{ STYLING NOTES } THE FIRST DAY OF WINTER + A BIT OF NEWS...

As we speak, the snow is practically falling out of the sky in buckets here in Sun Valley—how fitting for the first day of winter! Temperatures are hovering around 20 degrees, and I'm wishing I'd packed more of my winter coats for this trip. And while it's still strangely warm in New York (and on most of the East Coast), I have to believe those colder days are coming—and we should be ready when they do.

Which brings me to my next point! I have just started contributing to about.com as the new Women's Fashion Expert. Starting this month, I'll be in charge of reviving the fashion vertical of this huge site with fresh fashion content. I'll be upfront with you: The formatting isn't like a blog, and many of my stories will be geared towards an audience over the age of 40—so I won't share everything I'm up to there, here.

But I will give you a sneak peek now of the first two stories I published, because they just went live yesterday! First, 3 Winter Coat Trends To Try This Season, which is illustrated above. I've decided that a patterned coat, an extra-long coat and a faux fur coat are all you need (because I have that kind of power, muahaha), and you can shop three of my favorites from the story below:

The other story I'm sort of obsessed with is full of outfit ideas: 4 Color Combinations To Try This Winter. I put together a few fun and cozy looks that just might inspire you (and me!) to break out of that all-black-all-the-time pattern we fall into this time of year.

Nude and blush pink, am I right? I wish I had more pieces in this color family so I could start dressing like this right away. In the meantime, I think I need to start saving for those incredible Stuart Weitzman boots. You can shop the look below!

And below, the second color combination from that story, which I'm also obsessed with...

Navy and camel is one of my all-time favorite combinations, no matter what season. But since I'm in the mountains and feeling rather festive, I decided that I'd illustrate the pairing potential with a snow-friendly ensemble featuring an amazing oversized fair isle cardigan from J. Crew and a very on-trend button-front denim skirt, as well as pow-ready Sorel boots. You can shop the whole look below:

I hope you're all enjoying the first day of winter, wherever you are!