Bethesda Actually

The latest blizzard may have blown away, but as Bethesdans return to their usual routines, we will be left to fend for ourselves against snow drifts, murky puddles, and frosty February air.  But who says we have to endure the remains of winter in grump and frump? And with Spring just around the corner, Bethesda Actually has pulled together some stylish pieces that will keep you fashionably warm now and will still prove stylish through the seasonal transition ahead.

Boots

First and foremost is footwear. Bethesda roads are not for the faint-soled, and durable shoes will shield you from the salty roads and ever-expanding puddles.  Let’s start off with a classic: a high pair of Hunter Boots. Popular with fly-fishers and fashionistas alike, these rubber boots will keep you dry in style.

Hunter Boots- Original Gloss Tall Boot – $115

**They come in a variety of colors from traditional black to granite gray to plum purple, all to suit your personal taste and wardrobe color wheels.

We’ve also found a great pair of wellies (for a steal) at the local South Moon Under in Montgomery Mall.

South Moon Under – Dirty Laundry Bucket Rain Boot – $54

**Essie owns a pair and can say that they have kept her feet warm and dry through the slush and snow. These boots can be worn with a pair of distressed denim shorts or a floral dress in the rainy seasons ahead.

Pants

While donning rubber boots, it’s necessary to wear something close-fitting and warm underneath. Wider mouthed shoes should always be balanced with slimmer fit bottoms. Trouser leggings are ideal to tuck into boots, and local boutiques have a wide variety of options available. The two listed below are available at Luna (7232 Woodmont Av., (301)-656-1111) or online at Nordstom.com.

Dylan George Trouser leggings – $196

Citizen for Humanity Trouser leggings – $185

**These leggings’ versatility makes them a worthwhile investment. Wear them with pumps and a boyfriend blazer for a night down the red line, or pair em’ with flats and a nautical Tee for a Saturday stroll along the Crescent Trail.

Coats

Now, there’s no point covering up your beautiful boot/jean combo with an old, battered coat. A full length comforter coat will help you resist the cold while warding off the late-winter style doldrums. And, with post-holiday sales currently in full swing, there’s no reason to break your budget!

Nordstrom – Gallery A-Line Quilted Down Coat – $74 (on sale!)

The North Face – Triple C Down Jacket (via Backcountry.com) – $270 (on sale!)

Nails

Finally, we couldn’t help but notice that quite a few trend-setting Bethesdans have been sporting graphite nail-polish of late. After personally testing a few shades, we have found three polishes that add pizzazz to pale winter-weary skin.

OPI – You Don’t Know Jacques – $8

You Don’t Know Jacques is a rich, dark gray with deep purple undertones.

Sally Hansen – Commander in Chic – $4

Commander in Chic is a long-lasting, subdued grey-mauve.

Chanel – Particuliere – $23

Particuliere is a lighter grey with a tiny touch of lavender.

Now get out there and face the wind and slush in style – see you on the Row!

Ciao,

Essie

Essie Says is a weekly fashion column written by a local style savant.

It’s been an interesting couple of days!  After the disruption of snowmageddon last weekend and the brief resurgence on Tuesday – with more snow and added gusts of wind leaving a fresh covering over everything – we wanted to share this little selection of photos bringing up to date our cataloging of the February storms.

The tennis court in Battery Park still had the net up but only the tape could be seen.  A routine trip to take out the trash was turned into an epic effort since the dumpster was almost completely buried, as was our car and what is normally used as the foot path.

And here’s Sandra knee-deep in snow!

Wednesday, on the other hand, brought sunshine, increasing temperatures and clear skies.  The federal government is finally reopening again in the morning (as far as we know) and with any luck things are happily on their way toward normality again in time for the Valentine’s Day weekend.  But the sunshine could bring with it a new problem for both motorists and pedestrians – namely turning those impressive snow drifts into very, very deep puddles!

As we awaited the blizzard that is currently swirling around outside, we decided to take a stroll – or should I say trudge – around town and make the most of that small pocket of time known as the calm before the storm.  Here are some fun photos we picked up along the way:

Has anyone seen the awesome snow statue of Queen Victoria – literally the ice queen herself!  We have no idea who made this but whoever it was clearly put a lot of work into it with terrific results (could it be the local ex pat population perhaps?!).  Oh and we loved the Mardi Gras beads around her neck serving as pearls – definitely an interesting new take on good old Queen Vic!  Our photoshoot also snapped the grandmother of Europe from various angles:

The impressive sculpture’s profile stands out well against the tree in the background.

And here’s Raj trudging over for a closer look!

Even someone who fared as poorly as I did in science class at school can figure out that when all this snow finally melts, there’s going to be one heck of a lot of water washing around the streets of Bethesda!  The photo above shows the roads swimming after a brief encounter with the sun yesterday… So if this is the small melt, what can we expect from the big one?  Hopefully when the sun does come the snow will melt slowly because those snow mounds along the sides of the roads are going to make things interesting for drivers and pedestrians alike!

When we passed Posh Pooch we noticed this change of business notice in the window.  By the looks of it, the premises is set to become a new restaurant in old Bethesda.  More to come on this (in the meantime does anyone know what the story is?).

With the break in snow some restocking started and the trash removal guys were everywhere – clearly trying to get done what they could before round two. This guy had driven down from Baltimore to deliver his goods and was hoping to deliver them and then get out before conditions worsened again.

The Bethesda Circulator stops had been dug out but unsurprisingly service has yet to resume…

The streets were lined up with crews preparing for the next onslaught.  Let’s hope all this heavy machinary is currently proving effective!

The empty shelves say it all!  There was no shortage of people ducking into Safeway to get what they could between storms but those that made it in faced very bare shelves if they were looking for any fresh produce.  Vegetables, fruit, milk, yogurt, fish and so on were pretty much cleared out completely.

Plenty of shoppers lined up at check out despite the lack of produce on the shelves, while Roopa picks up some essentials!

Even the Lotto card scratch off machine was out of stock for a lot of its cards – hard to tell if it was a problem with restocking or if the third day of government shut downs from weather has made people believe that anything is possible.

The melt was pretty short and walking was treacherous.  Even the news of the snow was almost buried.  Snow still piled high on the side of the roads and ice definitely setting in.  From berries and shrubs to buildings the icicles were pretty amazing. Some of the colorful berries and leaves made a beautiful contrast to the snow.  And finally, just before the weather turned again we found an almost perfect snow angel. Someone’s still looking at the bright side!

Here are a couple of pictures taken this morning after yet another evening and night of snow.  The visibility is pretty low but the scene is reminiscent of the calm before the storm – in other words the blizzard that is raging outside right now!

We’ve been wading through the snow around town this weekend, checking out the inclement weather’s effects on local businesses, doing our best to pelt each other with snowballs, and chatting to local people about how they were making the most of the winter wonderland.  Here are a few pics of people in the local community going out in the snow.

Allie and Bob (above) had a great time out in the snow with Allie’s sled, and decided to take some snow home with them for safe keeping!

Anu and Raja were expecting a visit from their daughter but first they had to clear her a space to park!  Here they are with their driveway almost cleared – just the monster pile of snow at the entrance to go…

Alan Gelb conquers the driveway – good work Alan!

And finally, Rahul and Ujwala who’ve successfully managed to chase winter off their driveway with determination and some good old elbow grease.

Congrats on a job well done everyone, and thanks very much for letting the Bethesda Actually team grab a photo for this post.  I sense a nice hot cup of hot chocolate coming on!

Just wanted to say thanks to Charlie and Rosie for dropping us a line concerning this weekend’s snowball fight for kids of all ages on Bethesda Row!  Sorry this didn’t get posted in time (although hopefully those of you who wanted to participate saw Rosie’s comment!).  We’d just like to say we hope it was a fantastic event and we’ll definitely be there for the next one.  By the sounds of it, the next one could be on Tuesday if the snow forecast is anything to go by!  Great cause too, raising funds for Haiti.  There’s nothing quite like a good snowball fight to bring the community together!

Just sitting in my apartment looking out at the snow that started falling a short time ago.  It this stage it looks really light and pretty wet, and certainly isn’t settling.  Actually it’s hard to imagine this could be the prelude to what has been forecast, but I’m not holding my breath.

Thanks very much to Sandra for adding this link about great snowmageddon recipes to get us all through the weekend (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitalweathergang/2010/02/recipes_for_snowmageddon_food.html).  If anyone has any interesting stories or adventures whatsoever over that come about over the course of the next few days, please feel free to share!