The Top Ten of 2021 continues with #9. We move on once again in the Spirit of Toastmasters and talk about last summer’s DTM gala at Westmoreland County Community College.

Finally after a year has passed and our conference was cancelled due to Covid, that I was able to run the gauntlet with the other Distinguished Toastmasters. In addition to that we got some great pictures in front of the “red carpet”, disco danced to some great tunes that our DJ Tyler Crummy played, and got sent outside when the fire alarms went off. The dancing went on even as we made our way outside.

I got to meet Sharon A. Joseph and learn more about the new Laurel Highlands Toastmasters Club. She had an awesome team of mentors and sponsors to help her put it all together. It had just recently chartered and became the first club to be hybrid (online and in person). This club is going to do big things and I’ll be joining them very soon as a member.

The red carpet became a theme for the Laurel Highlands charter party and officer inductions a few months later in November. I attended the event and took a few pics on the red carpet myself when I walked into the building. I even did my own little strut on the red carpet. It was a full house and I was happy to be there. I got to meet some great people whom I will be soon be representing the club with. Some of our district leaders also attended the event. Dana wowed me with his knowledge of the history of Toastmasters in Fayette County.

Let’s not forget we had a conference several years ago at that great resort called Nemacolin.

I’m kicking off my top ten of 2021 this weekend as I go over some of the best (and worst) things to happen this year. There’s more positive than negative but social media is not real life. These next five weeks I will talk about two big events that happened in 2021 and number one will be revealed on December 23 (before we celebrate Christmas).

We’ll kick off this top ten of 2021 countdown by talking up Toastmasters.

It was a beautiful summer night in mid-August. A group of us Toastmasters got together and had a potluck dinner at the home of Ron and Sarah. We had a great dinner, played Catch Phrase, sang Karaoke, and the best part was Disco Dancing. Well, the whole night was just awesome.

I was grateful for the opportunity to attend and having the chance to get together (which is something you can’t take for granted anymore). I’m hoping to do more fun disco dancing nights with Sarah, Jing, and many more Toastmasters friends in the near future.

Today I’ve been sharing the good news about my new job with my friends and soon to be former colleagues. Everyone’s pulling for me as I begin this new chapter of my life tomorrow night. I feel confident that things will work out better this time than they did in 2018. I feel like I was trained better this time around too. Even this weekend I applied the safe lifting techniques I learned in my training on Friday when I was helping bring Christmas decorations downstairs.

Paula was proud of me for starting the new job and told me I have to have Mason blood in me. That means I’m loyal and a hard worker. I’m proud to know that side of the family.

She’s proud I’m one of them too.

I’ve been struggling to produce blog content this month and for that I’m sorry. I’ve been busy looking for a new job, which I landed last week. I was hired at the Giant Eagle four minutes from my house. That’ll feel good when I’m not counting a Lowe’s two hours away from home not knowing when I’ll be done. It’ll also feel good knowing my alarm isn’t going off at 3am (I’ll be working during that time but I’ll be close to home).

The breakup wasn’t kind to me when we split off into Dollar and Traditional. With everyone going to Dollar that’s pretty much anyone who could count a Lowe’s from our office. I took a long hard look and told myself it was time for a change.

I applied at Giant Eagle (twice) and at Goodwill (for their new Delmont store and for the North Versailles location). I did all the steps required to get hired by Giant Eagle. I did a digital interview, a phone interview with a recruiter (I was offered the job and then earlier this week did my orientation and training with Ian (the HR representative for the Hempfield store). I learned a lot from the training and feel excited about starting Monday night.

I’ll start off as a night stock clerk. First week I have forty hours. I feel more confident now than I did three years ago. I also had more computer training (possibly due to COVID). I think the videos really helped this time. I learned a lot about safe lifting practices. I want to prove myself this time with GE and maybe a year from now, I’ll be promoted or on a leadership track.

Last night I made my way to my little Stars Hollow for Light Up Night. It was a cold night to be outside but I braved the elements. I grabbed dinner at the Tavern and tasted some vodka. I texted Sara and a few others about my new job and they were excited for me. I gave her my schedule so we could plan stuff for December. Our texting and Facebook conversations are always fun.

This morning we got all of our Christmas decorations out. We got an assembly line going so we knew where things would go. We stacked a few things in the upstairs kitchen and the snowmen in the hallway. Mom and I took the time to put batteries in the snowmen which she got from Hallmark. We also put up some of Grandma’s old decorations she had in her house. This will be the first Christmas we won’t be going to her house (Katie and Annabelle lived there for a year and a half before moving).

Yesterday, while I was at training for Giant Eagle, Mom put up the tree (she got it out a few days prior) and decorated it). Today, I got my tree out and cleared off space on the dresser for it (I put my makeup and scrunchies in my pink cherry box; I also used one of the gift bags to organize all my Bath and Body Works lotions). The house is all decorated for Christmas now with lights up everywhere. I’ll have more pictures up as I go.

Tonight is a good night to get into the Christmas spirit and watch some movies. I have Elf downloaded on Amazon Prime and Home Alone is on Disney+. I started my holiday run with the Grinch on Monday night (the Jim Carrey version). I plan to watch the more recent one as well as the cartoon with Boris Karloff.

I also plan to post more blogs as we Countdown to Christmas. 10 posts in November but that means more in December as we close in on 300 blog posts. I’ll close with our Christmas decor.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and while it may mean turkey, football, parades, and video games, that’s not the point. The point is that we need to express gratitude for those people in our lives. Also, we must be thankful for the opportunities we are given (a job, an opportunity to lead, a roof over our heads, and a space to have our meetings).

Saturday I was grateful for the opportunity to attend Friendsgiving at Rob and Sara’s place. It’s the little things in life that matter. What better little things are there than great friends, great food, and great fellowship? I’ve been thankful that Sara and Rae consider me their sibling (Sara even calls me her twin). When she texted me that forgot we’re not related 🩸, I was looking for a sad 😭 reaction. I’m sure she was too.

Family requires more than blood, it requires ❤️.

Monday, I was grateful for the chance to have a great orientation at Giant Eagle. I’m also thankful that my new job is going to be five minutes away from home. But don’t let that stop me from being thankful for the job I had for thirteen years.

I made great memories at WIS and met some great people. I was thankful to work under some of them like Maura. Zach, and Chase. I was part of a dedicated Rite Aid team, served the company as a van driver, and was welcomed back with open arms in 2019 when I wasn’t quite ready for Giant Eagle. I began to find myself that year as well as one experience that opened my eyes to dressing better and opened my eyes to fashion and style.

2021 has brought me more opportunities to be thankful and they will be part of my top ten. I had the opportunity to meet Sara for coffee on a mild February day in Ligonier. I’m grateful for the liberation I’ve felt carrying a Coach purse. I’m so grateful for the acceptance I’ve received from everyone. I was blessed to be a part of Trendy’s one year anniversary. I also felt my cup runneth over when people wrote on my wall giving me Get Well Wishes when I was hospitalized when my blood pressure skyrocketed just before Easter. A week later I was thankful for the invitation I received from Sara and Rob for their upcoming May wedding. When I accepted Paula told me, “You’re family. Of course you’ll be there.”

The wedding was a perfect day and I was so grateful to be a part of the celebration. Spoiler alert: it’s in my top five of 2021. As my gender nonconformity began to take off in the Spring, I’m thankful that I can be me. I’ve gotten some heat from my outfit choices but for the most part I’ve gotten a lot of support as well. It’s really blown up since then. Spoiler alert: it’s also in my top five.

I’m thankful to Toastmasters and District 13 for finally getting us all together for the DTM gala at Westmoreland County Community College in July. I got to meet Sharon and learn more about the new Laurel Highlands Toastmasters club. I’m grateful we got the opportunity to dance and take our party outside when the fire alarms went off. I talked to Sharon about becoming a member when I visited last night. I was also blessed to be a part of their red carpet event and charter party a few weeks ago and made friends with some of the new members. A few weeks later a group of us met at the home of Ron and Sarah. We had a potluck dinner, played Catch Phrase, drank wine, sang karaoke, and disco danced until we couldn’t dance anymore. The blog post I wrote about this event got mega views too.

I’m grateful for celebrating another birthday and a milestone birthday on top of that. I turned 40 on June 30. I was given three wonderful birthday celebrations. The first one at Jean Bonnet Tavern with family, the second one a few days later at the Olive Garden with Sara where she gave a gift bag full of great stuff from her and her mom, and the Fourth of July when we had a picnic like old times and went swimming. Needless to say I felt 40 and Fashionable, Fabulous, and Festive.

Lastly, I was grateful to get together with my family and have a nice reunion at Laurel Hill on Columbus Day weekend. A day later I made my way to my little Stars Hollow to celebrate Ligonier Days. I ran into my friend Vanessa and her fiancée and we chatted about fashion and I gave her some new outfit ideas I’d been thinking of. I now have my new shackets, blouses, and even some dresses.

So tomorrow, give thanks for those people who made you who your are. Give thanks for the opportunities you’ve been given. Finally, give thanks for the memories you’ve made.

Happy Thanksgiving. Bye everyone. ❤️ you.

I learned of this Friendsgiving event two weeks ago when Sara texted me about it and asked me if I wanted to come. Of course I would be there, I’m family. While bringing something was optional, I decided to make pumpkin bread to take to Friendsgiving.

I counted down the days and before you know it, Friendsgiving was here. I arrived at Rob and Sara’s house in Johnstown around 1:30. I made myself at home and said hi to Rob and then I was greeted by Rae and her friend Shannon. Rae complimented me on how fabulous I looked. Then I introduced myself to Rob’s friends Dan and Shawn (he made the mimosas… Sara’s favorite). I greeted the hostess Sara and gave her a big hug and thanked her for throwing this great Friendsgiving party.

We gathered at the table for Friendsgiving dinner around 2:30. The amazing Friendsgiving spread consisted of spaghetti with vodka sauce, stuffed peppers, potatoes, all types of green vegetables (spinach, asparagus, and broccoli 🥦 to be exact), and biscuits. The earlier appetizers included a vegetable tray and chips and guacamole 🥑.

We sat around and passed the food around. We drank, we laughed, we cried, we had a great time. The conversation was plentiful. I regret not getting pictures of the amazing smorgasbord of food that Rob and Sara put together. I enjoyed chatting with Rae and Shannon and then it was my turn to chat with Sara. We chatted about fashion (as we usually do) and I had some great outfit ideas for her (I showed her my sweater dress with leggings and tights; for warmer weather, I asked her opinion on the pink cherry dress). We caught up quite a bit on Saturday. I also introduced her to my work family on Facebook.

After we ate, we got pictures on the deck. We took quite a few and they made it to Facebook. I’ll let the pictures tell the story.

Rob and his boys played their card game in the living room. I became one of the girls and played Cards Against Humanity. I never played it before and it was a lot of fun. Sara and I enjoyed ourselves even though we lost bad to Rae and Shannon.

The party dwindled as it got dark. I stuck around to hang out with Rob and Sara. She and I had coffee, talked more fashion, and made plans for December. We may celebrate her birthday at the Rialto early in the month and then do a gift exchange before Christmas. I have ideas in mind for what to get them. Rae took her pie home with her, which irked us because we wanted some. However, my pumpkin bread more than made up for the loss of said pie. Rob and Shawn also loved my bread. But we were dying for pie.

Before we wrapped up the night, Rob, Sara, Shawn and I walked over to the Johnstown Incline. We got a breathtaking view of downtown and the lights really looked pretty. Sara told me how grateful she was for my friendship over the years. I never came over for discipleship so many years ago, I came to visit Paula and the girls. Oh how my friendship with them has grown. I wowed Shawn, Rob and my fashion buddy with my knowledge of Johnstown and remembering my time there as a student. It got too cold and we made our way back to their place. I got in my car and began the hour long journey home. Not ten minutes in, Sara was already missing me 😭.

Friday I celebrated my two year blog anniversary. I began working on it on the Erie Lowe’s overnight trip and it soon became a thing. I added a lot of content early on and got too good too quick. COVID hit but that didn’t hurt my blogging as I found stuff to write about. However I wasn’t putting out as much content as 2020 rolled on.

Early in 2021, I didn’t do quite as much and in the Spring I hardly blogged. By May, I began to pick it back up again. Since the summer, the blog has really grown. Doing 15-16 posts a month really helps. Less is definitely more. We will hit 300 blog posts by the end of the year.

My gender nonconformity and dressing non traditionally has also grown.

I blogged about my workplace crush early on and talked about it to the girls two years ago at Bud Murphy’s. Last night I showed those same blogs to Sara. She really enjoyed reading them. That was my favorite memory until last year’s dinner at the Tavern where I met Rob for the first time. Yesterday’s Friendsgiving became one of my favorite memories. Will it be the best of 2021? You’ll have to wait on that one.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you.

Thursday I got my long awaited package in the mail from Target. Inside was the sweater dress I had my eye on, as well as pair of leggings and a pair of tights. All Target brand. I tried the leggings and the dress on initially to see if they fit and they did. I’ll give the diamond tights a go this week.

On Friday I took a few more pictures and posted them to Facebook. Up first were the leggings. They’re a Target brand and I bought them in 2x just to be safe. I’ve owned compression pants before (I ordered them on Amazon) and they just didn’t do the trick plus they were see-through which could have gotten some weird stares from other people. This was back in 2016 but since then my confidence has improved so much.

I think this is best pair so far. I’m a longtime Amazon shopper but I think my preferences are changing as well. A 2x Amazon brand may be a great deal but not always the best option. Do your homework beforehand. I need to teach myself to shop secondhand too. Places like Gabes and TJ Maxx and Marshall’s and Ross have amazing deals too. My coworker bought a leather jacket and black boots with two inch heels from Ross.

We’ll get to the sweater dress in a bit but I wanted to hit on my experience at my local JCPenney a few weeks ago. I was starting to get some Christmas shopping vibes and I hit up Sephora while I was there. Their makeup is expensive but it’s really good. One of my Toastmaster friends and his daughter were asked to be part of one of their campaigns. Maura has mentioned the Fenty Beauty line of makeup to me before (that’s Rihanna’s makeup for anyone keeping score). Shut up and drive. I also saw some cute PJ sets from Juicy Couture (pink and leopard print… go me) and a nice shoulder bag on clearance (it was snakeskin and half off). Plus when I was in Sephora, I spotted some sweet gift sets that would be great for my friends or me.

Here’s what you’ve been waiting for. Friday night I took some great pics of my new cream colored cable knit sweater dress. I found accessories to make it stand out as well. I was particular at first about who I wanted to show it to. After only showing it to a certain few, I made it public on my cover collage. Later this week, I’ll wear it with the leggings and the black tights and shoe some pictures and some leg. No heels yet because I can’t find ones that fit but I would wear a red or black pair. My sweater dress everyone.

Take note of the eye shadow I’m wearing. It was done by my nine year old niece and is from ULTA. My future Target haul (I think I love Tar-jay more than Amazon now) is pretty awesome too. The sweater dress is a hit and I’ve had these cozy tunics in mind for a while. I need another belt to accentuate said sweater dress. Also, leather leggings are goals and they’ll go great with these sweater tunics or a sweatshirt and boots.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you.

It was an event months in the waiting, since the club chartered on June 30. I wanted to attend this event since I learned about the new club following the summer club officer training. When the invite came up on Facebook, I was hoping that I would have had November 9 open on my calendar. Sure enough when my schedule came out, I was scheduled off that day. I was excited that I was going to be able to go.

I made my arrival on the red carpet last night at 5:45pm exactly. Emily, the photographer, got a few pics of me in my leopard print cardigan. She was all over my Coach purse which I had draped on my arm. I felt like I was on my way to the big premiere, which I was. The premiere of the Laurel Highlands Toastmasters club and the induction of its new officers, who are amazing and will do big things in the coming year.

I chatted with Bob and Dana I walked into the room. Both were dressed like a million dollars and would speaking at the event. Dana’s speech about the history of the club was excellent. Toastmasters was big in the Uniontown area and another club was added. It was the Fort Necessity Toastmasters club. The bad economy of the 1970s and early 1980s meant the end of Toastmasters in Fayette County. People tried and failed to bring it back, that is until a Toastmaster from New York City who moved to Connellsville got involved.

I met Sharon Joseph at the DTM gala this past July and learned more about her and the new club. I also learned that Dana Mitnik was involved as was the new Area 23 Director Ryan Jacobs and the Vornbrocks. It chartered really quick and a lot of people were really impressed. We had a great time that night and her and I ran the gauntlet (my first time). I’m hoping to visit again on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. The club chartered with 21 new members and the goal is grow the club even more.

Their area covers all of Fayette County into Westmoreland (Connellsville, Dunbar, Uniontown, Hopwood, Farmington, north into Scottdale and Mount Pleasant). They are the first club I know of to charter as a hybrid (both online and in person).

Laurel Highlands member Shawna Little and mentor Fred Vornbrock did a great job introducing the new members and Area 24 Director Yasmin Brown inducted the new officers, going over their roles in the club. She also recognized the club’s technology officer, Nick Cecchetti. Shawna and Fred also called the names of those who won door prizes. In case you were curious, tickets 🎟 were placed behind everyone’s name tags. I came pretty close to winning one of the prizes, which were books about great public figures like Aretha Franklin and Michelle Obama.

We ended the night around 8:30. I took the time to socialize with the new officers and members of the club, including Lee and Shawna, as well as Ryan and Nick, and of course Dana. Shawna and I talked about how great my high school’s softball team was back in the day. I traded VPE tips with Jesse who just recently took the role and I caught up with Sharon (whom I met at the DTM gala held at Westmoreland County Community College this past summer).

The club is LGBTQ 🏳️‍🌈 friendly as well. Both Lee and Shawna were excited to see my Coach bag and a picture of the sweater dress I ordered from Target. Melissa can’t wait to see my cherries that I’m putting on my Coach bag.

I got home around 10 and settled down with the newest Dhar Mann video about a boy who quits football to bake. He gets shamed for it but he doesn’t give up. The video made me hungry for some pumpkin pie 🥧.

I’ll close off the blog with the cake celebrating our newest club in District 13.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you.

This is my eighth visit to Cranberry High Noon and I came up for their Open House. This meeting was in person and virtual, therefore it was a hybrid meeting.

Before that, I stopped off at Cranberry Mall and shopped at Michael’s, looking at all the neat Christmas items. Great deals too as most of it was 40% off. I even found a Golden Girls cross stitch kit in my travels. I also stopped into Bed Bath and Beyond. Kind of uneventful, especially when I have used that time to shop at the place in the picture. Hello? At least I got five minutes and spotted some great gift ideas for Christmas.

I arrived at the Cranberry Municipal Building at 11:45 and was greeted by club President Linde Riley. It was our first time meeting in person as the other times were on Zoom. We also kept in touch through Facebook.

Melissa McGavick served as the Zoom master for the hybrid meeting. When the internet access was spotty, she quickly switched gears and had the meeting up and running on a different hotspot. Because she was prepared with several wifi options, we started just a couple of minutes late and the rest of the meeting ran well.

Sue Ellis served as the meeting Toastmaster and explained the three parts of the meeting. The speaking, the Table Topics, and the Evaluation. She did it with gusto. She also introduced the roles and who was doing them.

We couldn’t have been more blessed with our amazing speakers. Melissa McGavick was up first with her speech titled “Build a Better You.” She shared success stories of three Toastmasters members from around the world and how we can use the program to improve ourselves.

Willie Mae Starr White is quite motivated in Toastmasters as she is working on four paths right now. Her speech talked about her ability to overcome her struggles with stuttering. She explained some methods to get past it, like reading out loud or even singing. Willie Mae has been a contestant in past district speaking events and it was a joy to hear her speak as well.

Tina Kramer was up next with Table Topics and she worked off the theme asking us our favorite words. My word was Stylish. It’s part of my blog name and how I always dress. I also explained why I dress nice for the umpteenth time. Another word I could have used was icon. I say that because Sara always calls me her icon when we comment on Facebook.

Linde served as General Evaluator and introduced our evaluators. Both excellent Toastmasters and excellent district leaders. Bob Johnson gave excellent feedback of Melissa’s speech and Kim Santillo did the same with Willie Mae’s presentation.

She called on guests to give feedback of the open house and the meeting itself. We had a great turnout for the hybrid with 15 showing up in person and 13 on Zoom. All guests would follow up with Willie Mae and Cristina. The club is at 22 members but is always willing to grow its base, which started out at 29. No better time to get that number up than right now.

Sarah gave me the opportunity to join her and some other Cranberry High Nooners at House of Chen which is just up the road from the Cranberry Municipal Building. It took me no time to say Yes. How often do I get these opportunities to socialize with friends? Maha and Linde would join us as well.

It was my best meal out since we all got together at Jean Bonnet Tavern for my 40th birthday. We got our table, ordered our food, and talked Toastmasters and I even shared my outfit pics, including the sweater dress I’m getting this week. Linde, Maha, and Sarah were quite impressed with my sense of style.

I loved the aquarium in the main dining area. It was fun to look at the fish in their tank. Definitely one of the things that makes this place stand out. Our lunch was great. My Kung Pao chicken had a lot of flavor to it as did my egg roll. Everyone was satisfied with their meals. We had good service from our waitstaff and they got our food to us quickly. They also played a lot of Sarah’s favorite songs. She is a big fan of disco music and there was plenty of it being played while we ate lunch.

Sarah talked about bringing me here and she finally got her wish. We ended the day by taking pictures in front of the restaurant and the fish pond. The lady who took our picture in front of the restaurant is Katina Hunter’s pastor. She was happy to join us in a funny Toastmasters picture in front of the fish pond. Overall grade for Chen’s: A-plus and I will definitely be back.

It was an enjoyable day made worthwhile by great friends and the meeting went very well. This almost became my favorite visit today but December 2019 still stands as the greatest of all time. Till next time Cranberry High Noon.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you.

Wednesday night we had a small turnout for our Toastmasters meeting. Only five showed up in person and a few more on Zoom. Even the smallest attendance makes for a great meeting, and that’s how we do it at Greensburg Toastmasters. We set the bar for the district with how well-run our meetings are.

Jim Teague led an amazing Table Topics session by asking us to talk about something close to our hearts. Mike and Jim had it out over their writing utensils. Faerie showed us her amazing prayer journal. I modeled my lovely pink Coach purse and talked briefly about my gender nonconformity journey.

I filled in for Marissa and took an awesome picture of Michelle in front of our club banner with her Spirit of Toastmasters award. I love how she’s still displaying it for everyone to see. I did the same with mine last year l, even showing my coworkers all my accolades. I posted the picture to Facebook and it got plenty of likes from other Toastmasters and her local BPW club.

Tomorrow is Cranberry High Noon’s open house and I am excited to attend. The club is fresh off winning club of the year honors in Division B for the second year in a row. Is there any doubt they would win it? Absolutely not. They’re led by great officers who uphold the Moments of Truth and make guests feel at home.

The club has 22 members (they started off with a base of 29) and I have no doubt they’ll fill one of those membership goals tomorrow. They’re on their way to Presidents Distinguished once again. The club sets the gold standard for excellence in the District. I expect the best tomorrow.

This will be the eighth in person meeting I’ve attended and I have yet to be disappointed with a single meeting. My first time there as a guest was 2016 and it was a worthwhile experience. My most memorable was in December 2019.

I walked in the door and was greeted by everyone. I had just launched the blog recently so everyone was excited to see me. I was also dressed very stylish that day and one of my friends wanted to know what inspired me to dress nice. More like who. It was one of my favorite days and it just goes to show you how important first impressions are in Toastmasters.

I’m looking forward to this big event Tuesday night. It’s a formal black tie event but I’ll still go black on black. Hello nice outfit from Rob and Sara’s wedding. I’m excited to celebrate with this brand new Toastmasters club. For a future event, we can celebrate it at Nemacolin Woodlands. We held a previous conference there several years back and even had the CEO speak.

Winter TLI is coming up December 4. After going all virtual last year, and having an awesome Spirit of Toastmasters panel discussion to boot, this training will be hybrid. I will be in attendance at WCCC and look forward to a great event, as always. Let’s get #9 on the Distinguished Club Program, officers.

It’s also club contest season. Get yours scheduled. Area contests will be held in February and Division contests in March. They will be in person, for the time being.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you.

So far this first week under the new regime at work has brought its share of growing pains. I’ve spent time this week contemplating my future and trying to decide whether or not to move on.

I was blessed with a great day for walking on Monday at Twin Lakes. I got about three and a half miles in and took advantage of the sun, despite the chill in the air. Welcome to November. The Holiday Baking Championship had my attention Monday night and I was enthused with all the different doughnuts 🍩 and a cheese and apple dessert (so boujee). I then had a nice conversation with my cousin Tuesday. We talked about work and family and remembered many great memories with those who are no longer with us.

But here’s what you have been waiting for. My cold weather outfits perfect for the upcoming holiday or just to look stylish. Disclaimer: I have no experience trying on any of these outfits, but they are wish-listed on Target and Amazon.

Fall weather has officially set in here in Western Pennsylvania. That means it’s time to dress warmer. I’ve been searching Target’s website for cute outfits and warm, cozy sweaters (and dresses). I’m saying yes to the dress, but in a different way. Here are my choices for outfits that will keep you warm this Christmas.

What better place to rock these cute outfits than Nemacolin for a weekend stay or Ligonier for a holiday engagement proposal?

The first one I found last Tuesday on the Target app. I got mad compliments on this dress and my mini dress from my fashion buddy, Sara. This white cable knit sweater dress, just like the picture, goes great with boots and leggings or tights (which you can also find at Target)

I also came upon these sweater tunics at Target. They look very cozy and go perfect with leggings or skinny jeans. I’d accentuate these with a patent belt (New York and Company and Express always had great cinch belts… sad NY&Co is now closed at all malls).

These outfits are perfect for a coffee date at Starbucks (or your local cafe), or for an upcoming Christmas party. I love both the charcoal and blue tunics listed. I put these, some leggings, and some fashion tights on my wish list (all of them Target brands). A headband and/or scarf would also go great with these ‘fits.

I searched Amazon and yes, I do buy a lot of clothes on there, not because of the deals but because I don’t want people giving me weird looks in the stores. Then again, I buy makeup in Target and Coach purses without a care in the world.

I found a cute long sleeve leopard print dress. It’s like a T-shirt dress and goes great with knee high or ankle boots. Put on a pair or patterned socks with suede Chelsea boots and it looks perfect. Patterned tights also work as well. I think a few bracelets also make it stand out. The possibilities are endless. As Maura Klauss says, leopard print is my trademark.

How cute is this cocktail dress with Christmas cats on it? Also an Amazon find, I thought this looked adorable. I think of my friends with cats who would look great in this dress (Rae, Sara, and Emily come to mind). You can pair this with a Santa hat, black satin gloves, and a belt (perfect for an office Christmas party); or (for a dinner party) heels and pantyhose, as well as any of the three accessories I just mentioned.

The last dress that comes to mind is a red, cable knit sweater dress I found on macys.com. I swear one of these days I will go secondhand for my outfits (Goodwill or Fleatique, anyone?) This dress can be paired with a Christmas scarf and Chelsea boots for a Christmas party or pictures in Ligonier. Wear the cocktail dress for that fun office party (pair it with a leather jacket for a dynamite look). Same with that leopard print dress (you can pair this with a trenchcoat).

Now you’ve got some looks to make you stand out above the crowd this holiday season.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you.