Holiday Party Hoot!

Okay, this isn't really a blog post about how I incorporated owls into my holiday party outfit, but I really love alliteration, so there you go. :)

As I did last year, I went to my husband's work holiday party in early December. I like the timing because the closer you get to Christmas, it gets harder to find time to go to the parties, so I think my hubby's work is pretty smart in doing this. I love his work parties because of three reasons:

1. I get out of the house. All mothers everywhere get this.

2. I get to go to the Four Seasons here in D.C. For those of you familiar with the show "Real Housewives of D.C." will remember that the Four Seasons is where the Salahis go to spend the night whenever they come into town for their events. (Even though they live "near" D.C., it is far enough away that I actually understand why they do this...having said that, I don't really understand the Salahis themselves.)

3. The Four Seasons has wine, really, REALLY good wine. I definitely felt the effects the next day, though. Oops.

Onto what I wore:

This is the dress by itself, with no topper, just the heels and my hair and makeup all done. I ended up not wearing the outfit exactly like this because it was a bit too cold, but I LOVE this dress. I also own it in blue, which I wore at my Best Friend's wedding (heehee).

The dress is the silk taffeta Halter Sangle dress that J. Crew made in many colors around this time last year. I think this shape dress is super-flattering, much more so than the Bow Monde dress, which they currently are offering.

The shoes are from Nine West and the earrings are from J. Crew, but I have no idea what they are called (couldn't find them on the web site).

What I wore most of the evening.  I tried the cardigan on to make sure it looked decent before I did my hair or makeup.  This is the cluster constellation cardigan that came out last year in this grey color and in a black color.  Michelle Obama has the original, in the cream color and with a whole lot more clustered sequins.  I really love that one, but cannot even begin to contemplate spending that amount (near $300) on a cotton cardigan.

Speaking of Ms. Obama, her oldest daughter is old enough to wear real J. Crew now!  Maybe we see her in her own adorable Crew-inspired outfits!  :)  (I only know this because I just saw on the news the family lighting the national Christmas tree, which is A HUGE THING in this area...)

Since I am an Arbonne consultant, I have to include a makeup shot, right?  ;)

The night was cold enough for me to whip out my new Double Cloth Colletta coat with Thinsulate.  LOVE this coat and LOVE this color.  Talk about perfection...it is lady-like, warm, and in a interesting neutral that can last for many seasons.  Awesome!  I am wearing this in a size 6 and it is exactly the right size.  I probably would have bought a 4 if I didn't need the thinsulate.  For those of us gals that have pear-shapes, consider this coat...the top portion is fitted while the bottom portion is built to skim away from the body nicely.

Close-up of the coat.  I wore it without makeup, again, to check that it would work as an entire outfit.  :)

You all have a fab night.  I hope all of you have a hoot at your holiday parties!!! If you are a blogger, I want to see pics!!!