It's finally feeling like winter in Houston!  Our temperature dropped to the 30's and 40's.  The autumn and winters in Houston are my favorite seasons.  No crazy humidity, no mosquitoes, just good hair days, holidays, and sales galore!

I loved my outfit today.  I got to wear my new Zara black puffer vest, my new $7 striped shirt from Banana Republic factory, and my new Naturalizer riding boots.  I also pattern-mixed a leopard scarf with a striped tee for the first time in my life!  The pattern-mixing took some getting used to and was definitely not in my comfort zone, but it worked out beautifully.  After putting on the boots, I felt ready to conquer the world!  It never fails to amaze me how closely correlated looking good and feeling good are.  They say confidence is the best accessory...or is it a smile?  Either way, I had both.

Knowing that the cold front was coming today, I finished swapping out my spring/summer clothes with my fall/winter clothes yesterday evening.  I loved how my entire summer wardrobe can fit perfectly into the four storage boxes.  This is how I make sure I don't have more than I need.  I treat the storage boxes like luggage space.  If all the clothes for the season don't fit in the storage boxes, something has to go.

Allow me to regale you with tales of my shopping adventures:

Yesterday, I was so proud of myself for resisting yet another plaid shirt at Old Navy.  I went in to return a boyfriend cardigan, but then came out with a light chambray shirt and a wide brown belt.  Seems like I hardly ever make a true return without turning it into an exchange and then some!  I felt a bit guilty because I already bought my chambray shirt, although a darker shade earlier this week at JCPenney for about $10.  However, both items were on sale at Old Navy and I like the contrast of the white buttons against the lighter denim.  While at Old Navy, I saw a pair of the pyramid studs that looked exactly like my Fall Challenge Nordstrom ones at a quarter of the cost!  Who knew Old Navy sold jewelry?

Not satisfied with my black sheath dress that I have because it gathers to one side, I stopped by Nordstrom Rack because it was practically next door to Old Navy.  I fell in love with a Calvin Klein black sheath dress.  Who better to design a black sheath dress than Calvin Klein, right?  True to their minimalism design philosophy, the dress has these vertical insets that also function as hidden belt loops.  Ingenious!  This way, you can wear the dress with or without a belt.

I'm still in search of one last piece for the Basics Challenge: the jewel-toned blouse.  I saw an emerald green collarless blouse at Old Navy, but it failed my gaping bust test.  Basically, I just put my hands on my hips and throw my shoulders back.  It seems so hard to find a button-down shirt that will lay flat across the chest without pulling at the buttons and exposing your bra.  It's not like I have a huge chest or anything.  I had a whole set of H&M button-down work shirts that I used to wear in my 20's that are now notorious for gaping at the bust.  I noticed I started having this problem when I hit my mid-thirties and my fiance, now husband, kindly pointed out I was getting back fat.  I'd like to think the cuts are made to be slim-fitting for juniors.  I recently discovered the St. John's Bay brand from JCPenney of button-down shirts which successfully pass the test.  I was so happy to finally find shirts that didn't gape that I ended up buying three of them: 2 plaid and the darker chambray shirt mentioned earlier.

Anyways, Nordstrom Rack had these awesome berry-colored and teal button-down blouses which were extra long and could be worn as tunics.  Unfortunately, they also didn't pass the test.  I think I'll need to check out Nordstrom later on.

Today, I went to the GAP to exchange my sexy boyfriend jeans for a smaller size since they were almost falling off my hips.  While I was there, I saw a darker, distressed pair of sexy boyfriend jeans also on sale that fit much better and looked fantastic.  Totally worth the $6.60 difference in price!