Currently Coveting: J. Crew, Kate Spade, and more

Turns out, despite working in advertising and knowing most of it's dirty little secrets, I am still very susceptible to marketing emails promoting sales at my favorite places.

Enter: this weekend. And the ensuing shopping spree. If you haven't jumped on these sales yet, what on earth are you waiting for?

J. Crew, (and J. Crew Factory), BaubleBar, ideeli, Kate Spade: all sites that email multiple times a day. Which, if you're like me, doesn't bother you that much because you either open them or just delete them, so there's no chance you'll miss a sale. Of course, all are must-visits for me when I make my laps around the sales sites on the weekends.

Below are a few pieces I picked up this weekend and decided I must share with the world.

J. Crew Clare Cardigan 

My office is a frozen tundra so while a skirt and a simple top might be enough in the direct sunlight, I have to have a blazer or sweater with me inside at all times.

Enter: The Clare cardigan. I got my first one in seaside coral (pictured) for around $25. I wore it once then I went and bought two more colors of the same style. It's three-quarters length so it definitely errs more on the fashionable, current-trends look than dowdy. It looks perfect with skinny jeans and a white v-neck, my go-to outfit nowadays.

I can already tell the Champagne cardigan will look great with dresses for fancy-but-casual affairs and all of them will work with a black tank top and any sort of denim or black pant for the fall. This cardigan seriously takes versatility to the max.

Kate Spade Sunnies

When you enter the Kate Spade outlet store and the saleswoman immediately comes up to you and says "everything in the store is 50% off," well, you can just hear your credit card simultaneously scream in delight and shout in horror.

I was able to snag this pair of sunglasses for about $40, and for someone who has always been a Ray Ban-knockoff kinda gal instead of the real deal, this was a big step for me. I couldn't find them online but these are pretty similar.

Bonus: check out the adorable glasses case they came in!

Longchamp in "Sand"

The black Longchamp may be ubiquitous around college campuses and a staple piece in many female 20-somethings wardrobes, which is exactly why I looked at my two-year old bag, beaten from a summer in New York City and from being hauled around, and decided I needed a new one.

Ideeli, a spin-off flash sale site from Groupon, just happened to be having a sale - large totes in the classic Le Pliage style were discounted from $145 to $100. So-ld.

As an editorial note: you may notice my posts increasing in frequency. Hooray! I think I have finally determined that they will be like this post was - style - music from bands and musicians I am discovering (but may already be 'discovered') and books that I've read and recommend.

When it's zero degrees out, but you still have to trek outside

This week the East Coast is hunkering down for another polar vortex. I'd be okay with this, I fared the first polar vortex pretty well, except last time I was cozy at home and didn't have anything to do, anywhere to be. This time: it's going to be pretty bad. There are classes and meetings to attend at all random hours of the day, meaning I could be out walking fifteen minutes - about a mile - and freezing my fingers off.

That is, if I wasn't adequately dressed.

This is a peek into my wardrobe - pieces I will actually be wearing over the next few days until I can hunker down in my apartment next weekend. An accessories post will be coming up tomorrow!

My massive North Face puffer 

I'm only kind of joking when I said I could curl into this jacket an be ok for a few days. This is the most comfortable coat I've ever owned - but it's also my only goose down coat, which makes it lightweight but so warm.

This is perfect for walking against the cutting wind and protecting everything from my head to my knees. But it takes more than a coat to keep me moving. I also need to layer!

You can buy the North Face Metropolis coat here!

Tommy Hilfiger Long Sleeve Cable Crew Neck Sweater

I cannot survive State College, PA winters without my arsenal of cable knits. They provide the perfect amount of warmth to insulate the heat from my body while my North Face wards off any icy breezes coming my way.

The only downside to wearing such heavy sweaters is that I sometimes get to class only to find the building's heat is cranked and I'm suddenly uncomfortably warm. But, it's a small sacrifice.

The sweater is on sale at Tommy Hilfiger, and is also available in a few more colors!

J. Crew Skinny Jeans

Unfortunately, it's not socially acceptable for me to wear sweatpants around campus - and even if it was, I wouldn't because I cannot stand sweatpants beyonds the confines of my apartment. I'm not much a yoga pants girl either.

Thankfully, these J. Crew skinny black jeans are as comfortable as I need them to be getting from point A to point B.

Bonus: these are now in J.Crew's factory store - more than half off, from $80 down to $31!  

Tall Hunter Boots

Is it too much of a generalization to say this is quickly becoming the go-to snow/rain boot for women in the United Kingdom and United States? It seems like a solid 80% (an estimate) of the underclass female population relies on their pair of wellies.

Maybe they're brown, like mine - to match my jacket and my hair - or red to make a bold statement, but we rely on these shoes to keep our feet dry in the snow and gross slush that omnipresent from November to March.