Cozy Plaid Poncho with Suede Over The Knee Boots

I’m trying to hold off on much shopping now since Black Friday and Cyber Monday are right around the corner.   In my life holiday shopping often ends up being about 50% personal shopping and 50% Christmas gift shopping for others because I can’t resist all the great sales.  Since most days I have two little boys with me I do a lot of online shopping at places like Nordstrom and Target because they have great return policies if I decide I don’t like something I ordered as much in person as I did in online pictures.

I have been working on getting organized with some holiday gift guides which I streamlined into one area of my blog in case you might be interested.  We put up our Christmas tree yesterday.  By we I mean my husband did it while I was at work.   So this weekend we will decorate it as a family.

Last year we passed on our artificial tree to my mom in favor of going to a tree farm to get that family photo cutting down our own evergreen.  I normally decorate for Christmas on November 1st.   I put up so many Christmas decorations I like to be able to enjoy the fruits of my labor for more than 2-3 weeks.   So with a real tree last year we missed several weeks of having the centerpiece of our Christmas decor not to mention my green thumb is weak!  I have trouble keeping any kind of plant alive.  My family also wasn’t that eager to spend all that time outside in the cold weather cutting down our own tree so this year we are avoiding kids whining and the upkeep of a live tree.

So yesterday we got a new artificial Christmas tree.   The last one we had was over 10 years old and my mom took it over (which is sort of like what happened with my college pet as well, THANKS MOM!).   We got a pre-lit tree to make things really easy on ourselves.   Should my kids become interested in cutting down a tree in a few years we will probably try that road again.

photo by my lovely friend Christina of Oh So Glam Blog

Poncho c/o  |  Sweater   |  White Denim  |  Boots c/o  |  Bracelets c/o  |  Watch (similar)

So speaking of cold weather a poncho is a perfect layering piece for these days when it’s super chilly in the morning but ok to be outside in a just a sweater after a few hours of sunshine.   I love tunic sweaters and you cannot really see in these pictures but this one has a cowl neck that adds some interest to the piece.

I always love to wear denim.  This pair I got in the Spring and it is holding up well considering it’s usually on sale for $25 or less.  I wore my VERY FAVORITE over the knee boots over the denim.  The boots are a bit more taupe than the pictures appear.  They look gray until you hold them up to something truly gray where you can then see they have a bit of a beige undertone.   What I love about these boots is the perfect (practical) heel and they actually stay above my knees.  My legs are pretty scrawny because I haven’t been exercising much and I’m still nursing.   Combine that with being tall and it is a struggle to find over the knee boots that stay put over the knee.   I just ordered this pair in black as well.

I am linking up the same items above here for easy access 😉

When do you start decorating for the holidays?  My tree is a hodge podge but I always admire people who have a “themed tree” and coordinate their tree decor.

Thank you to Banana Republic for sponsoring this post.