I’ve just started knitting my first scarf of the year: an ultra-thick ivory wool blend scarf using double the yarn. The 16-gauge wooden knitting needles are also good for those of us who require a bit of instant gratification; I started my scarf last night and I’ve already made an insane amount of progress. (Twin Peaks and Shiner Cheer are also conducive to knitting productiveness.) Texas has been unusually warm this year, so only during nights have I really had an opportunity to bundle up. Nonetheless, I’m definitely in the mood to start preparing for colder weather!

I’ve been using Pinterest to keep tabs on some of my favorite warm wardrobe items, on a new board I created called “Winter Wear.” Be sure to follow my boards – I have a much larger selection on there, and I’m always adding stuff! Below are a few of my favorite things:

Row 1: American Eagle flannel shirt, $39.50 // Minnetonka suede shearling boots for J.Crew, $168 // Gobi faux fur coat from Nasty Gal, $88
Row 2: Chunky hand-knit alpaca cowl on Etsy, $80 // TNA Varsity Jacket from Aritzia, $198 // Faux fur cossack from TopShop, $45
Row 3: Motel “Freya” coat in forest from Karmaloop, $150 // J.Crew marled socks, $16.50 // Cheap Monday cropped leather lined gloves, $75

I scored this jacket from Madewell for $20 – marked down from an original $120. It’s a beautiful thick knit tweed with boning in both the front and back. My boyfriend tried to chastise me for what he called an “impulse buy”, but I know this jacket is going to become a wardobe staple. In my hand is Jane Eyre, and my shorts are American Eagle.

My Topshop ballet flats arrived, and of course they were way too small. Am sending them back, reluctantly, because I am too scared to stretch them. Hopefully they will be restocked soon – the red is perfect.

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I already got my first Christmas present, a pair of Free People suede booties from my boyfriend. I’d been hesitantly eyeing these for a while and finally caved, because I’d been dying for a pair of shearling-with-suede-upper boots for a while, and uggs had never truly appealed to me. They are incredibly comfortable, and though I bought them solely for utility, they’re very cute on as well!

Below is my twin sister Lulu in her Topshop turban – another piece I didn’t expect to love as much as I did.

Momo sleeping in her favorite chair as the sunlight filters through the window (take special notice of her ridiculous “pebbleteeth”):

For the past month, this has been my go-to outfit (of which I have yet to get a properly-lighted picture):

Cotton collared shirt by Helmut Lang, crew-neck sweater dress by American Apparel

Also, a few weeks ago, Sam (twitter & blog) sent me these Tibetan prayer beads from his trip to China & Tibet! These lovely traveler’s beads were also accompanied by a postcard featuring a surreal Tibetan landscape, and a Chinese metal ear-cleaner! (Perhaps the craziest and yet most unique thing I’ve received in the mail). Thank you so much!

Since this will probably be my last post before Christmas, I wanted to wish everyone a happy holiday with safe travels and plenty of good food!

French-braided pigtails

Over the weekend, my sister and I celebrated with our family. We decided to make cake balls in lieu of an actually birthday cake. They were delicious, but way too rich! I think next year we might just stick with a cake!

Ours were a bit messier than Bakerella’s! They’re chocolate with bits of toffee.

Then, on our actual birthday night, we gathered at my apartment and hit the bars (after having to cancel the actual party due to plumbing problems). Sorry, no photos, though I did wear this dress.

And today, for the second time, I made Alyssa’s delicious pizza recipe, though I skipped the fresh basil and cheated with a store-bought crust. The ingredients are: pesto, fresh mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, and Parmesan. Delicious! My first attempt at it was much more successful; today it was a bit scant on cheese, and a little heavy on the tomatoes (fault of my boyfriend). Nonetheless, it was delicious!

Last Monday, my Topshop dress arrived! As soon as I tried it on, I called Michael Lalley and told him that we had to go out this week so I could wear it, and apologized for my dorkiness. His response? “Girl, you’re talking to me! My topman package came yesterday and I wanna go out too!!!!” Destined or what?

The dress is incredibly slinky and sheer, so going braless is, for the purpose of decency, impossible. I hate strapless bras (and even having worked in lingerie, have never managed to find the perfect one), so I made a trip to my local Victoria’s Secret in search of a solution, and came across these gel petals. Although a bit pricey at $25, you receive 2 pairs, each one with approximately 15 uses. I also got a free gift card for at least $10, so it justified my spending. For those curious in the quality, I found them extremely comfortable. I’m a solid A-cup, so I don’t require much support, and would guess that anyone up to a C would find these comfortable as well. I highly recommend them if you’re willing to spend the money. They don’t add volume (they’re just nipple pasties), but they do add a smooth shape.

For my shoes, I ganked my sister’s Miu Miu booties, which suited the dress perfectly!

I wore my hair down and wavy last night, but of course woke up looking like hell this morning, so put it in a low bun for pictures. Ignore my morning-after face, please!

日本の概略：春休みを始めてから、昨晩友達と飲みにバーに行った。たくさん２ドラのマーガーリタを飲んだわね。。。新しいトップショップのワンピースを着たし、miumiuの鞄を持ったし、双子のmiumiuの靴を履いた。

ドレスの着てたみに特産ブラを買わなければならないよ。Victoria’s Secretでジェルペースティを買った。ちょっと高いが、＄２０を使ったから、ギフトカードを貰ったね！うれしいです。そして、ペスティは快適わね〜