Every year since I was little we would get our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. Last year my parents decided it was getting too crowded (it was) and opted to splurge on a Balsam Hill tree and stop going to the farm to get our tree every year.  Even though the farm has gotten a LOT more crowded the past few years I just couldn't give up on the tradition that easily.  Even though we have our own fake tree (hopefully a nicer one eventually) Christian and I, along with my brother, sister and their dogs went to Jones Family Farm to walk around in the trees and check out their Christmas shop.

P.S. I finally found this leopard coat on eBay! Snap it up before I buy it as a backup to this one (even though my current one is a size Small!) ;)

Leopard Coat: Sisters (shop faux fur coats), Sweater: J.Crew Reindeer Sweater, Pants: Blank NYC 'Persuede' jeans (South Moon Under), Boots: Vintage Snowland Moccasin Ankle Boots (from Grandma, shop more Winter boots), Sunglasses: Gucci, Italian Leather Bag: shop mini bags

Last weekend I attended a special preview of The Content Lab at West Hartford Coworking. For $60 an hour you can rent this room at West Hartford Coworking for all your blogging needs. They have equipment for podcasting, photos, video and more. The space is super bright and full of natural light. (and how cool is the glass pod?! Perfect for private phone calls.)

They're hosting a Holiday party there this Friday night and it is open to the community so you don't have to be a blogger to go! If you'd like to attend you can purchase tickets here.

Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures with my blazer on, but imagine this oversized burgundy blazer over the top of this. So 70s. But I wore my new Splendid striped top for the occasion and got a few compliments! It's sooo soft and I'm in love with the color combination.

Striped Top: Splendid 'Duke' striped pullover c/o Shopbop (shop more Splendid), Flare Jeans: Free People (shop more Free People), Booties: Tabitha Simmons 'Elisa' for Runway to Green via Roundabout Resale (shop more Tabitha Simmons boots), Bag: Louis Vuitton Epi Leather Sac D'Epaule (HauteTrader)



Photos by Lydia, Nonee and myself

Sometimes I like to pick a color and come up with a monochromatic outfit. It's easy to do when you keep buying all the same colors, ha ha. I always love a good cashmere sweater and this one from alice + olivia is so fun, I love the elbow patches.

Sweater: Alice + Olivia cashmere sweater with elbow patches (shop more Alice & Olivia sweaters), Pants: abercrombie + fitch corduroy pants, Mules: Franco Sarto 'Dolly' (shop more mules), Bag: Tommy Hilfiger bucket bag (shop more bucket bags), Sunglasses: Gucci

This is what I wore to our family Thanksgiving last Thursday. Normally I have two Thanksgiving outfits because we celebrate with Mom's side on Thanksgiving and Dad's side on the weekend. But this year due to scheduling issues we just had one celebration at my Mom's house with bits of both sides of the family.  I decided to wear my burgundy velvet pants of the occasion and paired them with my crazy Saint Laurent patchwork blouse. It goes with everything!

Blouse: Saint Laurent silk patchwork blouse (shop more blouses),Velvet Pants: Elie Tahari 'Shea Velvet Pants' (Shopbop), Heels: Coach 'Nacie' (shop more Coach shoes), Simple Pearl Necklace c/o AURate, Sunglasses: Gucci, Italian Leather Bag: shop mini bags

Whenever Christian gets his haircut we make it a morning of fun. On this particular Saturday we were out bright and early at 8:30am for his appointment with Cassie at H Salon (she cuts my hair too, but I go a lot longer between cuts.) After he was all spiffed up we headed over to Terrain to check out their holiday displays. Terrain is one of my favorite stores, even if I can't afford to shop there. We did pick up a frosty fern for $10 and I splurged on a couple candles for $20.

After Terrain we headed to Mecha Noodle Bar in Fairfield for some delicious ramen! Sooo good! I would eat here all the time if I could. Their chicken ramen (Shoyu Paitan) and red oil dumplings are my favorite!

Sweater: Everlane "The Wool-Cashmere Oversized Cable Turtleneck" (shop more turtleneck sweaters), High Waisted Jeans: J Brand 'Maria' High Rise in Supreme (shop more J Brand), Boots: White Mountain lace-up boots (shop more boots), Bag: Dark Purple Chloé Faye (eBay), Sunglasses: Gucci aviators in tortoise

Happy day after Thanksgiving! I hope all my American readers had a great holiday and ate lots of turkey (or no turkey if you're vegetarian!)

This month I added a few pieces to my closet but paid $0 out of pocket! Love when that happens.  Last week Everlane surprised me with a $20 credit and since I couldn't decide between two pairs of jeans ($30 difference in price, haha) I decided to just go for a plain v-neck tee.

I also bought a couple things during Shopbop's Buy More, Save More sale with my store credit from my partnership with them. They should arrive on Monday, hopefully they both fit or I'll be sending them back....sad. It took me HOURS to decide what to get. Funny how even when something is "free" you second guess all your decisions. I had so many things in my cart and Christian helped me whittle it down to boots and a sweater. I'll be on the lookout for a few of the other things I wanted to actually go on sale (more than the 20% off I would have gotten if I bought 4 of the things I wanted)

I still haven't made my Net-a-Porter sale purchase but I will probably buy something next month at the end of the sale.  Right now I have about $75 in Paypal thanks to Ibotta and Survey Junkie and should have a payment from RewardStyle on the way as well. That'll help soften the blow if/when I splurge on something.

UPDATE: Sadly had to return the boots as they were a lot chunkier than I expected and I didn't like how they looked on my feet.

THE (modified) RULES

1. Be mindful of purchases 
2. Quality over quantity
3. Basics are best

MY PROGRESS 

Clothes:

1. Autumn Cashmere Landscape Cashmere Crew ($240, retail $440, Christmas + ad money)
2. Sandro burgundy double breasted blazer ($36 via Roundabout Resale, retail ~$500)
3. Massimo Dutti white wool blazer ($19 via Roundabout Resale, retail $130-$250)
4. Rag & Bone 'Jackie' purple leather trimmed wool jacket ($32 via Roundabout, retail $495)
5. eight sixty floral camisole dress ($7 via eBay, used ad money)
6. Joie 'Johnesha' black polka dot tiered dress ($39.99 via Marshalls, $398 retail)
7. Edun red printed silk dress ($25 via eBay, $500+ retail) 
8. *NEW!* Splendid Duke Striped Pullover ($0 c/o Shopbop, on sale for $47, retail $148)

Basics:

1. J.Crew Tissue Turtleneck ($5, retail $30, used gift card)
2. J.Crew Ribbed flare-sleeve turtleneck ($8, retail $45, used gift card)
3. J.Crew Midrise skinny jean in velvet ($10, retail $80, used gift card)
4. AG Jeans 'The Evan' pleated linen pant, Sulfur Harvest Olive ($39 @ Marshalls, $178 retail) 
5. Splendid Arabesque Cargo Short in Antique Military Olive ($29.99 via Marshalls, $108 retail)
6. *NEW!* Everlane Cotton V in Heather Gray ($0, after $20 credit)

Shoes:

1. Lanvin Studded Suede 'City' Sandals ($60 via The RealReal, $790 retail, used ad money) 
2. Lanvin Studded Leather 'City' Sandals ($60 via The RealReal, $790 retail, used ad money)  
3. Ancient Greek Sandals 'Apteros' in Crosta Wine ($158 in Athens, used ad money)
4. Ancient Greek Sandals X Gas Bijoux 'Stephanie Charms' in Natural/Red Charms ($254 in Santorini, used ad money)
5. Sam Edelman 'Gigi' ($12.49 via DSW)
6. Restricted Memo Flat ($12.49 via DSW)

Accessories:

1. Mini Leather Bag (25€ in Italy, used ad money)
2. Olive Leaf + Branch + Pearl Necklace ($50 in Santorini, used ad money)
3. DSW Backpack (free with purchase)

Gifted from Brands:

1. Simple Pearl Necklace c/o AUrate
   

Total spent in November: $0

Total spent in 2019: $245.46

I bought this dress - for a STEAL on eBay - at the end of October and it was killing me knowing I would have to wait until next Summer to wear it. Then I remembered I had my trip to Disney a couple weeks ago and knew it would be perfect for my day at Animal Kingdom! I'm a major Disney geek so naturally I have Disney-related tees that I wear to all the parks but for Animal Kingdom I usually go for some sort of animal print and in this case a patterned Edun dress.

I hope all my American followers have a great Thanksgiving (and possibly long weekend if your employer is nice!)

Dress: Edun red printed silk dress (eBay), Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Athanasia' in Croc (Moda Operandi), Mickey Mouse Bag: Coach x Disney 'Patricia Saddle in Glove Calf Leather with Mickey Ears' (Coach Outlet), Magic Band: It's a Small World