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When I packed up for college - headed to North Carolina from Austin, Texas - I was looking forward to lots of things.  One of them (lame enough) was seasons!  Changing leaves and snowfall were foreign concepts to me, and I was thrilled to sport my meager winter wardrobe for months at a time, as opposed to three days out of the year.  Actually, “Boys in Sweaters” ranked pretty high up on the “Pros Column” when selecting Wake Forest University as my undergrad alma matter, if I remember correctly.

But people kept mentioning the rain.  ”Oh its rainy up there - pack your umbrella!”  ”Do you have a good raincoat?  North Carolina sees a lot of wet weather!”  Um, okay silly adults, I’m from Texas, remember?  I’ve been practicing tornado drills since kindergarten and survived some pretty severe thunderstorms… I’m pretty sure I can handle “the wet season.”  Bring it, North Carolina.

Yes, well.  By October, my foot was planted firmly in my mouth as rain - from drizzle to downpour - continued for days on end.  Some days, I felt like Forest Gump and Bubbah… hard rain, soft rain, sideways rain, upside-down rain - on and on and on!  And it was cold!  By Christmas-List-Making-Time, I was coveting the Northfaces that seemed standard fare for my South-Eastern classmates, and something nearly identical to this topped my wish-list.

Ever the practical shopper, my mom found a coat she claimed to be “the Northface’s twin!”  You won’t even know the difference, she promised.  I took the woman at her word… and subsequently walked around campus like this for several months a year for the next four years:

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I am not sure whether fascinators are purely an English thing but they are often worn to weddings by guests in lieu of a more traditional hat. In addition to our own wedding we attended 3 others this summer, with another to come in December and 3 more so far next year. Apart from the usual issues relating to rotating dresses and accessories so one doesn’t appear to have one ‘wedding outfit’ for all occasions, it is also useful to have a number of hats and fascinators to call upon to change one’s look.

Top {Image by Elegant & Wild} - at a traditional English church & marquee wedding. Bottom {Image by Husband} - at a more low key hotel wedding with civil ceremony.

It was therefore a pleasure to attend the monthly meeting of my local Women’s Institute and be taught by a milliner how to make a fascinator of my own.

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Here we are in Week #3 of my series on Etsy Finds for all of life’s spheres!  Last week we explored Etsy’s options for our fall closets, and this week its time to accessorize!

Galit Barak

While offering all types of jewelry, I pick Galit Barak for her 14k gold crocheted cocktail rings - bold enough to be worn as a statement piece but dainty enough for all occasions!

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I love handbags (most of us girls do right?) and I love my black bags like no other but I’ve been really eyeing brightly colored handbags.  I love seeing them on other girls and am convinced that I need one too!

And oh the choices… so many pretty colors

I love this yellow (but I like it in all the other colors too)

botkier.com

And red is always gorgeous and can transition well into the fall

botkier.com

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