Rebecca A. Foster

Today was a hard day. I had to go to a funeral for a relative at the same cemetery where my dad is buried, a place I have steadfastly avoided the last four years. My step-sister said to me, "Is it hard for you to be here too? Or is it just me?" I felt so much better knowing I wasn't alone in feeling bad/anxiety today. We agreed we might be big babies, but at least we weren't alone. So, I need to take my mind off of things. 1. I went to Eddie Bauer later to buy a cream colored soft shirt, because they are the only ones I know who make great cream-colored (not white) layering shirts. While I was there, I saw this Downlight hoodie pullover , in coffee, my size, on sale. I am now the proud owner of a really warm, sporty jacket. I figure if I'm going to live here now, I should build up a winter wardrobe. I love this new jacket. 2. A friend this week said he thought Marion Cotillard is my doppelganger. I would never make that connection, but it's a really n...

I've had this little pig since I was a toddler. As you can see, it's been broken a few times. I loved this pig so much, I'd carry it around like it was a stuffed animal. I got very upset when I'd drop and break it, and even though it was just a worthless, cheap ceramic pig, my dad glued it back together each time. I've saved it as a reminder of one of the qualities I admire most about my dad: if it was important to you, it was important to him. Another thrift store find: my vintage Pendleton wool, double-breasted peacoat. Very heavy, very warm. I got it for $15 about ten years ago. It's been in storage for years and years because I didn't need a coat after I moved to San Antonio. I considered taking it to China, but it's so heavy it would have taken up precious weight in my luggage. But, the coat is back! The first time my mom saw it, she said, "Ew, it looks like something an old grandpa would wear." I KNOW, that's why it's awesome! ...

You guys, let me be honest for a minute: the past month has been tough. I gave up my apartment in San Antonio to go to China, and just before leaving I moved all my stuff to my mom’s. So that’s where I am while I job search, at my mom’s. This is not a bad thing at all; I’m closer to my brother and sister and extended family, and my mom is easy to live with. BUT, it’s certainly not where I want or expected to be. I’ve had to change my attitude the past week or so; I’m choosing to be grateful for gifts and opportunities I have in my life right now, rather than focus on what (I think) I lack. One of the great things is that my mom lives in a colder climate than San Antonio, so I get to indulge my love of socks. I LOVE socks—cute and versatile and less expensive than buying shoes and purses. In San Antonio I hardly ever got to wear socks because it’s just too warm most of the year; I had an extensive collection of chanclas , but hardly any socks. In Chongqing, I wore tall socks a...

Last night I was taking the bus to a friend's campus and sat down next to a grandma. Now, in the words of my friend Patrick, "Chinese grandmas are the sh*t." It's true: they can do anything and exude a quiet confidence I aspire to. (Also, they can totally snake all the good veggies at the market before anyone realizes what's happening.) They rule with a silk fist. You don't mess with a Chinese grandma. And to a Chinese grandma, all the world's a grandchild, especially a lone foreign girl. I sat down next to grandma in my short skirt and knee-high boots, sans stockings, and she immediately began chastising me for being bare-legged. I explained I don't have stockings, and she started running her hands up and down the bare-showing parts of my thighs, trying to warm me up. After a year and a half here, this didn't faze me (haha, I first wrote "phase" me), but I still had to laugh at the image of a Chinese grandma feeling up a random foreig...

I'm up way too early this morning, so what else do you do when you wake up at 4 AM for no good reason?  Dream-shop online, of course. I am so unfashionable these days, and how I knew this would happen and I was willing to be unfashionable for the sake of being in the Peace Corps, but still: sometimes I feel like a blob. I like dressing up and wearing pretty clothes and shoes; it isn't a burden to me to wear 4-inch heels everyday. So when I came across these two photos online, all I could do is stop for a moment and sigh. I love camel boots, how great would these look with a chocolate brown coat? And I don't love living where I have to wear a coat, but if I DO have to wear a coat, I want it to be this one: I want one day where I get to be "me" again, and I go out on a date with a guy I'm really into, to a place where I get to wear entirely inconvenient footwear, and have a wonderful time. I promise this time, I'd even wear the right bra. But the...

FloJo gave me a target.com gift card for Christmas and I found this cute and warm car coat in my favorite color, red. I had it shipped to my mom's house, who then forwarded to me in my Christmas box. I pretty much live in it these days. It's part wool and matches everything, and who doesn't love a warm, cute winter hoodie?  Target.com, 23.99

February in NYC. Two really cold girls. One lovely bride. (Shirt for warmth, not meant to be seen. Candid shot by the best man.)

Emergency PJs, super warm and comfy, albeit tacky, pants, Century 21, $8.99. First lettering pants. Slippery slope?

I got invited to a 'Cocktail Dress' Christmas party, my favorite kind.* But my cute cocktail dresses are all matched with cute strappy, non-snow-suitable sandals. I've broken down and purchased a coat, gloves, hats, and scarves for winter in the Rockies, but the majority of my shoe collection? Still chanclas and strappy sandals. And 3-inch heeled boots. Not exactly walker-y in snow and ice. So I went shopping for suitable "snow" shoes I could wear with a cocktail dress. Guess what? There are no cute shoes that are snow-suitable. This is why snow sucks. But I did purchase these shoes, close as I could get. If I must wear bulky winter shoes, I love peep-toes. Visible toes means winter hasn't broken me. Yet. Caparros 'Scottie' pumps, about $68 *I didn't go, this is how much my dentist hurt me . I kinda hate him after all.

I hate the cold, but snow can be very beautiful. Snow out west is very dry; I knelt in it, stood up, brushed it off, no wet mark at all. Much different than the gloopy stuff in the Northeast. If you want to see more winter pics, click on the 'My Photos' link on the right. Trees, view from my front door. My new wool mittens. The tops flip back to reveal fingertip-less gloves. Useful for texting and taking pictures in the cold. I also got a matching hat with ear flaps. I feel like a Swedish snow maiden in it. REI.com, gloves $25, hat $28

My friend Rebecca gave me these socks last week to keep my cute little feet from turning into toe popsicles this winter. I've worn them the past few nights and I have to recommend them to anyone who likes cloud-soft things and warm feet. Now, I don't wear smelly lotion, so I generally avoid Bath & Body Works the way I avoid any place perky blonde salesgirls congregate to try to get me to smell stuff. So I can't actually recommend going into the store to buy these socks. But, hello, online shopping! Especially for men reading this: buy these socks for your girlfriend/wife/sister/friend/mom etc. These can never be the wrong gift. No matter if she usually wears slinky things or says she doesn't like socks: these are awesome and only someone with a coal heart could resist them. Plus, if you share a bed, no more cold toes on your legs! Also a great stocking stuffer or cute addition to a larger gift i.e. a very soft lounge blanket. (The lounge socks look pretty comfy, ...

How cute is this wool shift dress? So cute. I love the simple A-line cut, the cap sleeves, the just-low-enough scoop neckline and button sash that gives the dress figure-definition and visual contrast. If I wore this dress, I'd probably pair it with something like this coat and some chunky high-heeled Mary Janes. (And wow, her legs are thin. But I don't think I could run on those legs, so I'm okay with my chubbier ones.) dress: Juicy Couture at nordstrom.com, $298 coat: Juicy Couture at nordstrom.com, $398