Chilly Days in NY & LA

Brrrr, LA, you've been cold lately!! With a series of low 40 degree weather days out here in SoCal over the holidays, it's been chilly! You east coasters are probably laughing at me, but I don't think I can remember it ever being so cold. I spent my short vacation roaming around the city and of course caught a nasty cold that's kept me quite miserable for the past week and a half. Between feeling lazy about returning to a very busy time at work and battling a congested immune system, it's been hard to gather up some motivation to get up and put together some decent outfits each morning. My apologies to my poor coworkers who have had to see the disaster that I've been looking like lately. :)

Still, as I sit here whining about how cold and sick I've been, Janice has been battling the fun blizzard-filled days over on her side of the world. Unlike me, she's probably had to bundle up a little more to get through the 27 degree snowy weather! So let's see what we've both been wearing...

Janice: Zara sweater (S), Forever 21 vest (XS), Club Monaco pants (0)
Michelle: Madewell chilly days cardigan (XS), Target Mossimo long and lean tank (S), Gap slim crops (0)

Okay, so we kind of dress the same... our three-piece outfits consist of the staple grey cardi/sweater over a white basic, pants, plus our beloved grey suede pumps!! However, as Janice keeps warm with a thick sweater under her heavier vest (and probably a ginormous outer coat), I opted for my favorite Target tank and wool Madewell cardigan. I'm sure many of you are quite familiar with the long and lean tanks at Target, but I can't help but rave about how much they are the best ever. The material is the perfect kind of comfy stretchy and complements the overall flattering cut of the tank. The neckline is not too boyishly high cut and the long and lean length makes for easy layering under anything. I wear these on a regular basis--for work and play! The best part is that they don't stretch out throughout the day from wear and don't shrink in the washer/dryer. Paired with my super, duper cheap and rather thick and insulating Madewell cardigan, I was surprisingly warm throughout the day. I also wanted to give Gap some credit for their slim crops. I'm a little behind on what the blogger buzz is on these, but I picked them up recently during a 45% off sale and am decently impressed by them. At 1/3 of the price of the J.Crew Minnie's, I like that the slim crops are made of a slightly thicker material and thus, give me a little extra warmth without too much bagging. Being short makes it hard to really buy a pair of crops and expect them to fit properly in length so I usually aim for more of an ankle pant by sticking with the regular inseam versions (I actually wonder why Gap would even use a model that is boasting the "awkward" length on the product page...). They're not the perfect pair of pants for my figure, but pairing them with heels helps me stay away from the stumpy, kiddy look that I'm usually guilty of. For $27ish dollars, it was a completely worthy buy and has been in constant rotation! So yes, it's been cold, but with some rather warm materials, I've still been able to get away with wearing cropped sweaters and pants.

And as a bonus and proof that Janice can still wear pretty normal outfits to work despite the snow, see below for a quick way to liven up winter outfits:

Club Monaco ruffle blouse (XS) and the infamous J.Crew placket cardigan (XXS)

It's always a great idea to inject some color into an otherwise grey/black ensemble via a vibrant top. I've been guilty of not taking advantage of my ability to wear some pretty fun things to work, but will be making more of an effort to be more creative once I'm fully recovered! New Year's resolution is to take more risks with my clothes, so hopefully my outfits won't be as boring anymore... Cali and NYC girls, what are you wearing to stay warm these days?

Resolute Beauty 2011

Some people don't like writing down new years resolutions but I've found them pretty effective, personally. They need to be specific and countable ("read 7 books" instead of just "read more"). In addition to my normal resolutions, I also have some beauty resolutions that I wanted to share for 2011:

1) My undereye area has been irritated a lot recently; the skin is dry and sometimes takes on a slight rashy look. Concealer can crease in the cracks of skin and makes me look tired and old. I need to figure out why this is happening and find a sensitive eye cream that both provides moisture and doesn’t irritate the skin.

2) My acne has been under control ever since my drastic lifestyle change last year, but some red marks and scars still remain. This year, I am determined to find effective creams or serums to lighten the marks, smooth out my overall skintone and also prevent new ones from appearing

3) Build up a small but useful arsenal of nail polishes (~5) for at-home manicures. I've got my eye on Essie's Wicked (vampy so-dark-red-its-practically-bruised), Eternal Optimist (pink-rose beige that is really pretty against my skin), and Jazz (milky greige). Maybe a few Chanel polishes too =P

Suggestions are welcome to help achieve my resolutions!! Does anyone else have any beauty resolutions for 2011??

Staying Organized

Happy new year everyone! I am excited for 2011, and hope the year will bring lots of new changes and opportunities. Did you make any resolutions? One of mine is to stay organized and keep better records of things, and a planner is the rosetta stone. Last year I bought a planner late and hurried to pick one up from Kate's Paperie, so there was only a small selection left. It worked out though because I ended up loooving the layout - my main criteria was that it showed a full week on two pages and had space for To Do notes. There's also a section for restaurants you went to during the year, and lots of empty lined pages in the back for extra reminders. Perfect!

I jot down notes about things I did in the days section and use the right hand space to keep track of my To Do's

The brand is Graphic Image, a company that makes a variety of a leather goods - journals, photo albums, kindle/ipad covers, passport covers, etc. The leather quality is great, soft yet durable, and there are tons of colors and textures (brights, traditional colors, metallics, crocodile, python) to choose from. This year, I spent an embarrassingly long hour waffling between the red, silver metallic, or gray nubuck alligator.

I have way too many red items in my purse right now - wallet, kindle cover, cosmetics pouch... and didn't want to add another and be confused!

Ended up going with silver!

The planners are also available from Kate's Paperie and Saks.

I've had a planner every year since college, and this is my favorite layout that suits all my current needs. I no longer need an extensive daily planner to track assignments and projects, so this notebook size is perfect (~5 x 7 inches). I love recording what restaurants I've been to, events that happened each weekend.. it's as much a reminder of what's taken place so far as it is to plan for what's coming up. It's fun looking back and remembering!