What are your Saturdays looking like these days? I knew as a parent our slow Saturday mornings would turn into days at the park, but it's been weird having the playgrounds closed! We're still trying to figure out what we can bring to the park to make things a little more fun (wind socks? beach frisbees?) but this weekend Mia was very into the leaves and pointing at doggies so that was enough :)
After having some beautiful weather, things took a turn this week in Chicago so we had to really bundle up. I normally am a puffer coat girl, all the way. Wool coats are fine down to about 40 degrees, and then I usually put them away in favor of my big puffy warm winter coat. But the J.Crew Lodge Coat is a total game-changer. I also have the J.Crew Chateau Parka and have tried a few of their other coats like the Cocoon Coat and the Lady Day Coat, and none of them come anywhere close to how warm the Lodge Coat is.
There are a couple of reasons it's so much warmer. One is the knit cuffs and double collar. These completely seal the edges of the coat, so no Chicago winter winds can blow in. The cuffs are so big and warm that I don't always need gloves with it. This coat also has an amazing lining. The interior is quilted instead of just a lining under the wool, and it is so warm and cozy. And then the third difference is the fit. Most of J.Crew's wool coats are a swingy fit through the body, which is flattering but can be breezy. The Lodge Coat is cut a little closer to the body, which also adds to the warmth factor.
As far as sizing goes, I took my usual size in a tall for the Lodge Coat and the Cocoon Coat. For the Chateau Parka, you can stick with your normal size or go down a size, and for the Lady Day Coat I suggest going up 1-2 sizes, definitely 2 sizes if you're curvy on top.
And now, here's a bunch of photos of Mia playing in leaves, which she realized are very fun for throwing ;)
Mia's Coat / Mia's Hat / Mia's Boots (highly recommend these!! I went up 2 sizes for Mia so they'll fit a little longer, and the velcro on back means they still stay on her ankles.)
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I'm not here to complain about winter or anything, because it hasn't even been terrible this year. It's really just that I finally understand what parents have always talked about when they said winter was a tough time to be home with your kids. If we're home too much, Mia starts to get a little squirrelly. She wants to be out and about, no matter the weather!
Over the weekend we didn't have a ton of plans, so to get Mia out of the house we ended up taking a long walk to Half Acre Balmoral brewery for lunch. You might wonder why we're always taking our baby to breweries, but hear me out. When you are a new parent bars basically disappear from your life, but a brewery is a kid-friendly way to get the bar experience. You can enjoy a drink, but without the loud music or people who are overconsuming. While we were out last weekend, the whole brewery was full of parents and babies or young kids. There was even a set of parents with a brand new (I'm talking a month old, tops) baby introducing the baby to their friends! So cute. And every time we go it's like that. I once saw a mom toting a huge bin of legos into a brewery along with three little boys, clearly intending to stretch out the visit as long as possible.
We personally love Half Acre because the food is so good in addition to the beer, and they change the menu all the time. If you go, I personally recommend going on a Sunday for their brunch menu - their breakfast sandwiches are always so good!
Okay, are you ready to talk clothes now? I still get dressed like I always do, but between Mia, the weather, and the current number of hours of daylight I've been having a tough time actually taking pictures of my outfits for you. I'm so glad I managed to take pictures of this outfit though because I have some awesome pieces I want to talk to you about!
The Sweater
I usually am SO TIRED of sweaters by this time of the year, but this fall/winter I unintentionally ignored my sweater collection because I was so excited to have button-downs back in my life again (since I was pregnant last fall). Remind me again next year to wait on sweater season until January, since you know, it sticks around until May.
I also am loving sweater season because I have been in sweater-shopping mode, so I have a few new options in my closet and am not just rotating through the same three every week. This heart textured sweater is so fun. I love that it works for Valentine's Day, but it's so subtle that it will work for the rest of winter too. The slight puff shoulder is also giving me life. While the sweater can go sweet depending on what you wear it with, that detail in the shoulder makes it work for a slightly edgier outfit too. Is this edgy? Okay no but you know, it's a hint of edge and that's just about as far as I go.
The Boots
Did I want to wear snow boots with this? No, I would have much rather added a pair of mules! But you know, Chicago's icy sidewalks didn't quite allow for that shoe choice. That being said, I'm so happy to have these fur-lined hiking / snow boots in my life. They are slightly elevated over a typical snow boot, which makes me more excited to pull them out. I've been wearing these almost daily for walking Mia to daycare, and they are so freaking comfortable. Not to mention beautiful in person! Mia also tries to put them in her mouth every chance she gets, so I think she's pretty into them too.
The Hair
Not to toot my own horn here, but was I having a particularly good hair day when we shot these photos? I think it's because I finally got rid of my hair brush after FIFTEEN YEARS. Yes, you read that right. I'd had my hairbrush literally since high school. It was basically completely coated in products and falling apart. I finally decided to make the switch to this one (2 inch size), and my hair has been looking so good ever since! More volume, shinier, and less weird bending at the ends. If you've been holding onto something like my hairbrush just because it still works, you don't have to! Go get that new hairbrush (or you know, whatever YOUR hairbrush is) and don't look back. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.
An outfit post, oh my! I know, I know, I haven't been living up to the whole style blogger thing as of late. It's a whole lot harder to run outside to snap a few photos when we have to get Mia down and out too, and honestly since I mostly work from home now I'm not getting dressed a ton anyway.
BUT.
I had to share a few of my new favorite things with you. Because what kind of friend would I be if I didn't share?
I've been wanting another wool winter coat, because as much as I love this one I feel a little silly with the faux fur collar in all situations, like when we dress up or when it happens to be 30 degrees in May in Chicago. I ordered and returned 5 or 6 coats this fall until I came upon this one. It's cute and simple, but the details like the gold zipper and ribbed cuffs really elevate it. I also am loving the warm camel color - I've always wanted a camel coat! As far as sizing, I'm in my normal J.Crew size in a tall. It's slightly more fitted than the Chateaux parka but still an a-line.
Then we have the jeans. It's amazing, I get compliments on these every time I wear them. The button fly is surprisingly flattering even though I carry my weight in my mid-section. They are a 9" high rise, which for me goes right above my belly button (I have long legs and a short waist). I went down one size, and honestly could have gone down two because they stretch out easily. I am wearing a tall, and every time I wash them the ankles get a little more frayed making them a tiny bit shorter. The frayed ankles do look a little weird with booties and winter boots, but are really cute with mules, loafers and sneakers.
And of course, that leads us to the mules. How much can one talk about loving a pair of shoes before she starts to sound a bit crazy? But really, these are one of the most comfortable pairs of shoes in my closet, and I wear them just about every chance that Chicago lets me. They go with surprisingly just about everything in my closet, and have the ability to take a basic outfit to the next level. I love them so much I'm thinking about ordering them in black too.
Is that enough incoherent rambling about one outfit? Okay cool thanks, let's call it a day :)
Usually I'd pick black or blue jeans since we're still in the thick of winter, but with the white stripes on this cute sweater (which, by the way, is only $32!!) I had to bring out my white jeans. Paired with my lighter wool coat, it feels appropriately winter-y. I love the look with my bow mules here (it was actually almost 50 degrees when we took these photos), but would love to add a pair of gray or taupe OTK boots to my closet to wear with white jeans in the winter. Being warm is basically the most important thing to me. I do not believe in suffering for fashion.
It's kind of funny, but every time I wear this sweater, I think it gets bigger. Back in Paris it fit like a normal sweater, and now I can't keep it on my shoulders! Not that I'm mad about it, since bare shoulders are like, totally in this winter ;)
I wore this downtown to see Beautiful with Jeff's family on Sunday. It's a little weird to be in the Loop on a weekend in winter - it's so empty - and was made even weirder by some incredibly thick fog. Can you see the buildings disappearing behind me?
I always try to dress up a little for the theater, and this was the sneaky perfect outfit for it. Looks dressy, but is as comfortable as can be! As a tall person, the theater is not always the most comfortable experience. Faux leather leggings for the win.
Speaking of these leggings, I actually thought before I bought them that they wouldn't be comfortable because the brand is Spanx. Definitely not the case! They're supportive and super flattering, but still really comfortable too. The price tag is definitely higher than I'd like to spend on leggings, but they're actually my favorite pair and I wear them all the time. So they may be more expensive, but that cost per wear is actually really low since they get so much use. As long as you can keep that cost per wear, you can justify those more expensive purchases.
