BTSS - Jackets and Outerwear

One of my absolute, hands down, favorite parts of fall is the return of coats. Yeah, during the summer you throw on a windbreaker or hoodie occasionally, but they don't stand a chance when up against trenches, peacoats, toggles, and wool. Defying all logic, I tend to purchase 1-3 new coats each fall/winter (many of which elicit admonishment from my mother over wasting money on a coat that doesn't even keep me warm - she's given up at this point and says if I die of hypothermia she's snorting "I told you so" at my funeral). Anyway, outerwear = happy thoughts.

Double Placket Belted Coat - Gap
Not only is the chocolate brown color scrumptious (it also comes in khaki), but I love the unique collar that can lay flat, or flip up for more neck warmth. Perfect with jeans or a more dressy work outfit.

Smythe Hooded Toggle Jacket - Nordstrom
God bless toggles! Love the detailing on the snaps, and hood looks so cozy (plus, at first glance, doesn't the model look like Katie Holmes during her Dawson's days?)

Street Poet Trench - Anthropologie
I prefer the red, but you really can't go wrong with the blue either. Doesn't this just scream autumn? Throw on a knit cap, some snuggly mittens, and you're off to walk through the falling leaves. (The jacket in question is top left in the montage.)

east5th Wool City Coat - JCPenny
Either the black or brown herringbone version rock. Additionally, you can order it in various lengths - yea!

Women's Contrast-Trim Twill Coat - Old Navy

Despite the 3/4 length sleeves, this lightweight jacket would make a good transition piece for those of us soon to be living in wetter climates.

Double Breasted Moleskin Jacket Fig Leaf - Ann Taylor Loft

Classic, and looks very comfy. The dijon color is also striking.

Birds-Eye Blazer - Banana Republic
Again, like many of these jackets that caught my eye, it's not terribly flashy, but will last through this season and likely years to come. It's a classic, flattering shape that compliments many different outfits.

City Style Boucle Jacket - New York and Company
Sooooo chic. Love love love. Fab detailing on the pockets.

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Time Keeps Ticking, Ticking Away...

Do you ever get the feeling that everyone else is ahead of you in some way? Either they are literally ahead of you in traffic or the checkout line, or they're smarter than you or something? That feeling of being behind, slacking, lagging, etc.? Welcome to Pacific Time.

Pacific Time, measured by subtracting eight hours from the time at the Greenwich Observatory in London, is perpetually behind the rest of the continental United States. Pacific Standard Time (PST) exists in the winter, and Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) in the summer (before we "fall behind" AGAIN in the autumn clock switcheroo). Back in the good ole days, the entire country used to have just one time system... well, okay, not at all. Each local town would set time on their own, based on the sun, and that worked out just fine for many years. Until that newfangled choo choo train came running down the track and people in Jefferson City had to know what time it left the station in Louisville. In 1883, the railroad companies instituted standard time zones for practical travel reasons, and the U.S. Congress followed suit in 1918 with the Standard Time Act.

And ever since, the Pacific states have been left behind. The sun comes up first for those in the Eastern time zone, and Westerners are forced to spend the remainder of the day just trying to catch up. By the time I get up at 8:00am, my friends and family in the Central time zones are already having their morning break; when I'm eating a late lunch at 1:00pm, my mom is home from school and getting ready for Oprah; if I don't call a business based in the east by 2:00pm, I'll have to wait until the next day to try again!

What happens when your mom wants to call and tell you about Ann Curry doing something stupid on the Today show at 7:25am (CST)? Well, she wakes me up at 5:25am, at which point, the Today show hasn't started for me (nor has my day), so I don't have a clue what she's talking about. When does the NBC nightly news air? When does Grey's Anatomy start? The new episode of Project Runway aired at 6:00pm!?!?! What the heck is that about?

I'm developing a serious complex living here (and lord knows I have enough problems upstairs already). No matter what time I get up in the morning, I'm behind. I hate being behind; I like to be the first to know the gossip, first to have the story, and first to know what's going on. This is definitely going to take a lot of adaptation (and probably more bitching before I grow up and realize this isn't the end of the world). For the time being, my only solace is the fact that everyone in Hawaii and Alaska is even farther behind!

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BTSS - More Fall Dresses

One post just wasn't enough...

Suzi Chin Sleeveless Ombre V-Neck Dress w/Bow - Macys
(The coloring on this dress knocks me out; trip to the Mediterranean anyone?)

Tahari Button Detail Ponte Dress - Nordstrom
(Hooray for this retro-JackieO shape; yes, I know the color is severe, but that's what life calls for some days.)

Adrianna Papell Sequin Grecian Halter Dress - Nordstrom
(Looks super comfy, and will hide a stomach ponch and/or thunder thighs :)

Donna Morgan Ponte Knit Jacket and Dress - Nordstrom
(Take that Cindy McCain - THIS is how you look competent, powerful, and sassy. Plus the dress underneath has cute shoulder cutouts.)

Metallic Rose Laura Shift - J.crew
(I will sell my kidney for this ladies-who-lunch dress. Classy and grown-up. Plus with one less kidney, it'll fit better.)

Milly True Waist Pleat Dress - Shopbop.com
(The black tights? I don't know. The flirty dress? Yes.)

Stenay Beaded Silk Dress - Nordstrom
(Showstopper. Head-turner. Attention-getter. Choose your own adjective that equates to getting free drinks at the bar.)

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Dispatches From Berkeley 2

The weather here is fabulous. Absolutely, fabulous. You can walk around comfortably in jeans and a t-shirt, with the sun shining and a cool breeze. There are no clouds in the sky, licorice grows up from the ground, and fairies float around handing out twenty dollar bills. Oh, sorry, drifting. Anyway, point being, Berkeley is perfect walking weather. So yesterday and today, I walked around the shopping streets near the campus.

Telegraph Street is a few blocks north of Sister's apartment and leads directly to the campus, so the closer you get, the busier and more State-Street-esque it gets. I checked out Buffalo Exchange, the used closing shop, but found this one to be slightly disappointing. There were too many boy clothes, not enough girl stuff. Alas. Continuing on, I strolled through Moe's Books, a mix of new and used books. They had those really comfy library stools that roll around until you sit on them, so I camped on one of those and browsed the American history section. Despite endless options, I managed to withstand the temptation and left without adding to my collection of books. Bear Basics stocks UC Berkeley apparel and other funky t-shirts. I decided to wait before buying my souvenir t-shirt, but have no fear - I will be back.

Today, I decided to explore my organic roots and check out the Berkeley Bowl Marketplace, a local grocery store that has a huge produce section, and lots of funky natural foods. It's only 5-6 blocks from the apartment, so it was a quick walk (and definitely close enough that I could buy ice cream and get it safely home before it melted). Within seconds of entering, I felt transported to a supermarket in a foreign country. I must have looked like a lunatic, slowly meandering around the store, stopping to read signs as if they were in a foreign language. I think I circled the two stands of artisan fresh breads at least five times, trying to find a basic loaf of french bread. But then it started to feel like an adventure; I put on my big girl shoes and attempted to find romaine lettuce for a caesar salad.

Besides the groceries, the store also features a gourmet kitchen/deli type area where you can get lunch; there's even a small eatery area! They offer an Asian station, soups, salads, pizza, sandwiches, taqueria, sushi, meats, cheeses, and an olive bar offering 25 different types of olives! (I know! I don't even like olives, yet this totally excited me!) I'm definitely testing this place out for lunch sometime next week.

With my romaine, salad dressing, french rolls, and chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, I headed for the check out line, only to realize I was going to be outed as a non-organic-native: I had no cloth shopping bag to load my groceries into. Oh no. They're going to throw 25 different kinds of olives at me!

Luckily, the Berkeley Bowl provides for the less green shoppers, and sells cloth bags. Strolling home with my locally grown food in an environmentally friendly bag, I finally felt like a native. (Until I couldn't find the pedestrian crossing button on the stop light, and a kind hobo had to help me. Alas. One step at a time.)

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BTSS Part 2 - Fall Dresses

If was independently wealthy and had social functions requiring more than shirt and shoes, my closet would soon be home to each of these beauties:

Starburst Dress - Banana Republic
(Put together, stylish, professional, and it has a great subtle pattern.)

Sigourney Halter Dress - White House Black Market
(Oh, beautiful. So beautiful. I love the pattern on top.)
Sequin Sweater Dress - Forever 21
(Makes me feel young again. Great for a night out with the girls.)

Blue Ombre Dress - Target
(Thank you Isaac Mizrahi for deciding to come down off your New York Fashion Week perch and design for the masses.)

Voile Cinch-Tie Dress - Old Navy
(This also comes in a saucy raspberry/plum color and would probably look cool with colored tights - if you're cool enough to pull off that kind of thing.)

Belted Sheath Dress - Michael Kors
(Nice shape, belts are still in, looks like a fancy frock for New Year's Eve.)

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Wedding Locations

Part of the fun of planning a wedding is finding a beautiful ceremony location. If you have a church or religious facility that you're partial to, your choice can be quick and easy; however, if not, your search can be a little more challenging. Setting aside expense and practicality (because who wants to use those as factors in planning a wedding?), how about any of the sites below?

Madison Oaks Inn, Madison, Georgia


Glass Conservatory, Royal Park Hotel, Rochester, MI


Mountain Backdrop, Arrowhead Golf Club, Littleton, CO


Lake Entiat, Seattle, WA


Cuvier Wedding Park, San Diego, CA


Sundial Terrace, Adler Planetarium, Chicago, IL

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Suggested Reading

I'm suffering from writer's block at the moment (and suffering from a Season 2 Office marathon, in preparation for my weekend purchase of Season 4 on DVD), so I offer up the following blog posts and assorted web articles from today as suggested reading:

Reason for Perseverance
This post by a military wife equates a military move with childbirth. Despite not having experienced childbirth myself, I can only imagine that it's equally as painful as the move process I've so far experienced.

Things NOT to say to a military wife
A humorous, but terribly accurate, listing of things that those of us who have a significant other in the military get really sick of hearing. Having not even gone through a deployment yet, I can only imagine that these types of comments become even more offensive when your loved one is off doing his job.

25 Most Romantic Movies (From the last 25 years)
Lost in Translation and There's Something About Mary, but no Pride and Prejudice? Where are the other classics like The Notebook, Sleepless in Seattle, The Lake House, Love Actually, and Ever After? I include this list as reading material not so much because I agree with it, but because I find so many movies on the list offensive (seriously - Amelie? Not romantic. It barely has a discernible plot!)

Fond du Lac's Pride and Joy
Don Gorske finally admits that part of his motive for eating two Big Macs is OCD. I've never felt so proud to hail from Fondy as when it makes CNN headline news.

Easy Entertaining Idea
Wow! How fantastic is this idea from Real Simple? Take that, Martha! (I'm totally stealing this idea for a future party... if I ever have a home to host a party in again...)

Okay, peeps, hopefully that will keep you busy until I get some inspiration. Feel free to pass on any exciting readings you've stumbled upon today (or other suggestions for better romance movies that should have made EW's list).

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