Too twee or not too twee?

I bought this jacket, and now I can't decide. It's undeniably cute, but I think it verges on twee. The bottom seems a little big - although perhaps it's meant to /swing/ - but I think if I go down a size, the shoulders will be too small, and I haven't been able to find it in the actual shops to try on the smaller size (yet). Also, I already have a navy cardigan.

Thoughts?

Outerwear options

A new, real winter coat was one of the first things I bought when I arrived here last year. Not having lived through an East Coast winter in a decade, I went with simple. It is long, black, boring wool, and it got me through the winter. But it only has three buttons, so it flies open in the winds of Lower Manhattan, it's not warm enough for the really cold days, it's not waterproof, and besides, an FG needs options.


The Pastry Chef took pity on me and came coat shopping with me during the Macy's one day sale this weekend. Truly a supreme act of friendship. And we found one that met all the requirements - puffy, but not in the Stay Puft sense, covered zipper, cozy wrists, knee length, water resistant - except price, but we did what we could on that count too.

Before we got to the coat we knew we were buying, we hit a few other stores, and I am now in a conundrum. The off white coat to the right is beautiful. It is shorter than my boring black wool coat, and would be great with pants.



But. There is always a but in these situations. There was a woman at the store also trying on coats, and she was wearing this. This has a gorgeous collar, and a hidden flounce, and it looks so good on - at least it did on her - it looked like a gorgeous party dress.

This was not even on the agenda. And do I really need to quadruple my coat wardrobe in one week? Anyone?

2008: Let the gaffes begin

In case you don't read ABC's The Note (which the FG highly recommends), here's their take on the Biden faux-pax:

...while there is no precise parallel (many of the candidates like to jabber, but Biden is in a category by himself), the comparable moves would be as follows:

Hillary Clinton saying on the first day, "I would look to Bill constantly."

Barack Obama saying on the first day. . . exactly what Biden said, but in the first person.

John Edwards saying on the first day, "Not having a real job anymore means I have the time to do this right."

John McCain saying on the first day, "The way forward on Iraq starts with Iran and ends with North Korea."

Mitt Romney saying on the first day, " No, I won't take my orders from Joseph Smith — they'll come direct from the Angel Moroni."

Rudy Giuliani saying on the first day, "A man's personal life and character has nothing to do with the job of the Presidency."

Chris Dodd saying on the first day, "Just like Joey Liebs, I. . . "

Tommy Thompson saying on the first day: "Working for the president was satisfying, even though he didn't know my name and the press forgot I was still there. But I loved having a driver. HE knew my name. Oh, yessir!"

Mike Huckabee saying on the first day, "As soon as I get the big chair, I'll be able to eat whatever I want. State dinner equals all-you-can-eat buffet."

Tom Vilsack saying on the first day, "I LOVE these jokers who jet in wearing L.L. Bean crap and think they know what it means to be a Hawkeye."

Wes Clark saying on the first day, "If you liked General Haig, you'll REALLY salute General Clark."

Sam Brownback saying on the first day, "The new 11th commandment is, 'Vote for the REAL Republican — me.' "

Newt Gingrich saying on the first day, "I can no longer deny the nation my brilliance. Electnewt.com. Deal with it!"

Bill Richardson saying on the first day, "This isn't about ego."

Jim Gilmore saying on the first day, "We'll bring back the Confederacy, but we'll call it a 'free trade zone.'"

Dennis Kucinich saying on the first day, "I'm in it to win it."

War is Peace

Newspeak? Double think? Anyone?

US Reconfigures the Way Casualty Totals are Given

Statistics on a Pentagon Web site have been reorganized in a way that lowers the published totals of American nonfatal casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Dr. Michael Kilpatrick, deputy director of force health protection and readiness at the Defense Department, said the previous method of tallying casualties was misleading and might have made injuries and combat wounds seem worse and more numerous than they really were.

The old method lumped many problems under the label “casualties,” including illnesses, minor injuries and injuries from accidents, as well as wounds sustained in combat. But the public may assume that every casualty is a war wound, Dr. Kilpatrick said, so the site was changed to avoid misunderstandings.

1984