Gray Cardis...with an unfortunate splash of red

I have been on such a gray kick lately. Wearing gray, looking at and sometimes purchasing gray clothes. I think it's a reflection of the weather - but not the gray of the cold. It's actually a reaction to the need for constant coats - specifically the yummy yellow Winnie coat and my much beloved workhorse, the gray hooded wool coat. I love how the yellow wakes up a simple classic outfit - and I do love gray with yellow. But other days, I love the tonal combo of pairing a gray coat with other gray pieces. I do think charcoal gray looks good on most people, and a lot of my gray does tend to the darker shades. And quite honestly, J Crew's dark charcoal is one of my all-time favorite colors - something about that particular shade works really well with the yellow tones in my skin. I realized that I had a lot of gray going on this week as I was looking back at pics, so I thought I would share the last couple of days before I get back to party prep. We're hosting our annual Christmas party tonight, so lots to do.

Starting with yesterday...Friday's outfit - This is the J Crew Knox Sweater Jacket that I posted on 2 days ago. So here I'm actually wearing it intentionally (size M). I picked up the JC striped tissue tee in the gray/white combo this week since my BR gray/white striped tee got a hole in the wash. (See? It's not just JC...) The tissue tee is in an M, like my navy one - and I believe I will enjoy it just as much as the navy one. I did get it on sale ($19.99 in store), though, so that made me happy.

Oh wow, was it windy on Friday. Wardrobe selection consisted of my opening the closet and saying "Which pair of boots do I want to wear and what do I want to wear with them?" I went with my new Chicos Ultra Slim jeans that I posted on earlier this week and my black boots. I added my Silpada pearls to finish off the neckline of the Knox.

I am still experimenting with what works best here - but I did like it with the scoopneck tee instead of a crewneck - less crowded looking to me. And next, I want to try a scarf or two. And of course, the Winnie jacket makes any outfit more fun. Plus requisite hat & scarf. Did I mention I picked up the JC Bucket Hat in store for $9.99? See...patience pays off occasionally...

Friday's Polyvore:

12/11/09-Brrrrrrr by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

Thursday was a fun post-birthday day. A friend was hosting a Holiday Brunch, so I wanted to be festive - but I also wanted to stay warm. So I pulled out a Chicos cardigan from a couple of years ago - I love the faux fur trim. It makes it so cozy and just looks fab. I loved this cardi so much, I got one for my mom that Christmas. Both of which were purchased with coupon, of course. I got mine at 50% off...and it has been so worth it. You all know that I'm always cold, so this is the perfect piece to wear out in the winter with a black tank, jeans, fun shoes (or boring black flats), and some chunky but sparkly jewelry.

I did once have a funny incident at a friend's house where her dog was very weirded out by the sweater - usually Cody was my best buddy, but he slunk around the perimeter of the room for quite a while until he figured out it was me. Lucy had no problem, but she did see me put it on, so maybe that made a difference.

Given the outside temps and the wind, I chose a JC tissue turtle in dark charcoal (M again) instead of the usual tank, and then paired it with my black Minnies tucked into black boots. Between the fur collar and the boots, I did feel a bit bad-a$$, like I could pretty much take on the world. And oh, how warm I was. I am going to experiment with this cardi over some of my (many) black dresses for Christmas eve - I hope one of them will work so I can be festive and warm. If I find one that works, I'm sure I'll post it here.

Thursday's Polyvore:


12/10/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

Ok, now here's the promised splash of red. When I was at JC on Wednesday picking up the above-mentioned gray striped tee, I did fall into the Crewlade. Oh I know better. I know I don't usually love Essie polishes. But sure enough, I grabbed a bottle of Russian Roulette sitting by the counter, thinking that there was enough orange in it to maybe work. And here are the results:

Hmmmm....maybe I've been doing too many light and dark colors for the past few...years, but this was just way too bright for me. Or just not at all the right color or what I wanted. I had applied Thurs night...and took off Fri afternoon and applied another color. If E wants me to keep this one for her, I might. Otherwise, I'll offer it up to the DC JCAs at our next outing to see if anyone wants it.