Mitch here!
Let’s be real with each other: you’re clueless on what to get your guy (or dad or brother or uncle or grandpa, etc.) for Christmas. Want to know how I know? Because I’m exactly like him and I have no idea what I want. Or, I should say I had no idea before I spent 12 hours putting together this gift guide. And now I’m like the magic eight ball for men’s gifts.
Artificial Sunflower Arrangements / Gingham Runner / Tall Pumpkin Spice Pillar Candle and Short / Unscented White Pillar Candles / Dining Bench / Hurricane Pillar Candle Holder / Lanterns / Mum Arrangement / Wine Glasses / Serving Bowls / Dinnerware Set / Three-Piece Chinoiserie Set / Gold Silverware
The holidays are always a wonderful but tricky time for us because our loved ones are so spread out. My family is on the East Coast (Pennsylvania, NYC and Long Island) and in New Orleans, and Mitch’s family is 2.5 hours south of Chicago and in Wisconsin.
Mitch here!
I’m on a bi-yearly Christmas cycle. Every other year, I go so hard with festivity I need more than 365 days to revamp and rev up for another holiday season. It’s a holly jolly conundrum, to say the least. Luckily for me, 2018 is an “on” year, and I’m about to go Christmas crazy. I’m thinking about Halloween as Pre-Christmas, Thanksgiving as Christmas 1.0, and real Christmas as Christmas 2.0.
Kelly’s Flannel (Here’s the regular version. Size down.) / Favorite Loafers (So soft and padded! No break-in time.) / Favorite Leggings / Mitch’s Flannel
Chef Mitch here!
I’m a soup guy. I guzzle the stuff. Soup elevates the worst of my days. Is it cold and rainy outside? Soup! Did you wake up with a tickle in your throat? Soup! Did someone kick your dog? Soup! Or maybe you’ve had a sinus infection for the past three months and nothing in this world seems to ease the pain. Except soup! It’s warm and steamy and just great in general.
L.L.Bean Vest, Flannel Shirt and Boots (SO comfy b/c of the tumbled leather. Here’s my winter pair.) / Ponte Seamed Leggings (My go-to pair!) / Emma’s Sweater, Cords, Boots and Barbour Jacket / Mitch’s Flannel Shirt and Similar Barbour Jacket (Here’s mine!)
Mitch here!
Kelly can’t drive. To be fair, she technically has a license… but for the safety of Chicago residents, she shouldn’t. While I love her to death, Kelly behind the wheel is like the T-Rex from Jurassic Park emerging from the brush. There’s mass destruction, everyone runs away, she can’t see anything, and she has very small arms. It’s not her fault, though. She moved to the city right after college, so the last time she drove on a regular basis was in 2006. (Fun fact: contrary to everything I just said, Kelly is excellent with manual cars. Back in New York, she learned how to drive stick in no more than five minutes, and drove our roommate’s manual car up and down the FDR on her way to the Bronx for several weeks while I had jury duty. Got her back in an automatic and was a disaster again. It doesn’t make sense.)
Brooklyn Fire Escape Print / Other Room Details
All artwork in post:
Solo frames: Chicago skyline in living room / Chicago skyline in Emma’s Room / Giraffe / Seal / Flamingo / Twinkle Twinkle / I’m “Frond” of You / Gallery wall: Three Dogs / Map of Chicago / Three Whales / Bicycle / Pineapple / London Phone Booth / Map of NYC
Mitch here!
Did you see yesterday’s home post? Now that Chicago’s temperatures are returning to form, Kelly and I have assumed our rightful position in the house, where we intend to complain about the weather until springtime. And as faithful Stuck-Insiders, we’ve also taken it upon ourselves to spruce up our place to make the next six months of “chill” a bit more bearable. Today, I’m talkin’ about artwork!
Kelly Velvet Dress (So warm!) / Kelly’s Pumps (Also love them in camel and navy, and in leopard.) / Kelly’s Bag (Similar here and here.) / Mitch’s Suit Similar Here / J.Crew Mercantile White Oxford (on Amazon!) / Cole Haan Penny Loafer
Mitch here!
Hello from New York City! Well, hello from a train in the middle of New Jersey, to be more exact. Kelly and I are taking on the East Coast in typical Larkin Blitzkrieg Fashion. Our lives are still entrenched in this area, and anytime we visit, we pack way too much in. In these three days, we hope to visit with Kelly’s family, galavant around the city (Kelly loves galavanting), pack at least 15 meals into two days, and, most importantly, attend a great friend’s wedding.
Mitch here!
As the Kelly in the City Resident Nerd, I’m typically tasked all tech-related questions. To be honest, I usually fail–or even make things worse–when I get down to problem solving, but I never go down without a fight. A few weeks ago, though, I figured out something techy that’s really cool! And while I think it’ll be helpful for bloggers, I also think it’s great for normal people, too. ;)
Mitch here!
Kelly doesn’t know I’m writing this post and it’s days like this when I could end up losing my password privileges. You see, we’re one of those weird couples who basically have the same birthday. Kelly’s is today and mine is Thursday, and while I’m not a scientist or anything, I’m pretty sure that makes her older than me. So today I hacked into her website to give my senior counterpart (who’s hundreds of thousands of seconds older than me) the day off to rest her tired bones. She deserves it. She’s the most amazing person I know. And she’s older than me.
Cole Haan Navy Car Coat / Vineyard Vines Oxford / Bass Loafers / J.Crew Cords/ Emma’s Crew Cuts Shirt (Newer), Similar Cords, and Denim Jacket
Mitch here!
A few “Fatherhood Fashion Rules” I’ve discovered:
