Dressing the part, and "what's that white stuff?"

This month, I am making a concerted effort to dress "less yank" as my Brit friends say. I really would love to look a little less American and a lot more British. So, I'm experimenting with colors, layers, and tights. After getting a lot of advice on what I need to wear (I'm starting with suggestion #1: cardigan, skirt, tights, Uggs -- apparently a staple of any English girl's wardrobe, along with belted dresses and jeggings, which I have yet to experience), I tried it out (and attempted not to fidget in my new get-up so as not to appear totally yankish). Honestly though, when I looked in the mirror wearing my jean skirt and tights, I didn't look British. I just looked like Debbie Gibson. No joke. I googled her. Back to the drawing board...

And then, December 1 (my Debbie Gibson day), like clockwork, Mother Nature kicked winter into high gear. It's as if she decided that she had spoiled us with the abnormally warm and dry November, so to balance things out, she threw down the gauntlet. I walked outside and the wall of chill that hit me was brutal -- I actually couldn't feel my face (so basically, I think my nose was unknowingly running during my entire walk to the department -- classy!) When I got to the park, the grassy fields were covered in white stuff. I was puzzled at what appeared to be a neat new fertilizer that the groundskeepers had dusted the park with -- but when I picked up a blade of grass to investigate this further, it practically cracked in two and was so cold that I lost whatever remaining feeling I had in my fingers. So, at that point, I realized I was seeing frost for the first time. So pretty! I stomped around in it for a while, watching how my Uggs made cool footprints in this frost, until I noticed the groundskeepers staring at me, the weirdo. Busted. Also at that point, I discovered that Uggs are not waterproof.

Newspaper article about the ridiculous overnight temperature drop.

Hilarious, Mother Nature, hilarious.