,

One Mod Midi Dress

Isn’t this week supposed to go super fast because we got a day off (or some of us got two days off)? It’s not happening that way for me! I worked on Christmas Eve until two and then we headed to my in-laws for a night full of different Christmas festivities. After spending the night with Tim’s family, we headed back to spend Christmas day with my family.

We ate a ton, as we’ve come to expect of the holidays. Everyone did a little bit of puzzling, a pinch of napping, and some watching of inappropriate pseudo holiday movies. We’re looking at you Peppermint. Although Jennifer Garner did have some on point one-liners! Caitlin and our Dad checked out a new way of cooking the turkey, called Spatchcock. It turned out really nicely, and Tim made some delicious mac and cheese to accompany it.

We won’t bore you with our gifts, but a definite highlight for me was receiving this gorgeous black Patagonia duffel bag. I’ve been using my college basketball duffel, which served me well for many years. It’s been on its last legs, with several rips after stuffing it too full one too many times. Caitlin has had a Patagonia for a year or two now and has loved it! After my mom and dad got one as well, it became inevitable that I needed one as well!

Caitlin’s favorite gift is a gorgeous green pleated midi skirt. It’s been the year of green gifts for her because she also received a ribbed green dress that will be a super versatile player in her closet. Watch this space for those pieces to show up!

We gifted our Mom a new pair of Ugg boots, because hers have been worn out. She is so excited to have new pair! Caitlin also made sure to get her this protectant spray as well to keep them in new condition, especially with our harsher winters. Did y’all know that you can check out of Zappos via Amazon now? How seamless is that?! We were so excited not to have to make an additional login for another site. Also, both me and my mom wear size 13 and we can fit into the size 12 Uggs if anyone was curious about sizing.

As we get older and traditions keep shifting to keep up with new family members, I find myself more grateful to soak in what time I can with family. To truly be present with people, especially with the people you can be wholly yourself. Tim’s grandpa Doc shared his thoughts with us right before we left. He said how nice it was that everyone could share gifts with each other, but the best gift that was exchanged tonight was love. I couldn’t agree more! It is a gift we can choose to give each other or not, so easily. My prayer for you is that this Christmas you were able to get past some of the more trivial things and really focus on loving your family.

As for this dress, y’all know the goal is to be super selective about mainline finds. When we’re browsing Asos we get super frustrated about seeing dresses and pieces that we think are ALMOST perfect. Except they’ll add in some random detail that just ruins it for us. It’s usually some sort of slit or cutout, that makes it unwearable in our everyday lives.

I found this gem and realized that it was normal by Asos standards. Although it was in the mainline range, I still had to check it out! Someone on Instagram pointed out we both found 70’s inspired dresses recently, see Caitlin’s here. I couldn’t agree more, and I love it. Anything with a belt just dresses it up a little bit more.

You know we love us some army/khaki green. It’s definitely a neutral in our closets. The plan is to layer this dress as well for a different look. I paired it with some leopard loafers that are an easy chic addition to any outfit. The tights are now a constant companion for warmth in this Wisconsin winter. Y’all already know I’m rocking this teddy coat WHENEVER I get the opportunity. Oh and, no big deal but it’s on sale right now for you to snatch up at a low cost!

We hope y’all had great Christmas celebrations! We’d love to hear about your traditions old and new below!

Outfit Details

/0 Comments/by
,

An Atypical Sweater Dress

Eek, Christmas is almost here! I am still not quite ready for it, but have been living my best life in preparation and enjoyment of this season. Caitlin, Sarah (Caitlin’s roommate and BFF), Tim and I got to see a sneak peek of Mary Poppins Returns on Monday night. Y’all, it was so good! Emily Blunt is totally convincing as Mary Poppins. It captures the essence of the original without stepping on any toes of those die hard fans.

With that and having the day off yesterday, this week is really flying by. I got to spend the day making cookies and homemade Bailey’s with my mom. We also wrapped a few gifts and did some errands for a well rounded day. It will definitely help to enjoy Christmas festivities this weekend and not have a bunch of last minute things to tie up.

We are so excited for this weekend, because we’re visiting the Luxe Domes in downtown Milwaukee. It’s an rooftop “bubble” you reserve, and they serve you hot drinks and appetizers. We’re going with our parents and my in laws, and we’ve only heard positives about other’s experience! We’ll be doing a post on it, so watch this space for more.

It’s crazy how good the deals have been leading up to Christmas, all the retailers try to lure in the last minute shoppers. Once Christmas is past, we’ll be in full on preparation for our family vacation down to Mexico. So it feels funny, but we’ve already been browsing for swimming suits and taking advantage of the low prices! It also helps us practice mindful eating through the holidays.

Christmas and all the other holidays around this time of year bring out a lot of intense emotions in people. Reflections about the end of the year and where you’re at in life abound. Add in more family time and close quarters and it can make for some potentially bad situations. Be kind to your family and friends during this time of year.

The quote that always comes to mind is, “be kind, everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about.” This is especially true for everyone’s family, as we’re all typically living autonomous lives for most of the year. When Christmas rolls around and we’re in the same house for a long weekend, it’s easy to make assumptions or default react based on your familial past. Instead we could all stand to spend more time trying to understand one another. It could help avoid those tense moments of thinking your own family member is out to get you.

That’s enough of my feelings, but just had to share what was on my heart. Caitlin stopped into H&M last week on her way to a movie, just to peruse. It’s always nice to see stuff in person, and feel the fabric (especially for those of us that skim over the composition online). She was looking for a dress for an event but ended up finding this yummy dress instead.

It was definitely a scenario where I suddenly received three consecutive texts with a dressing room pic. Please help, urgently! This dress doesn’t need any help, aside from getting through the checkout and coming home to live with Caitlin!

With a lot of sweater dresses, they are cut to be more of a bodycon style. Like the sweater dress from Long Tall Sally I wore here. Obviously there isn’t anything wrong with those sweater dresses. But when you’re living in Wisconsin in the winter, and your workplace is an icebox, you’re in need of something more like this silhouette.

It’s totally classy, and roomy without looking like a tent. It has a mock neck, which is mainly the highest neck Caitlin likes to endure. The sleeves are also a perfect length for her at 5’11, and she has pretty long arms. She paired it with her new favorite booties from Long Tall Sally. She last wore them here.

We hope y’all have a completely wonderful Christmas weekend. We won’t be posting Monday or Tuesday, as most of you will probably be home and busy with family, as will we!

Merry Christmas to all of our readers, we appreciate you following along with our musings.

As usual, that beautiful Real Reel.

Outfit Details

/0 Comments/by
,

One Festive Sweater

Sing that title to the tune of the Twelve Days of Christmas… and now it’s stuck in your head! My apologies for starting your week off like that, but at least it’s Christmas time. Therefore it’s fitting, don’t you agree? We’re closing in fast on Christmas. Hopefully everyone has either made good progress on their shopping to-dos or is already finished!

I can’t say I’ve been able to finish up finding gifts yet. That’s the perk of having one last weekend to complete all the odds and ends with Christmas Eve falling on a Monday. My husband and I just went away this last weekend for our fourth wedding anniversary. It’s actually really nice that our anniversary is close to Christmas. The busiest time of the year usually rushes by, but we get to stop and celebrate. We get to take time and slow down for a moment or a weekend. It helps push pause on rushing around frantically in the name of the holidays.

Tim and I went up north to my parent’s lake home, and just enjoyed the peace and quiet. We also got to spend some time with my Grandma, who lives up there on the same lake. Wisconsin is known for their supper clubs, so we took her to a nice dinner one night. Dinner was lovely and slow paced. I’m truly grateful to be able take a step back and enjoy the season.

Once we got back in town, Caitlin and I spent yesterday afternoon making some homemade Baileys. Our mom has always gifted them out to friends and family. We loved it so much, we adopted doing it as well! It was a cozy afternoon with some festive holiday tunes playing in the background as we measured and poured.

We’d love to know if y’all have any special treats you make for the Christmas season for yourself, or that you like to gift. One of my favorites to receive is our Aunt Susan’s special toffee/caramel with mixed nuts. I’m probably butchering what it’s actually called, but I can never get enough of it! I was just asking Caitlin if she’s planning to make any cookies, and she wasn’t sure yet. Traditionally we haven’t made them ourselves since we moved away from home.

Our family used to make spritz cookies with the different shaped molds, as a night together. We’ve definitely all pared back, as we’re trying not to overindulge too much this season. There are always too many reasons to overindulge at work and parties, without baking more in your own house!

Speaking of overindulgence, after a weekend of eating more than I should, I made a big batch of a Thai Peanut Salad I found on Pinterest. It has quinoa, kale, bell peppers, carrots, and red cabbage in it, and we added some chicken for extra protein. Nothing like coming into the week feeling prepared!

As for this outfit, it’s an easy go-to especially around the holidays. It’s a fun festive color to wear throughout all of winter. Plus it is over-sized, if you accidentally indulge in too many treats during the season. I love that the neckline is wider for that slouchy look. Plus it plays off the over-sized look better as well.

I’ve had this pair of Old Navy denim for awhile now. I think a lighter wash is a necessary part of a rounded wardrobe. The light distressing is clutch as well. I last wore this pair in this post, for another look with different colors to wear with lighter washes. Old Navy has some great cheaper denim and most of the time they are long enough. You’ll be pretty safe choosing Skinny jeans.

I linked similar sweater options and jean options below. Also, the booties attached to the widget do come in size 13! As always, thank you for clicking the links for our widgets. They help us make a small amount back and encourage us that we’re on the right track. So let us know below, what are some of your food traditions for Christmas preparations?

Outfit Details

All Similar Linked

/0 Comments/by
,

That 70s Dress

I saw this dress a few times as I was doing my daily scroll through Asos. Every time I spotted it, I was captivated by the colors. There is something about the color combination and the front tie kept bring me back to it. Or I look at my saved items on Asos too often which is where this dress was then living. I, however, was not loving the price point of this main line find. I am typically willing to pay a little bit more for a tall item that I know will fit me right but for a main line find….eh.

As my browsing continued a few days later, they just happened to discount it. So I figured why not give it a try. The colors are even better in person in my opinion. Although you may want to note that your stripes and the ties in the front can vary vastly from the picture they show, depending on what cut of the fabric you get.

Per usual I tossed it on and snapped a pic to Jenilee to see if we were keeping it. I told her the sleeves weren’t quite long enough but I still really like the length, colors and I just felt like the tie on the front was flattering. She mentioned it could be a bracelet length dress. “A what,” I said? Essentially a sleeve length that is just long or short enough to showcase your arm candy. This is a new term to me but if it could be an excuse to make this dress work, then I am here for it.

I want to touch on the above statement a little bit more. Jenilee and I have spoke many times on how we are making an effort to shop more mindfully – not buying items that aren’t the right fit on our body, items we don’t feel comfortable in, items that aren’t of quality. And we really are doing our best but I think sometimes there are exceptions.

Yes, I did stretch this dress a little bit in the sleeve length area. I also know that this is a dress I can wear year round to work, church, casual events etc. I am explaining this partially to inspire all of you to do the same. We all should stop buying items that find their way to the back of the closet and stay there. And also to keep holding myself accountable to do the same.

My mom, Jenilee, and I have all made a conscious effort to stop shopping at TJ Maxx (for clothing). We have shopped there for years, and loved snapping up great deals. The quality has definitely taken a nosedive in my opinion. It also seems as though they took the fun out of shopping there. I used to love finding a diamond in the rough there, like a single pair of Express shorts that were $10 or something else similar from a brand I love. Now it appears that they primarily have brands make clothing for them and it’s just not for me. I will continue to snag their workout tanks and gear from my favorite sports teams but other than that, we are all done sacrificing the fit and quality.

Now that I have hopped off my soapbox back to this 70s striped dress. I will note that the dress is semi sheer which always makes me nervous especially in the workplace. I ended up wearing a nude tank and a slip just to make sure no one was seeing more than they wanted. I tossed on some of my favorite Sam Edelman booties and couldn’t have been more comfortable.

I am going to link a few other striped dresses that we are loving below. They are a great addition to any closet and will transition with you through so many seasons! If you have any other suggestions on places you find mainline wins or just dresses you have been loving drop them below!

P.S. This dress also comes in Curve- it is also linked below!

The RBF Real Reel…

/0 Comments/by
,

H&M Sweater Steals

We are well into sweater season over here! I know some of our southern friends are finally able to pull out their coats and sweaters without sweating in them a little bit. We’re over here adding another long sleeve underneath our sweaters to stay warm.  We posted our second volume of Men’s Fashion Monday here! It seems like some people are enjoying it, but as always we welcome your feedback.

Hopefully everyone is getting all of their Christmas shopping and activities done. With all the hustle and bustle though, we pray that you’re enjoying your holiday season instead of wishing it by quicker so you can have some peace and quiet.

I was struck by something a friend said the other night. He said, I hope you’re not creating credit card debt just to show off to your family. How scary is that. That we wouldn’t even be able to look at our families and be able to be honest about where we’re at in life and our budget; instead of maxing out our credit cards for that one feel good moment.

I mean, I think they’re making up shopping holiday’s now! This week it was Green Monday. Y’all, that did not exist in my mind until this year. But here all these stores are luring us in with their “deals.” The conditioning process has also begun to justify extra spending on oneself during the holiday season, because you earned it by spending time thinking about others.

I’m all for a little treat yourself, but at what expense! Talking about a budget isn’t “sexy,” but it’s a great reminder that most of us don’t need encouragement to spend more on ourselves. There are always exceptions to the rule, but probably not a lot of us browsing fashion and shopping blogs. We strive to help y’all find some budget friendly tall clothing, not blow all your cash just to look a certain way or fit in.

With all that being said, we did put together a couple of different gift guides. Only if you’re still on the hunt for Christmas gifts. We shared them here! If you’re in the Midwest like us, and love to support small businesses, we shared some of our favorites here.

We live in this fast fashion time, where you can pretty much replicate any expensive looking option, for a fraction of the cost. H&M is one of those spots. I’ve talked about it before in this post about tall friendly sweaters, but they’ve got some great options for tall women. I know lots of us are still praying they’re going to hook us up and actually offer some tall inclusive fashion. In the meantime, we can make do.

Not sure about y’all, but I am all about chunky knits. I actually bought it in mint green last year, and had to have the pinkish/nude version this year. Please note, some sacrifices must be made for fashion, and I have suuupper sensitive skin to wool and other itchy materials. This definitely is an itchy sweater. What I’ve got working in my favor, is my low body temperature in our frigid climate. So it’s no problem for me to throw a long sleeve (as referenced above) underneath and be all good and cozy.

Although it might be scary to see the word cropped accompanying the sweater, rest assured it works, I’ve paired this sweater with both mid rise and high rise jeans easily. I grabbed some of my older Rockstar grey denim from Old Navy, which feel like leggings! It was a comfortable and put together look for the day.

Caitlin and our Mom have the same sweater on, in different colors. It is the softest sweater ever, and feels like you’re wrapped in a blanket. Not to mention, the cost is conducive to grabbing a couple of colors if you need to stock up. As you can tell, Caitlin at 5’11 has plenty of sleeve length, and our Mom at 6’2 has ample as well. Nothing is worse than cold wrists or any exposed extremity in the winter. Luckily we don’t have to sacrifice fit for length with this look.

Caitlin is rocking one of her favorite pairs of jeans from Madewell, the distressing is minimal enough to avoid the question from older relatives “if you really bought those that way.” They’re also the perfect mid-wash color to be really versatile, and she gets a ton of looks out of them.

Lastly, I wanted to mention our boots. We have had really good luck with Franco Sarto boots in the last couple of years. Unfortunately, I think the main Chelsea boot style is on hiatus while the block heel and kitten heel have their moment. In the meantime, we hang on with our older pairs for dear life. Most may know this, but invest in some protectant spray if you live in a colder/snowier climate. It will prolong the life of your suede booties and any other sensitive fabrics.

Our Mom also buys a pair of beater shoes to drive in, especially in the winter. I really need to bite the bullet and do this, because it avoids the dreaded driving heel. That is when your right (or maybe left too, if you drive a stick shift) heel starts to wear down from pressing the gas/brake pedals and having salt traipsed into your car.

Enough of our winter tips, tell us below – do you have any tips or tricks of your own to prolong your clothing in the harsher conditions?

Outfit Details

/0 Comments/by