On the Double – Page 5 – je ne sais quoi with your hands full

I spend a lot of time outside, and during the colder winter months I’m almost always wrapped up in a coat when I go out. So far this winter in D.C. has been extremely mild, with occasional days that I can get away with just a vest, and that one blissful 70 degree day the other week when I was out in a t-shirt. Rare fluctuating weather aside, if you live or travel anywhere that gets quite cold during winter having an army of hardworking coats is essential. Whenever I travel anywhere in the winter I always bring along a statement coat and pack my entire suitcase based on that coat.

My family took a trip to Pittsburgh, PA right before Christmas where it was colder than cold and my statement coat was the perfect topper to layer over my daytime chunky knits and dresses in the evening. Other than keeping me toasty warm, what I really love about coats is how well they can complete an outfit and the statement coat is an all star in the third piece game. If you’re not familiar with the third piece styling rule, it’s a concept of adding a third component (other than shoes and bag) to your top and bottom to complete a look. This can be a blazer, vest, coat, hat, or scarf. If you’re keen on basics, but want to add interest to your outfit incorporating a third piece is the way to go, and an elegant and vibrant colored wool coat is the perfect solution during the colder winter months. Read More

In Style

His and Hers

CarolineJanuary 28, 2017January 28, 2017Leave a comment

His and hers not in the cutesy and traditional sense, but more in a what’s yours is mine sort of way. As the youngest sibling of three wandering into other people’s closets comes quite naturally to me. Not quite an enduring quality, but an inherent tendency none the less. Now that I’m (technically) grown up and my mother and sister’s closets are about an hour drive away, my eyes have occasionally wandered over to the Mister’s closet. Fortunate for me, he is a very dapper and obliging man. Fortunate for him, my 5′ 6″ frame swims in most of his 6′ 3″ muscular build clothing, so my options are limited.

Near the end of my twin pregnancy I was practically living in his henley shirts, but it wasn’t until a couple of months ago when he put this classic navy rollneck sweater (that I’ve always loved) into our goodwill pile that I decided I had to give it a go. Sure enough, this tad too short for him sweater was just the right tunic-esque length for me. I’ve always liked the idea of tunics but had never found one with the right relaxed fit and flattering length. With my tunic query finally answered, the Mister’s closet suddenly had much bigger borrowing potential 🙂 Read More

In Motherhood

The Baby Essentials

CarolineJanuary 25, 2017Leave a comment

My sweet baby boys recently turned two years old, and whether I like it or not our baby days are officially behind us. Talking up a storm, learning letters and numbers (thank you Sesame Street,) and newfound sensations of independence, we have officially entered a new era of toddlerhood and I couldn’t be more excited. Besides the fact that I can tell someone their age by years rather than months (huge pet peeve,) these little guys’ antics and emerging personalities make me laugh harder than I ever have before, and to my luck they get a real kick out of getting a good laugh out of me.

With a twin birthday right after Christmas, you can only imagine the state our house has been in the past month. Once the holiday clutter was sorted and packed away, I decided it was high time to do a full cleanse of the baby paraphanalia. I probably should have let go of a lot of these things sooner, but the truth is you get quite attached to certain things that were basically survival tools in the early baby days. When I gave my twin nursing pillow away to an expecting mother last year (months after I was finished nursing) it was still so hard for me to let go of it! But now that we’re past ever possibly needing or using these things again, it’s time to let go and pass along these items to new families, and make room for the likes of the scooters, lacrosse sticks, and basketball hoops that have found their way into our house. While I’m very excited about this new age, this milestone has also been quite bittersweet for me as I look back on my pregnancy and the first two years with my boys.

In Style / Wearing It Now

Wearing it Now: Ankle Skimming in the Rain

CarolineJanuary 17, 2017February 16, 2017Leave a comment

Another rainy day in Washington. When we get a string of rainy days I’m usually living in slim cut jeans and my beloved Hunter rain boots. But after too many days in a row, my already low tolerance for skinny jeans runs out and I’m longing to wear a more comfortable trouser, like the cropped wide leg pant. This incredibly chic and classic silhouette pant is a year-round versatile wardrobe staple, but the one item it definitely does not go with is a tall boot. Enter the chelsea rain boot. I wear my Hunters to death, but last summer I stumbled upon this pair of chelsea rain boots when I was looking for a suitcase friendly rubber shoe to take on a trip to London, and they have been a favorite ever since. Cropped pants are a very flattering style pant for pretty much every body shape, and a low chelsea boot is the perfect partner for your favorite ankle skimming trouser. Read More

In Hair / Lifestyle

The Big Bangs Theory

CarolineJanuary 11, 2017January 11, 20171 Comment

Last year I caught the bangs bug and within two weeks I had a freshly cut fringe across my very narrow forehead. I hardly every get sudden urges to make drastic changes to my hair, but after about three years of the standard “just a trim, I’m trying to grow it out” request at the hair salon, I felt a need to change up my look a bit. And change it up they certainly did! It always takes a couple of days for me to settle into a new haircut, but with the bangs it took a good two weeks for me to recognize myself in the mirror again, and when I did I felt like a slightly new, more face framed me. I’m extremely low maintenance about my hair and highly regard the ability to pull my hair up into a pony tail and have everything out of my face. Obviously with bangs this required a few extra bobby pins and headbands, so within a couple of months I knew the bangs wouldn’t be a permanent change for me and decided to let them grow out. Even though I won’t be a perma-fringe girl, I’m so glad that I took the risk with getting bangs and have been pleasantly surprised during the growing out process. Read More