Years ago when I was having to walk from the parking garage to work in freezing temps in scrubs, I paid a lot of money for a long, down filled Lands End coat. What a rip off. My old, worn, Wal-Mart coat was so much warmer. I think I paid $20 for it. I ended up buying a much cheaper coat for Winter from JCPenney and gave that Land's End coat to a thrift store.

Just my usual candy, wrapping paper, napkins, plates and this year I scored a ton of plastic containers with lids. I will use these all year long. I only use real Tupperware at home and I will not send leftovers to anyone in those!!

LynnNM - Where did you find that bedjacket? I'm in the market for one.

That's a shame about the down coat, Kath. My Lands' End coat isn't down; it's this one:

https://www.landsend.com/products/womens-squall-waterproof-insulated-winter-stadium-coat-with-hood/id_349447

Except mine is in cherry red, which they apparently don't offer this year. As I said, I have the shorter parka version, and it's held up very well--sometimes I think too well, as I've had it so long. But at some point my jackets become "around the farm" jackets, which is good too.

I have down outerwear from other labels, including one I never wear. It's a bright "safety orange" long down coat from The Company Store. (I don't think they make clothing anymore, just down bedding.) I keep it rolled up in a canvas tote in my Subaru during the winter in case of emergency.

Kathy, it was Signals

I bought a down coat from 32 Degrees also for under $40. Great sale they are having. I got a light weight one. Don't need much in Houston usually but it can surprise us. Plus great for travel.

WOW! Down coats for $40 are a rare find indeed! I have several I've picked up over the years and keep one in the suv...just-in-case. ♥

Alisande, could you help me with sizing? I'm going to order one of the coats but can't decide what size to order. I'm 5'5' and 125 pounds but my hips, unfortunately, are wide. Not large but wide. I can't decide on a medium or large. I'm leaning towards the medium. Could you give me some insight? Thanks. By the way my husband likes the undershirts so I am ordering some for him at the same time.

Jkayd, when I was looking at this for my friend I read a lot of the reviews. They seemed to indicate the coat ran slightly large. She was torn between a small and a medium, and on my advice she got the small and is happy with it. But she's very petite. I'm probably 5'5" now (used to be 5'7") and weigh almost 15 lbs. more than you, and the large is perfect on me. Hope this helps.

Thank you. I ordered the medium. I used to be 5'6' but shrunk too. Can't reach the upper cabinet selves as well anymore. Hope I don't lose any more inches.

FWIW, Land's End is no longer the quality company that they used to be. I used to buy a lot from both Land's End and LL Bean. Land's End is producing a lot of garbage now, I'm sad to say.

LL Bean seems to produce some quality stuff (it's been hit and miss on a few products for me), but I've given up on Land's End. YMMV of course.

Patrice, I've noticed the same thing with Eddie Bauer, which was a favorite of mine for a long time. Their clothing seemed to last forever, but I suspect that's no longer true. A flannel shirt I bought for my son last year was so flimsy I didn't give it to him. I, too, am a fan of LL Bean--for a long time. I recently passed down to my daughter a pair of old-fashioned snow shoes I bought from them around 1970.

Jkayd, I hope you'll enjoy the coat. I have the issue with the upper cabinet shelves too, and I'm not used to it yet. I lost some height suddenly this fall, and I'm certain it's related to my scoliosis. When I sat down to Thanksgiving dinner at my daughter's, I felt noticeably closer to the food.

I agree with Eddie Bauer. I use to buy my jeans from them but in the last couple of years I notice that they have cut back on the product line and on the quality. Whether this is a supply chain issue or not I don't know. I did get an email from them in the fall telling people to buy early for Christmas because of supply chain issues.

Lands’ End was always my go- to especially while my DD’s were growing up.

For myself though not so much.

I was always lucky at Lord and Taylor for coats and jackets. So sorry they closed.

I found a Kate Spade blazer at an "antique mall" for $6. Full retail $500.

Picture of blazer

Jkayd, how much did you shrink? I am also 5'6". Not looking forward to that. :-)

At least a good inch. I was told at one check up I was 5' 4 1/2 inches but I am chosing not to believe that. Lol.

Thank you, LynnNM.

jkayd>>>Same here. I was 5'6" and was told last month at the doctor's office, I am 5'4 1/2 I refuse to believe it. I must have slumped....lol

Thanks for the post;I ordered one in black! I've shrunk over 2". : (

Put your hair up a bun next time😂

Just like appliance manufacturers, the clothing industry has figured out that they don't make $ when I am still wearing my 25 yo Lands End turtlenecks.

if we make things with a shorter life expectancy, they will buy more. And styles change.

I was 5’6” and now am 5’3”. No fair! I believe one’s spinal discs (cushions between the vertebrae) get compressed overtime…gravity and aging are to blame for this common occurrence. Also, osteoporosis, sigh. I’m 71.

Oh no, that's a huge difference. What about your feet, are they still the same size? When does this shrinking stage start?

Here's another post-holiday bargain: canvas photo prints from Easy Canvas Prints. I don't know why the 11x14 isn't on sale, but the others are a great deal. Maybe they ran out of 11x14 canvas.

I ordered a total of 6 prints, two for me and the remainder as gifts for Christmas and January birthdays (one 12x12, two 11x14s, and three 16x20s). I've received five so far, and I'm very pleased with them. I usually use Mpix.com to print anything I don't want to print myself. I don't know if Mpix would do a better job than Easy Canvas Prints, but as someone who's picky about pictures but has never looked closely at a canvas print before, I find no fault with these. And I'm not likely to put in an Mpix order anytime soon, as their price for a 16x20 is $100.

Easy Canvas Prints offers several options for additional fees, and I declined all of them. I ordered through a pre-Christmas deal and got free shipping on most of them. But even with $9.99 shipping, it's a good price. The ordering process is certainly easy. Anyway, here's the link:

https://www.easycanvasprints.com/singlecanvasdesigner

I bought one of the coats and added on a pair of gloves.

Arctic air is coming early next week. I hope you all have received your warm coats! Our low temp will be 4 F, and high temp will be 10 F. Are you guys ready for the icy air? It's time to test out your winter gear! :-)

Yes, we're supposed to get wind chills below zero tonight. I envision myself wearing my new coat when I have somewhere to go, but unfortunately that's not now. For braving the wind chills around the farm, my old Eddie Bauer and Lands' End parkas do a great job. As long as I have foot warmers on my socks and a hand warmer in my pocket. :-)

Summer’srhythm, in my case I think it started in my late forties, but I’m not positive. My feet got a bigger with each kid, and I think I went from a 7.5/8 to a 9.5. I think this is quite common, as pregnancy hormones loosen and relax the ligaments in the body to prepare for giving birth, and that’s not limited to only the pelvic ligaments. So now I’m shorter and a bit squatter, with bigger feet! Life is good, nonetheless.

My feet went from a 7 to a 9 with three babies. Now I notice they've gotten wider. I'm going to have to try 9W next time.

Thanks for the heads up Chinacatpeekin. Life is interesting for sure. My shoe size didn't change after giving birth, stayed at 7.5. Now I am just wondering if I am going to shrink too someday. :-)

Alisande, you have a farm?! How cool is that! I always want to start a farm. What do you have on the farm? You don't have to answer if you don't want to. No issues. :-) Is it hard to start one? I finally have 10 acres now, I am thinking about it. You could buy shearling lamb fur gloves on ebay for around $20 a pair.

It's not a working farm anymore, and hasn't been since we bought it in the 1970s. We used to have a commercial tofu manufacturing business in the barn, but that doesn't count as farming--especially since we bought the soybeans from Iowa and the nigari (coagulant) from Japan. :-) My daughter-in-law has chickens, and she fostered several goats when they needed a temporary place to live. Years ago we used to have horses, quite a few of them, but not now.

Wow, that sounds wonderful, a lot of fun at your farm! :-)

32 Degrees has great sales and Costco carries quite a few items, too.

Alisande, thanks for the tip about the easy canvas sale. I have been wanting to get something like that done of Mia. I just ordered! Very good price! 👍😊

There is a new store here that is fashioned after Amazon's Bin 5. Bin 5 receives merchandise on Thursday and Friday and are not open those days. On Saturday all merchandise is (I think) 10.00 ea and each day the prices drop until there is a dollar or two dollar day. Anyway this new store is pretty junky but I went for the first time on a day that everything was 97cents and Christmas stuff was 2/97. I got two boxes of 12 each christmas ornaments. They are little characters on swings....made out of wood. Not something I would ordinarily buy but I can use them as package decorations next year. I also found a really adorable two piece outfit in a size 2 for my granddaughter along with a navy velour zip up jacket with shirt underneath and a cute short sleeve white summer top with a flower pot and flowers embroidered on its front.

You're lucky to have a Bin 5 close to you! Pretty soon you'd need more storage space. :-)

Summer, this is not an official Bin 5 but a kind of knock off. Bin 5 is about an hour and a half away from me but I plan on taking a trip soon!

It's 16 F with 35 mph wind here. Tonight will be 5 F. Have you been outside today to test out your new coats?

That's not too far! Have fun shopping there. I might map it out next time I go down south.

Tonight the temp will go down to 3º, with wind chills of -13, and then a HIGH of 11 tomorrow, with -16 wind chills. I will not be wearing my new coat, because I will not so much as open the front door except to pluck some firewood off the porch. I usually put my garbage out and set up the trash bins on Tuesday, but I'll do that today as it's a "warm" 21º. I also want to hang a bird feeder or two. I've been holding off because of reports that the bears haven't gone into hibernation. We need a little summer's rhythm, Summersrhythm!

Alisande, oh boy! You are in a bigger ice hole than me. I don't have the power for hot air, but I could share some firewood if you are near me. :-) Tree service is here right now to cut down 3 damaged huge maple trees, just went outside to talk to my neighbors see if they wanted some free firewood. It warmed up a little, now is 19 F. :-) Keep warm my friend!

I have not received my new coat yet. We are at 61 today and no threat of very cold weather in the immediate future. They said there are delays in the shipping process so not sure exactly when it will arrive.

I got that message too, Raven. The Easy Canvas Print sale is still going on, by the way, except now the 11x14 size is included.

And . . . here are a couple of "shorthair" sherpa pullovers on sale at 32 Degrees. They have great reviews, and I would have been tempted if they had pockets. But they don't. If you use the code BRADSHERPA the price is $12.99, and shipping is free if you spend $25.

Hooded sherpa pullover

Quarter-zip sherpa pullover

I've always liked Lands End and LLB. Haven't ordered much lately, so I can't say much about the quality. Sometimes LE has prints or color combos that makes me wonder what they are thinking.

I got a post holiday bargain. Before Christmas this lamp was $315ea/Lighting stores - $155ea/Home depot. After Christmas the price dropped. I got 3 $122. ♥

I got my down coat and I love it. It is the perfect weight for our area. Very comfortable and excellent fit, good quality. I just ordered more from 32 Degrees because they are still dropping prices. I ordered the matching vest to the coat. I ordered a long soft hoodie and a top and bottom waffle weave set which I will use as pj's. Awesome prices and good quality.

That's great to hear, Raven! I think I know the long soft hoodie because I was tempted to get it myself. It looked so nice, and the price was excellent. But it didn't have pockets, and I need them. You've inspired me to go back to the website to see what's going on now.