I'm Not a Stylist.....

.....but I watch them on TV. This year I was inspired by this post to step up our family picture game! Our photo last year (and first family portrait) had us all wearing jeans and tops that coordinated (not to be confused with matchy matched) and it turned out to be a great, but typical, family photo.

I have been drawing inspiration from the "crew cuts" palate lately and this look book . So, for the last few months I have been putting together layered looks full of "meadowy" tones. So why the stylist reference? That is due to the relentless teasing I have gotten from my husband regarding the outfits hanging assembled (as below) in the garage on a clothing rack. I picked up a few pointers from The Hills and the Rachel Zoe Project and in a house full of boys that likes to swallow things, I needed to everything (down to the socks) kept together. Here is a sneak peek:

for me: Gap Ruffle Tiered Dress, ATL linen jacket, Mootsies Shoes and earrings I found in my jewelry box
For Daddy, a half zip pullover and pants from Costco, J Crew Tie, button up shirt from his closet

For Jonas (13) we have Old Navy straight leg Cords, gray longsleeve tee and Twill Button Pocket Shirt, Vest from The Gap and Converse shoes

For "Cool Guy" Chase (6) we have a seersucker sports coat from Crew Cuts, and a long sleeve polo and straight leg cords from Old Navy

And for our mini Cooper (2) we have a button up and gray jeans from Target with this adorable ribbed pullover sweater from Gymboree

And for those of you doing the math saying how does this add up to four kids, our other little 2 year-old is our foster son and has been with us for over a year. We love him very much but for his privacy, he isn't allowed to be pictured in any public shots or group pictures that will be used for cards, etc. until he is adopted. But trust me, he is adorable and handsome as can be!