Kristina does the Internets: Hearts, But Make It Winter

Sweater (also comes in red!) - LOFT / Coat and Boots - J.Crew / Jeans - Madewell / Bag - Tory Burch / Sunglasses - Amazon

Yaaaaaaay, winter! Said no one in February ever.

I'm not here to complain about winter or anything, because it hasn't even been terrible this year. It's really just that I finally understand what parents have always talked about when they said winter was a tough time to be home with your kids. If we're home too much, Mia starts to get a little squirrelly. She wants to be out and about, no matter the weather!

Over the weekend we didn't have a ton of plans, so to get Mia out of the house we ended up taking a long walk to Half Acre Balmoral brewery for lunch. You might wonder why we're always taking our baby to breweries, but hear me out. When you are a new parent bars basically disappear from your life, but a brewery is a kid-friendly way to get the bar experience. You can enjoy a drink, but without the loud music or people who are overconsuming. While we were out last weekend, the whole brewery was full of parents and babies or young kids. There was even a set of parents with a brand new (I'm talking a month old, tops) baby introducing the baby to their friends! So cute. And every time we go it's like that. I once saw a mom toting a huge bin of legos into a brewery along with three little boys, clearly intending to stretch out the visit as long as possible.

We personally love Half Acre because the food is so good in addition to the beer, and they change the menu all the time. If you go, I personally recommend going on a Sunday for their brunch menu - their breakfast sandwiches are always so good!

Okay, are you ready to talk clothes now? I still get dressed like I always do, but between Mia, the weather, and the current number of hours of daylight I've been having a tough time actually taking pictures of my outfits for you. I'm so glad I managed to take pictures of this outfit though because I have some awesome pieces I want to talk to you about!

The Sweater

I usually am SO TIRED of sweaters by this time of the year, but this fall/winter I unintentionally ignored my sweater collection because I was so excited to have button-downs back in my life again (since I was pregnant last fall). Remind me again next year to wait on sweater season until January, since you know, it sticks around until May.

I also am loving sweater season because I have been in sweater-shopping mode, so I have a few new options in my closet and am not just rotating through the same three every week. This heart textured sweater is so fun. I love that it works for Valentine's Day, but it's so subtle that it will work for the rest of winter too. The slight puff shoulder is also giving me life. While the sweater can go sweet depending on what you wear it with, that detail in the shoulder makes it work for a slightly edgier outfit too. Is this edgy? Okay no but you know, it's a hint of edge and that's just about as far as I go.

The Boots

Did I want to wear snow boots with this? No, I would have much rather added a pair of mules! But you know, Chicago's icy sidewalks didn't quite allow for that shoe choice. That being said, I'm so happy to have these fur-lined hiking / snow boots in my life. They are slightly elevated over a typical snow boot, which makes me more excited to pull them out. I've been wearing these almost daily for walking Mia to daycare, and they are so freaking comfortable. Not to mention beautiful in person! Mia also tries to put them in her mouth every chance she gets, so I think she's pretty into them too.

The Hair

Not to toot my own horn here, but was I having a particularly good hair day when we shot these photos? I think it's because I finally got rid of my hair brush after FIFTEEN YEARS. Yes, you read that right. I'd had my hairbrush literally since high school. It was basically completely coated in products and falling apart. I finally decided to make the switch to this one (2 inch size), and my hair has been looking so good ever since! More volume, shinier, and less weird bending at the ends. If you've been holding onto something like my hairbrush just because it still works, you don't have to! Go get that new hairbrush (or you know, whatever YOUR hairbrush is) and don't look back. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.