hunter boots for thicker calves

When I still was receiving a tax refund, I used to use a portion of it to by myself something nice that didn't normally fit into my budget. Three years ago, I decided I wanted a pair of Hunter boots. I had seen so many cute pictures of them on other bloggers, and they actually made sense living in the rainy and snowy climate. I went down to the local boot store to pick out my pair, and was so disappointed when they barely fit on my legs. Instead of looking sleek and cute, they were all bunched up and uncomfortable looking. 

I didn't really love the look of the Huntress, their rainboots made for large calves just because I have calves that are slightly larger than average, but I don't really need wide calf boots either. Luckily for me, the sales associate told me that Hunter makes a style that isn't sold as widely that looks like their normal boots, but has an adjustable back. I was, of course, thrilled. 

Since then, I have worn these boots more than just about any other pair of shoes I own. If you too love the look of Hunters but maybe don't have the thinnest of calves, I highly suggest checking out the adjustable pairs. The only drawback is that they come in just a few colors - I would love to own a shiny red pair, but they just don't make them. How do we go about lobbying for more colors? ;)

Blouse: J.Crew [exact]

Sweater: Aritizia

Vest: J.Crew Factory [exact]

Jeans: Gap [very similar]

Boots: Hunter [exact]

On a different, slightly more angry note, I have to be honest and say I am SO disappointed in the sweater I bought from Aritizia. I followed the washing instructions exactly, and it still shrunk and has starting pilling terribly. I'm like actually pretty upset by this - $100 is a huge amount of money to pay for something that falls apart after wearing it one time. I tried wearing it on the day I took these pictures in hopes that it would stretch out again, and as you can see...it didn't. I've tried all the tricks to make it go back to what it was before, but it hasn't work. Expensive lesson learned. 

wearing rain boots to work

I really love my Hunter rain boots - I wear them at some point almost every single day between the months of September through May. Several people have asked me to talk about more how I wear them with professional attire and my answer is...

I don't....really.

Rain boots are meant to kept your feet dry when it is wet outside, so once you get inside, there's no real reason for them (plus my feet and legs get a bit sweaty after wearing them for more than an hour anyway). But I still want to wear my rain boots on rainy days, so I always wear a skirt or dress on those days. I think it's much cuter that way, instead of awkwardly tucking dress pants into boots. Then you just change into flats when you get to work. So...not the world's most innovative tip, but that's how I do it :)

My other tip if you don't want to bring a pair of shoes to change into, and if you have a slightly more casual work environment, is to buy waterproof boots like this classic style of boot. I wear ponte black pants and boots on slightly rainy days, or when it's snowing. No silly tucked in dress pants, but my feet are dry and I don't even have to change.

Skirt: Banana Republic [similar]

Tee: Everlane [exact]

Cardigan: thrifted [similar]

Scarf: Target [exact - back in stock!]

Shoes: Banana Republic [exact]

Rain Boots: Hunter [exact]

Watch: Michael Kors [save a ton | exact]

Bracelet: C. Wonder [exact]

via instagram

And while I really love my Hunter rain boots, there are some really great cheaper options out there. Below are 6 that are under $75. I would go with the first one if I were you - how cute are they?!

one | two | three

four | five | six

boom!

boom - snow! While our neighbors to the north are being bombarded with seven feet of snow, we've luckily only received a little over a foot. Not a bad start to the first week of snow though :/

So now it's officially boot and tights weather. After I finally made it to Target earlier this week, I picked up these fleece lined leggings. I wear socks with tights anyway (when I wear boots), so I figured it made more sense to get the footless kind because the toe is usually the first to rip on other tights. They are just as comfy as you guys all said! I may just wear them around the house all winter long.

Dress: Old Navy [similar]

Blazer: J.Crew [exact on sale w/ code SHOPNOW]

Scarf: Target [exact]

Tights: Target [exact]

Boots: Vince Camuto [exact on sale]

Watch: Michael Kors [save | exact]

Earrings: eBay [similar]

Bag: Coach

In the spirit of Bri's Third Thursday link up (fall footwear), here are my go-to pairs of boots throughout the snowy fall and winter. I have wider calves (15.5 inches) which sometimes makes it difficult to find boots because I may not always need the wide calf sizing, but the normal calf doesn't fit right either. The following four pairs hit the sweet "in between" spot. The Hunter boots are especially great - their boots come in the original style, the huntress style for wider calves, and this in between style with an adjustable back. I love that they give me the look of the originals while still accommodating my calves. They also offer a few glossy colors as well!

 one: vince camuto

two: frye

three: hunter

four: c/o sorel

home for the holidays

I'm finally home! The semester wrapped up on Thursday, and I spent Friday getting some of my life in order (okay, mostly just cleaning and Christmas shopping), and then headed back to Wisconsin on Saturday. I have heaps of thoughts on going through and finishing my first semester of medical school, but that's for a future post!

For now, I'm just glad to be home, have someone else make my meals, celebrate Christmas with my family, and then fly down to Alabama for a few days on the beach. I'm already missing my friends back at school terribly but I'm trying to appreciate the short amount of time my family and I have together.

Speaking of holidays, when I was asked by Pantene to talk about holiday hair, I was unsure what exactly to show you guys. My hair is pretty lifeless on it's own, and I tend to just go with straight hair pinned half back most days. I've been using Pantene products for years and years, so I was excited to test drive a few more of their new products. Since I received a whole box full of Pantene products (including their Triple Action Volume Mousse, Extra Strong Shaping Hairspray, and their KeraGloss Repair Mist, which I'm really excited about), I decided that I'd show you how I make my straight hair have a little life twisted into it. It's super simple, takes only a few key products, and will hopefully save you time in the morning!

Today is all about just spending time playing in the snow with my puppies, but tomorrow I'll have a little post about what products I used and how you can win a box for yourself!

Vest: Gap [LOVE this plaid version]

Cardigan: J.Crew, thrifted

Scarf: H&M

Pants: Gap [exact]

Boots: Hunter [exact]

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

rainy day

 

Since it was still snowing in April, it only makes sense that it's still raining in May, right? So much for flowers. 

I am happy I get to wear my rain boots again! I'm so happy I found a pair that actually fit my calves instead of trying to squeeze into "normal" size. I'd be lying if I didn't get just a little bit excited to wear them. I'd also be lying if I said I haven't worn a variation of this outfit for the past three days. I just really wanted to wear my new tee [review here], and it's been chilly all weekend so the chambray and jeans just kind of made sense.

whatever, like you've never worn an outfit several days in a row.

Chambray: Old Navy [same style | fun inexpensive variation]

Tee: Everlane

Jeans: Urban Outfitters [exact]

Boots: Hunter [exact]

Watch: Fossil [similar]

Umbrella: J.Crew

via instagram.

linking up with wiww.

rain or shine

Chris has a habit of not wanting to spend money on certain items, but then stealing mine in situations where he wants one. Besides face wash and individually packed desserts, this mostly applies to umbrellas. I had this great black umbrella that I used for years...until he stole it this year for all of his away rotations leaving me without one. SO RUDE. In his defense, he does have a lot more walking in his commute than I do. It's been raining so much here lately though that I do need a new one. As I was looking through the J.Crew sale section last weekend, this bright (and girly!!) umbrella stood out to me. I would never spend almost $30 on a simple umbrella but with 30% off the sale price, it ended up costing me just under $10. I'm not one to just to buy something at J.Crew because of the name, but I figured the bright print would deter Chris from stealing it. 

Plus it does brighten up the gloominess :)

Trench: Banana Republic [current season]

Blouse: Calvin Klein Outlet [similar]

Jeans: Urban Outfitters [exact on super sale]

Scarf: Target

Watch: c/o Daniel Wellington [exact]

Boots: Hunter [exact]

linking up with Plane Pretty.

the audrey

Blazer: H&M

Pants: Urban Outfitters [on major sale!]

Scarf: gift from my mom

Watch: Fossil [very similar]

Flats: Tory Burch [exact]

Boots: Hunter [exact]

Trench: Banana Republic [current style]

Purse: Coach [current style]

This week: I'm so glad it's over. I would say that rainy dreary weather puts me in a worse mood than a snow storm does. My hair just gets all frizzy, my glasses get wet and foggy, and picture taking just can't happen (wah wah, how does a blog go on?!). 

But yesterday I stopped being such a baby, pinned back my hair, pulled on my new rain boots and my beloved trench coat, and ventured out down town to meet up with Audrey from Putting Me Together as she was in town for work. I was so excited! I even wore my Audrey scarf in celebration of our meeting. We went out for dinner and shared delicious plates of brisket and mac&cheese (YUM) and then walked around down town. Audrey, the born and bred Californian, was such a trooper in our wet and cold weather though! I had such a great time chatting about blogging (obviously), TV shows (we are both still hanging on to Grey's Anatomy), and then I got to meet some of her very peppy and friendly co-workers. Audrey is just as cool in real life as she is on her blog, so I'm already excited for her to come back in June...and then possibly visit her home turf later this summer!

Audrey Scarf in honor | Brickhouse BBQ for dinner

it was raining, don't judge | being touristy...as the Asians do

april showers?

 

This morning when I was getting ready for work, I looked outside and noticed that everything looked a bit wet and dreary, so I thought it would be the perfect time to wear my new rain boots. April showers, right? I haven't had a chance to wear them a lot other than to walk the dogs, so I was really excited. So excited in fact that I neglected to notice that only my driveway was wet (from the giant shoveled snow mass in the front yard), and everything else was bone dry. Once I stepped out of my car to take pictures, I felt a little ridiculous standing there in my rain boots. Plus I already felt so twee with the skirt, pattern mixing, and little bow in my hair that this is what I ended up doing:

So I changed into the flats I was going to wear at work. Maybe not as fun, but also not as silly as wearing rubber boots when there isn't any wetness on the ground.

Shirt: J.Crew [exact on sale]

Skirt: Thrifted

Scarf: Forever 21 [similar]

Tights: Target

Watch: Target (for $1!)

Boots: Hunter [exact]

Flats: Tory Burch [exact]

linking up with wiww.

hunters, chambray, and cowls

During my February budget post I mentioned that Sam and I were going to Chicago together and that I planned on purchasing a few items as a part of my tax return that I was allowing myself to spend. Well, some asshat stole her wallet the day before we were supposed to go, so our trip fell through. I was determined to get rain boots though, so I went to a local shoe store to figure out what size to order.

I realized that due to marching band calves (no for real, that's a thing), the traditional rain boots were not going to fit me properly - the tightness around the calf made them awkwardly squish down in the middle. I then debated between getting the Huntress which has a thicker shaft all the way down, and the originals with an adjustable back. I ended up deciding to get the adjustable ones as I think they create a nicer line (as much of a nice line as rain boots can make) as I have relatively slim ankles compared to my calves. 

I'm really happy that I finally have a nice pair of rain boots as the last 2 pairs from Target tore within weeks. I even took the pups on an extra long walk after work so we could splash in all of the puddles!




and don't worry, I didn't wear these all day at work ;)

In a chambray popover update, Ellie mentioned to me on this post that J.Crew Factory has a similar version to the J.Crew version for about half of the price. J.Crew Factory is currently running a 30% off sale (with code STYLESCORE ) so the shirt is around $35 now! I put in my order this morning - I'm hoping it's "the one". As soon as it comes I plan on doing a post about all the different versions out there.

Sweater: Gap  [similar]
Jeans: Urban Outfitters  [exact]
Boots: Hunter  [exact]
Belt: Old Navy
Watch: Kate Spade  [exact]
Glasses: c/o Firmoo
Earrings: Tiffany & Co.  [exact]

I highly recommend everyone to go out and buy a cowlneck/turtle neck sweater. You can spend all day like this and no one can question it.