What I Wore: A Dose of Reality

Want to know what is real? What's real is I still haven't done laundry from my weekend getaway to Charleston. What's real was I was super psyched to receive my Gwynnie Bee box so I'd have clean clothing to put on this body and also have cute looks to wear to blogger events I had in the evening this week. What's real is this beret gets a lot of use when taking my kid to school after the gym because it hides sweaty hair. What's real is I decided to incorporate this beret because I used a new shampoo and conditioner and it left my hair limp and sad. And what's real is that I put this dress on in the car after the last shoot because I knew I wouldn't have time later this week to photograph this. I am still catching up from the birthday-palooza that is January and being gone for a few days on travel.

Dress: Junarose via Gwynnie Bee (0X) | Beret: Old, I think originally from Target (similar) | Earrings: Jenny Bird | Bag: ALLSAINTS | Boots: Ros Hommerson (similar) | Tights: Commando

I forgot I even had this beret until I cleaned out my closet a few weeks ago and found it deep in the depths of my closet under a bunch of shawls and pashminas. Berets are having a “thing” this season, and it's always nice when a trend already is in your closet! More polished than a beanie but just as warm, easy to find at any pricepoint, and does a nice job of being instant Botox by hiding a good portion of your forehead!

Sweater dresses have been my JAM this fall and winter. They're cozy, comfortable, and look chic. I accidentally ordered this sweater dress from Gwynnie Bee in a 0X and it's bigger than I like; I think if I went with the next size down (L) I would have preferred the effect and likely kept the dress for more than one wear. It's extremely soft, thick (no open weave showing off your bra like some sweater dresses – why do they make those anyway?), and didn't get baggy or weird with wear. While I styled it with black opaque tights and tall boots, this dress would also look great with brown, cognac, tan suede, ankle booties, and pumps.

Maryland Rail Commuter (MARC) runs between Union Station in DC and Camden Yard in Baltimore and makes a stop in Riverdale, Maryland making this community in Prince George's County convenient for working in either city. It's about 15 minutes to get to DC, and an hour-long train ride to Baltimore. This station exists thanks to the Calverts who lived at nearby Riversdale Mansion. One of the first connections the B&O Railroad wanted to make was between Baltimore and the thriving tobacco port of Bladensburg. Riversdale had acres of tobacco growing on their land so the Calverts pushed to have a stop so close to home and the station was built in 1835. While this line was originally created for shipping goods, it started transporting people almost immediately, making it one of the oldest US passenger services still in operation.