You know, as soon as I woke up and looked outside, I knew that I was going to write this post.  I also knew that 1 out of every 10 FB status posts on my newsfeed would be the exact same thing.  “Snow!”  followed by the personal expression that best describes how that particular person feels about said snow.  So either “Ugh” or “Yay“.  And of course the occasional “Lol“.  For the record, I hate “lol“.  Is that really easier to write than “Haha“?  No.  It’s not.  So just write that.  Ironically, I love emoticons.  Anyhow…

The point is that this is such a cliche of a post.  It snowed.  Quite a bit.  It’s  Winter.  We knew it was coming.  I heard the reports on the radio.  I read the paper.  My Mom stopped by to give me a personal warning that it was coming.  And yet.  And yet… I was still shocked when I looked out the window.   I still took an extra 10 minutes wondering what footwear was appropriate.  The only winter boots that I have are Sorels, which I kind of don’t like… but they get the job done, without any of the pesky worry that they look good.  They don’t, and they aren’t really apologetic about it.  I wondered if I was going to be “that” woman.  You know the one that has given away her age by dressing hyper-appropriately for Winter weather?  Basically your worst nightmare of how you thought your Mom dressed when you were in high school.  Sensible warm boots?  And  puffy coat?  And Mitts??? And a scarf??? AND A HAT??? “Ecchhhhh.  It’s, like, not even super cold out, Mom“.  Accompanied, of course, by that look of disdain and disgust that every teenage girl must master in order to graduate high school.  I know you’re all doing the face right now.  Slight sneer.  Eye roll…  As it happens, I decided to temper the Sorels with a coat that is NOT puffy.  And no accessories (scarf, hat or mitts).  Also, as it happens, I was cold.

The 'Mom' Coat circa 1994... in blueberry

That is reminding me of a few years ago (ok, quite a few years ago… like maybe 10?), when Sally, Sara and I were going out one night.  It was when we were just at that critical transition to dressing appropriately for Winter… And it was also before there were NICE, warm and yes, puffy jackets.  I had a blue puffy coat.  Sara had a kind of pink one.  Sal had a brown one.  I think we were all wearing Sorels.  And hats.  And there’s that sound that those puffy coats make when you walk down the street… that ‘shish, shish, shish’ sound.  And at one point I stopped, and was just like “Oh. God.  We are like a blueberry, a raspberry and a chocolate chip.  This is terrible.“  And then we laughed and realized that we were warm and dry and actually didn’t care how we looked.  And that, my friends, is when you realize that you are a woman. 

In this day and age, we are all lucky enough that there are options that allow you to be warm, dry AND fashionable.  Slim fitting puffy coats (is that an oxy-moron?).  Winter boots that are not made for skidoo-ing, but also keep your feet warm.  Awesome coloured scarves and mitts, and hats that give you good hair/head and keep you cozy.  It’s a whole new world, ladies.  So, be warm.  And dry.  And still look cool.  Start with the Penfield ($480) fur-trimmed jacket.  And everything else will fall into place, trust me.

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Jackets/Coats, Marnie by Marnie