

Now we come to the bad. I just have no idea who would wear these.

These are the Collection Ultra Wide Legged Pant in Italian Wool. They are $328 and the description does not state they are lined which leads me to think not. Maybe, and I do mean maybe, someone tall, thin and very long legged could pull this off with a sleek tucked in turtleneck and some high heels. They look awful with the sneakers the model is wear.

So, maybe there is hope for J Crew. However, I still think the prices are inflated as compared to quality. Have you seen the new roll out? What do you think!

DIY Pumpkin Chai Latte

Do you read The Glitter Guide? You should. It's a fun web site with great ideas and they send email blasts which are great. In today's email there was an article (click here) with a yummy recipe to make pumpkin chai latte. They had one earlier that was just to create pumpkin latte and I tried it. So yummy! I'll be making this to enjoy this weekend!


Pumpkin Chai Latte
– ¼ cup liquid sweetened chai tea
– ¼ cup brewed coffee
– 2/3 cup almond milk
– 2 tablespoons sweetened pumpkin purée*
– Cinnamon stick
*Sweetened Pumpkin Purée
Mix the following ingredients in a saucepan over low heat for 5 minutes (or until fully incorporated and heated through):
– 2/3 cup pumpkin purée
– 2 tablespoons sugar
– ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
DIRECTIONS
Combine brewed coffee, chai tea, almond milk and sweetened pumpkin purée over medium heat for 5 minutes (or until heated through). Pour into a coffee mug and garnish with a cinnamon stick. To make a less sweet version, add additional almond milk when serving!

Let's Enjoy Fall!

In keeping with my last post, I want to remind people to enjoy November and fall before throwing yourself full force into December and Christmas madness. I love the December Christmas feeling but I love Thanksgiving too. Sometimes I even think I like it better (shush, don't tell). Why? Because it has all the things I love about Christmas, food, family, fun and none of the pressure to have a perfect holiday that I sometimes feel about Christmas. So throw a log on your fire, admire your fall leaves, have another piece of pumpkin bread. Let's savor the season, not race through!