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Nothing But Blue Skies

Don’t you just feel… lighter? It’s the breeze blowing gently across your face, or the sun warming your shoulders. What I’m hinting at, is that Spring has arrived! We welcome the season, and are endlessly grateful for Winter to be firmly ushered out. Usually in Wisconsin we have a few fake outs on our season changes. This was definitely the case last Sunday and Monday when we got two more inches of snow. Meh, to that memory. Thankfully we were blessed with a warm enough day to melt it quickly.

It’s astounding how much easier it is to be happy when the weather is nice. Add up a Wisconsin winter, and we’re lucky that Wisconsin is known for its friendly people! It probably has something to do with the good beer too, if we’re being honest. The great weather showed up just in time for Easter. The weather wanted to get in on celebrating Christ’s resurrection too! Caitlin was down in Austin, on vacation for four days. If you’re following along on Instagram she’s shared some amazing days at the pool, so you know the weather is nice. Tim and I went down to visit my best friend from college, and we had an almost 80 degree day in the Quad Cities area. It felt so so nice to sit outside all afternoon long.

Right about the time the weather gets warmer, the summer plans start to kick into gear. I’m already looking ahead at my calendar and trying to figure out if I should keep the few remaining weekends open or just give in and book them up! If we stay in town, we end up making plans here anyway! Summerfest already dropped their headliners, and we’re all busy comparing who we want to see and when they are playing. An 11 day music festival is always a marathon, but it’s only once a year!

If anyone is debating a visit to Milwaukee, Summer is when everything is going on. You could come during Summerfest, or they pretty much have some sort of festival happening every other weekend as well. We typically hit up Germanfest, especially as an excuse to wear our lederhosen and dirndl we bought while at Oktoberfest in Munich. Speaking of, this year our parents are heading to Munich. We’re hoping they’ll both fit in our costumes so they don’t have to buy them! But literally name the festival and they have it. They have Taco Fest, Festa Italiana, Mexican Fiesta, Summer Solstice. Basically any chance to be outside, Milwaukee is creating an opportunity.

We still definitely have to dress in layers, because the festival grounds are at the edge of Lake Michigan. As with most lakes, it runs cooler. You could be wearing shorts and a tank and then boom the sun sets, and you need jeans and a coat. If you’re watching a show, you might be a little warmer in the middle of the crowd. But still, we’re a little past the age where you dress for the weather you want instead of the weather you actually are experiencing.

The athleisure trend has helped everyone’s dressing in immeasurable ways. You might be thinking, how did we get on the topic of athleisure?! Well like this dress, the silhouette is a classic cut. Caitlin had been searching for pinafore dress all Winter, especially after our friend Sarah found the cutest option at a Milwaukee boutique. Unfortunately the tall options are limited, as they usually are.

We were perusing the cutest boutique (Harvest Home) in our hometown and came across this lovely number. It’s the comfiest fabric, while maintaining the cutest pinafore/overall cut. Thanks athleisure, is basically what I’m trying to say. You allow us to look good, but be comfy and we appreciate you. This dress would be so easy to walk around in at a festival or market, or traveling. It makes it ultra versatile.

PLUS, so easy to layer. Here, Caitlin brought out another familiar piece. Our favorite mainline t-shirt bodysuits. They help create the perfect slouchy tuck, without a huge amount of fabric making you look bulkier. The Converse strike again, showing you that they work with literally anything and everything. Now I definitely need to prioritize a white pair, so Caitlin and I can match in yet another way.

That’s all for today. Let us know below if you have any favorite local festivals in your own hometown! Also, do you ever shop local boutiques? Our Mom also just found a jumpsuit that is long enough in a different boutique.

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New Orleans Trip Part 1

Super excited to share this trip itinerary with y’all. Nick and I wanted to do a 30th twin trip for our birthday last November, but we weren’t really sure what that meant when we initially discussed the idea. Last time we traveled together we backpacked in Europe after we graduated college. That was a great trip and will forever be a wonderful memory. I’m excited to say that this trip definitely topped that.

Tim (my husband) and I went to New Orleans the first time for a weekend over New Years a couple of years ago. We were supposed to go with another couple but the guy ended up breaking his foot and we couldn’t find anyone last second to join us. We made the most of it, but being that it was January, it rained a lot! That trip the highlight was definitely The World War II Museum. It’s a must to check out if you enjoy history, there is loads of information that can take you a full day to get through.

We spent a good amount of time culling a list from various sources. This was our first trip traveling together and we wanted to do it right. Whenever you travel with someone, it’s always wise to really spend some time figuring out expectations and goals for the trip. That way, you prioritize effectively and everyone in theory will be satisfied!

The search for an Airbnb was a little delayed, I’d advise to book that as soon as possible. We ended up with a smaller pool of choices, but ended up being really happy where we stayed. It was booked through Airbnb but was a hotel. Not sure if they’re able to use Airbnb because they’re a timeshare hotel, but the location was fantastic. We were close to the river, but just East of the French Quarter and west of Frenchman street. While we were in the city, we were able to walk anywhere we wanted to go. Otherwise there were trolley lines nearby as well.

Our flights landed around 10ish. By the time we grabbed our rental car and checked into the hotel, we were ready to eat! We purposely waited on dinner because we wanted to eat as much delicious food as possible to maximize our time there. We headed down the road and started with Port of Call. If you’re looking for a hearty amazing burger and an incredible baked potato, look no further. Pair it with a Monsoon, and you’ll be on your butt after one drink. Be forewarned, there was still a wait at 11 at night, so we ended up snagging seats at the bar instead! We knew the next day would be full, so we headed back and got some sleep.

Saturday morning, we got up and moving pretty leisurely. First stop was at Cafe du Monde, to grab some coffee and of course, the beignets. We had booked a walking tour of the French Quarter with Free Tours by Foot. I absolutely recommend them for any area you’re mildly interested in. Their concept is pay what you feel the tour was worth. Our tour guide, Andrew, was definitely worth the time and money. He gave us a ton of interesting information during the tour and kept it entertaining as we wandered around. We used the live music guide and other recommendations he gave us throughout the rest of the trip to make it amazing.

After our tour we had to grab a muffuletta for lunch. I missed out on them the first time I visited and I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. Central Grocery & Deli was right on way back to the hotel and happened to be the home of first muffuletta. We waited out the line, and it was definitely worth it. The mixture of olives, and meats and cheese is unlike any sandwich I’ve tried before.

From there we wanted to hit up the Barataria Preserve. It’s a free entry Wildlife Preserve, and it was definitely worth the visit. We saw two alligators and a venomous snake (can’t remember the name of it). The boardwalk itself was gorgeous as well. On our way back into New Orleans we stopped at one of the many Daiquiri drive-thrus and grabbed one to bring back. That was a fun little extra, definitely a true New Orleans experience if you rented a car. We also stopped at Creole Creamery to have an ice cream mid-afternoon snack.  

For the night, we changed and headed to St. Roch’s which is a food court spot (unfortunately I didn’t grab a picture of my night looks). The goal was to grab charbroiled oysters, but unfortunately they were sold out by the time we got there. The fresh oysters were a decent stand-in. I wouldn’t really recommend them unless you love fresh oysters. To make up for it, we found ourselves another Po-boy just down the road at Hanks. In our experience, the best Po-boys were at completely unassuming spots (basically dirty looking convenience stores/gas stations). We took the shrimp po-boy and some beers to-go and sat on some steps to savor the sandwich to round out our day.

For my outfit, I always try to accomplish comfort and style. This often means choosing sneakers or slip-ons that you can easily walk in. I had gotten this pair of striped paper bag waist shorts on sale (plus they are tall for a great length inseam) at Gap. Being that Wisconsin doesn’t lend itself to shorts weather until May at best, I had been itching to wear them in New Orleans. They were super comfortable and are very flattering. The Van’s sneakers are my Mom’s that she let me borrow. After this trip, I’m going to pick up a pair of my own. You can’t go wrong with a neutral sneaker.

My jean jacket is the one I always travel with and I actually stole it from my husband once he outgrew it. It is a men’s from Old Navy, but they have a boyfriend fit tall sized option right now that I linked below. Otherwise we always encourage you to try out the men’s section and see if you like that fit better. There is nothing more comfortable than this oversize fit and then you can easily layer anything!

Stay tuned for the rest of our trip. If you have any questions or need clarification on any information I shared, please feel free to reach out and I’ll answer as best I can!

Outfit Details

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Let Height Arise, All The Way Up

In case you missed our first post on Let Height Arise you can read it here. We honestly can’t rave about this company or its owner, Shane, enough. So, I’ll continue to do so in this post. Jenilee and I are both all in on floral right now, because it just screams spring and cheer. Even though we aren’t quite experiencing spring yet, we are still dressing the part (on the days it’s not snowing).

Jenilee already said it once but I have to say it again- I think from the time we started this blog until now the thing that has become the most clear to both of us is that there is a huge difference between big box companies who carry talls and small business owners who are made by and for tall people. The fit is night and day different in the best way possible and an added bonus is that most of the owners are incredible.

This was the first company we have had a phone call with before deciding on if the collaboration was right and it was amazing to have the opportunity to chat and mutually learn more about each other and assure that our values align. With that being said we both want to take this opportunity to reassure you that we have never and will never post anything we don’t truly believe it. If we wouldn’t buy it/wear it/use it you are definitely not going to see it (unless it shows up as a fail).

We also will not slander any companies. If it’s that bad we won’t talk smack, but you won’t see it on the blog. If you ever have questions about new companies, please free free to ask. We are working really hard on expanding our horizons. We’re trying to connect to as many tall companies as possible, so we can help build resources for all of you!

That brings me to the outfit details on a new to us and you company that we could not recommend more. There were so many great items to choose from on Let Height Arise but inevitably we both went with dresses. I specifically loved this one, because it is the perfect versatile dress for any occasion. So far I have worn this to work, brunch, and church and have so many more events in mind. I love the yummy color combo of tans, blush, and subtle hints of olive green.

Let’s briefly talk fit, so you have a better idea of what you are signing up for. I tossed this dress on with ease and it fit me like a charm through the shoulders, arms, and length. It is a perfect modest length, EVEN if I bend over. I never had to worry on whether I was handing out peep shows the first few times I wore it. And just as the other dress we both wore from Let Height Arise, this one also fit Jenilee perfectly too. As expected with her extra height her shoulders are a bit broader and she wasn’t looking for more space in the shoulders with this one. I also think it hit both of us in the perfect spot on the calves.

I have obviously just worn this dress straight up on its own and loved it as is. However, with Wisconsin weather, you never know what you are going to get. So when in doubt layer, layer, layer. I have tried to mix this one up a little bit depending on what the occasion is. When I wear it to my perpetually freezing office; I toss on one of my favorite blush jacket/cardigans from Nordstrom rack and it matched perfectly. It changed the look just a little and kept me warm in the office.

When I wore it out to brunch, I wanted to go a little bit more trendy and less professional so I added my tan suede coat, and loved the look just as much. It gave it a slight bit of edge which I am typically all for. I ended up at Target in this outfit, and THREE women complimented me. That is totally not typical, so I knew it was true. We grabbed a close up of this print for you but really it doesn’t do this lovely print justice.

If you’re looking for work dresses, casual dresses, bridal shower, wedding guest, baby shower, etc. we really recommend checking out Let Height Arise. We especially love that we don’t know anyone else with these dresses because they aren’t from big box retailers!

We’re excited to be able to share a discount code for anyone interested in trying out Let Height Arise! Use code REALTALL20 for 20% off your order, and let us know what you grabbed in the comments below!

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Let Height Arise

That’s a name we can get excited about! Any time we come across a small business tall retailer, we just can’t wait to share them with you. We first connected with Let Height Arise on Instagram, and saw a bunch of amazing options we were interested in. You can imagine our elation, when Shane (the founder) reached out to us about collaborating! Say no more. We connected via a phone call, and chatted about her goals and dreams for Let Height Arise. There is nothing more exciting that finding someone with an amazing dream, especially one that speaks to your spirit.

Our dream, which we’re sure is true of most tall women; is to have well fitting clothing that we can feel good and be on trend in. Some retailers have made some moves towards helping that happen, but we still haven’t had as much luck as we have with tall only retailers. They understand how real the struggle is, and they aren’t trying to fit us into the “average” size mold with a couple of extra inches on the end.

It never works to just add inches, when everything else needs to be proportioned accordingly. A lot of tall women have broader shoulders, our length of our thighs are different, as well as our top of our shoulder to chest length measuring longer. Sounds like a recipe for disaster when you just throw a couple of inches on the end then, right?!

Let Height Arise doesn’t stand for that nonsense, and we are so appreciative of that. Shane is fighting for us to have well-fitting clothing. Any time we meet a tall small business owner, we’re so grateful that they’ve made their life’s work, improving our own quality of life. Most people don’t have to worry about being able to walk into a store and find something ready to wear.

I’m sure you’ve all experienced the inner monologue while browsing in-store. Well that might be long enough. There is no way that will fit. Maybe I’ll just try this one on and see how it goes. Flash forward to the dressing room, where you’re stuck halfway in/out an item of clothing, cursing everything and everyone. It’s too relatable for us!

Back to Let Height Arise to the rescue. Shane, being a tall woman herself, helps us all avoid this struggle. When she offered to send us some clothing to try and share, we were ecstatic. She’s got a great selection to start with, and she’s only growing from here. She founded her business back in 2016 and has been grinding away ever since. In researching her company, we loved finding out the name was based on a Christian song. God blessed us with this glorious height, and it’s up to us to give Him the glory and use it for His good.

As tall women we have to call upon different kinds of strength to work through various difficulties we face compared to the average woman. We need courage, self-acceptance, confidence, love (to be gracious to others even when they aren’t gracious to us), and boldness to stand up for ourselves and our truth. Shane sums this up so beautifully with the name of her company. We can all use a reminder of that!

So this dress definitely sums up how to feel like a million bucks as a tall woman. The wrap style is incredibly flattering. It covers enough to not feel overexposed. I could easily wear this to church layered with a jean jacket or a cardigan. I did throw one on to show an example!  It also will be the perfect dress to wear to a bridal or baby shower all Spring and Summer. It is lightweight and super comfortable. I love the high-low design and the length is perfectly covered in the front and great in the back as well. Plus the back has more visual interest with the keyhole design that still allows you to easily wear a strapless bra. The floral design is so beautiful, and all the colors make it so easy to pair a plethora of layering or shoe options with the dress.

We also wanted to show you this dress on Caitlin so you can compare the length and fit. She is 4 inches shorter and much bustier so originally she was worried she would never be able to make this one work for fear of it being too revealing for comfort. Much to both of our surprise, it is perfectly modest. It fits both of us with comfort and ease in the body and length!

Stay tune for the next beautiful piece we received from Let Height Arise. Also, go check them out on facebook and follow on Instagram. They have a ton of amazing pieces on sale right now. We can’t forget to add that you can get 20% off your order with code REALTALL20. Plus, Shane is the sweetest and happy to help answer any sizing questions.

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Olive The Paperbag Trend

Happy Monday everyone! We are heading into an extremely rainy week here. We are hoping for a true April showers bringing (early!!) May flowers type of year. With a few smatterings of snow, some rain, a thunderstorm and some sunshine all last week my brain is just confused. I went from a floral wrap skirt and open toes sandals on Monday, numb feet at volleyball on Tuesday to a sweater and long pants on Wednesday.

It’s hard when we see all other bloggers flaunting their warm Spring Wear, sandals, and sunshine while we are over here getting questioned on “is that snow on the ground still?” Needless to say we feel behind in the fashion world per usual, because we simply just can’t wear those items yet or we will freeze! Luckily for me, I am heading to Austin next weekend and it looks like I will get to soak in some solid sunshine. Let me tell you how excited I am to welcome some pigment back into this skin.

Since it has been so up and down, my work wear has kind of been all over the place. And to be honest I don’t care. My brain is ready for floral, skirts, and brightness so I just wear what I want. I actually read on another blog this week; something along the lines of “I don’t really have a set style.” I just wear what I like and want I want and that’s my style. This spoke to me on a deep level. I sometimes think of myself as a tomboy still. I am totally happy wearing sweats, camo, gym clothes, and going without a shower for more days than I’ll mention while camping or up north. But on the other hand I love throwing on a girl dress and doing my hair and makeup. That also make me feel like a million bucks. So all in all I just wear what I like. Lately that has been whatever I can wear within the boundaries of our weather.

I bought these paper bag waist pants much earlier in the season and have just been waiting to wear them. You better believe I grabbed them as quick as I could when the thermometer hit 65. This trend is one of my favorites, especially for the office. I get sick of wearing the same old work pants, and pencil skirts. When culottes and paper bag pants popped up they had my attention immediately. They flatter my body type, which you won’t catch me saying all too often.

I actually debated buying three different versions of these pants but as I work through my budget and self control, I decided to start with one. Don’t worry, I am going to link every single pair I love below. Maybe you don’t have the same budget boundaries and can enjoy them all for me! It’s probably completely shocking that I picked the ones with olive in them. I actually ordered a shirt from Express to go with them. It was much more cropped than expected and not work appropriate. It ended up staying in my closet for other outfits and ordered a different longer version elsewhere that is perfect.

I like to go simple and tight on the top with paper bag waists to let the pants do their thing and shine like they are meant to. This shirt was even a little looser than I would have liked which made it roll funny in some of the pictures but such is life. If you are in need of a solid tall or regular size crew neck tee these have you covered in a plethora of colors.

My mom got me these shoes when she was at the Nordstrom Rack in Arizona last month. Spoiler alert, I LOVE THEM. I am not a big heels person because I value my comfort too much. Recently thanks to these heels, I have realized I am just only cut out for a lower block heel. So when she came home with these, it couldn’t have been better. She knows me too well! I have a feeling they will be on the heavy rotation this summer since they match everything.

Last but not least my new purse! Y’all I have had this beauty in my (Jenilee’s) Amazon cart for months. I have probably sent it to her at least a dozen times. For some reason I just kept prioritizing other items. That and the reviews kept telling me it smelt bad – which I disagree with in case you were wondering. My mom called a week after my birthday and told me she had one more gift. I bet you can guess what it was! That’s how it goes in this family. Little birdies help convey messages and things pop up that we never even thought to put on our list.

I was pumped! I am sure you have seen this purse flood your Instagram feed because bloggers everywhere are carrying it. Typically I am not one to follow the leader, but I couldn’t help how drawn to this purse I was. Friendly reminder that we do have an Amazon shop live now that you can see here. It has some of our favorite shoes (up to size 13), purses, home goodies, books and much more.

And as always if you have questions, recommendations, requests we want to hear them!

Outfit Details

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