And we're off!!

Off like a herd of turtles, as my dad would say.  I've got a couple of posts planned as well some guest posts for you, so make sure to tune in while I'm gone.  I'll also be instagramming and tweeting if you want to follow along.

Next stop: Barcelona!

via

P.S. Today I'm being featured on Simple Easy Style.

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Weekend Wear

I wore this out over the weekend for a little shopping downtown.  Whenever I hit the Loop or Mag Mile on the weekends, I'm always surprised I don't make it there more often on a Saturday.  I think I feel like I'm downtown enough during the week for work, but I forget that I should go downtown just for fun every now and then.  Of course, I didn't actually manage to buy anything while I was out, and instead ordered things online on the bus ride home.  Umm, but it's the thought that counts, right?

Tank - F21 / Shorts and Sandals - Target / Bracelet - Baublebar / Watch - Michael Kors

 This is the outfit I was wearing the other day when the boyfriend said I did a good job with matching. Not like there are many things that wouldn't match a white blouse!




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St. Germain Cocktails

I posted on Monday that I picked up a bottle of St. Germain over the weekend.  If you haven't heard of it, St. Germain is an elderflower liqueur.  I'm not sure what an elderflower is, but I've realized it's in just about every cocktail I really like.  So despite the $40 (!) price tag, I decided this weekend to go for it.  You only use a little bit of it at a time, so hopefully my bottle will last a long time.  I wanted to share two of my favorite drink recipes that use St. Germain.

(photo)

Sparkling Grapefruit
1 part St. Germain
2 parts grapefruit juice
Top with a dry champagne

Gin & Juice
1 part gin
1/2 part St. Germain
2 parts white grape juice
Splash of club soda

Both can be served in a rocks glass.

Have you ever had St. Germain?  What's your favorite combo with it?


P.S. Nope, this post isn't sponsored, I just really like St. Germain ;)

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Date Night Pattern Mixing

I wore this for a casual date night with the boyfriend over the weekend to go get some chicken wings and beer.  I was never that into wings before I started dating the boyfriend, but now I love them.  We probably go out specifically for wings at least once a month.

  I'm not sure boys can handle pattern mixing so I may stay away from it for date nights from now on.  The boyfriend didn't say anything about this particular outfit, but the next day when I got dressed he told me he liked the way everything in my outfit matched ;)

Top - Chloe K (old, similar) / Shorts (similar) and Bag - F21 / Shoes - NY&Co (old) / Bracelet - Baublebar (similar)

Would you rock pattern mixing for a date night?


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This weekend...

This weekend I...

- Went on a bachelorette party for my cousin, which included a drag show in River North where it appeared everyone else was out for a bachelorette party too.
- Ordered a ridiculous amount of sushi for dinner, and didn't regret any of it.
- Actually did get a workout in, it was short but definitely still counts.
- Called all of the financial institutions in my life to let them know I'll be going abroad.  It turns out traveling is a lot of work!
- Went on a date with the boyfriend that involved a whole lot of chicken wings, basically our standard.
- Had a little slumber party with my sister, which included mac and cheese for breakfast.
- Finally bought some St. Germaine because I realized it's in every cocktail I like.
- Went to JCrew for perhaps the first time in my life after falling in love with this top (and maybe made a purchase ;)
- Watched a lot of '80s comedies with the boyfriend that I had somehow never seen before, like Trading Places and Fletch.
- Spent a good deal of laying on the couch, my favorite.

I hope you had a great weekend too!




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Super Freaking Adorableness

There is a distinct lack of babies in my life right now.  That sentence probably just made my sister squeal.  Luckily the boyfriend doesn't hop on here too often so he won't be freaking out.  What I mean is, it turns out all of the cousins I think of as "babies" are actually in elementary and middle school now, and my older cousins and siblings aren't quite ready for kids yet.  This is unfortunate, because if there were any babies in my life, they'd definitely be getting one of these as a "just because" present:

I mean, come on.  How freaking cute are these animal hoodies?!  I wish they came in adult sizes, because I would definitely wear one.  They're available here and here.  Oh, and sister, if you're reading this, I would like to point out once again that as the married one, it's totally your turn first.

I can't believe it's Friday again already.  The sister and I have a bachelorette party to attend on Saturday night, which means my glitter clutch has another excuse to come out.  Besides that, this weekend I plan on relaxing, relaxing, and more relaxing.  And maybe sneaking in a little gym time ;)  Hope you have a great weekend!!



P.S. Today I'm being featured on Simple Easy Style.

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Summertime Again

I've been excited for the weather to warm up a little more this week, you know, so it actually feels like summer.  It's giving me a chance to get a little more use out of my favorite summer dresses.

Dress - LC Lauren Conrad (similar) / Belt - F21 (old) / Sandals - Hive & Honey (similar and on sale) / Necklace - Stella & Dot / Bracelets - Michael Kors and Bip & Bop

Do you ever shop the Lauren Conrad line at Kohls?  I realized that most of my favorite dresses are LC.  That girl just speaks to me.  

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Making Progress

I've been feeling surprisingly motivated to work out recently.  It helps that my schedule has lightened up a little, and we have a "gym" (ahem, elliptical and set of weights) in our spare bedroom so I don't actually have to go anywhere or care about what I look like.  I think the real motivator though has been that I've lightened up on myself a little.  Before when I worked out, if I wasn't pushing myself to the absolute limit and dying at the end of every workout, I thought it didn't really count.  That methodology didn't exactly make me excited to go back to the gym.  And if I didn't see results right away I would get really discouraged.  Now, I've decided that as long as I'm putting in effort and making progress, that's what counts.

Do you have any advice for motivating yourself to a healthier lifestyle?

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Dressy-Casual

When I get dressed, I'm usually going for a good blend of dressed up but still casual, so that no matter where we end up I'm dressed appropriately.  This look seems like the perfect dressy-casual outfit.  Plus it includes a jeweled collar and cut-out back, so really, where can you go wrong?

Top - Chloe K / Shorts - Target (very old, similar) / Bag - H&M (very old) / Flats - Payless / Earrings - c/o Shopbevel / Bracelet - Fancy Frills 

I've been slowly adding a lot of this color blue to my closet, I think it's going to be one of my favorites for fall.


Linking up with Laura, Amy, and Amy.

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This weekend...

This weekend I...

- Had fun with my coworkers out on the lake on Friday afternoon.
- Made another batch of brookies, because we needed them.
- Almost convinced the boyfriend it was a good idea to take me to Madewell.  Almost.
- Got up early to go touch some sting rays at the aquarium - gross but really cool.
- Saw a group of moms doing exercises with their strollers, then determined that will totally be me when I have a kid.
- Tried to watch Casablanca in preparation for our big trip, but fell asleep halfway through.
- Had some inappropriately shaped spinach pies at the new greek tapas place in our neighborhood.
- Saw my mom and dad, the boyfriend's mom and dad and step-dad, and a couple of siblings.
- Heard a lot of airplanes flying overhead thanks to the Air & Water show, but weirdly never actually saw any of them.
- Accidentally ordered what turned out to be basically a plate of tortilla chips and cheese at brunch.
- Hit up the wine bar in our neighborhood and did some people watching/outfit judging.
- Walked around down by the lake, sadly something we don't do enough.

Hope you had a good one!

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Friday, on a boat again

Today is my office's annual summer boat trip.  The past two years this date has magically lined up with the practice day for the Air & Water Show, which means not only do I get to spend the day out on Lake Michigan instead of in the office and enjoy a few beverages, I also get to see a little show.  A secret of Chicago is that you should go to the Air & Water show on the practice day - they still go through the whole show, but there aren't insane crowds down at the lakefront.

I hope you have a great weekend!!

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Chambray & Stripes

A couple of weeks ago I had a couple of really great coupons for the Gap plus a rewards certificate and managed to scoop up this chambray top for basically nothing.  I had been wanting a darker wash chambray for fall so I was super excited.  Strangely (ironically?) I got these sandals for almost free from Piperlime last summer with another set of coupons & rewards.

Chambray - Gap / Skirt - Old Navy (similar) / Necklace - c/o Shopbevel / Bracelet - Fancy Frills / Bag - Kate Spade (similar) / Sandals - Hive & Honey (similar and on sale)

And check it out, this skirt allllmost makes it look like I have a booty.  You know, almost ;)

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The Brookie

Brookies, you have stolen my heart.  What's a brookie, you ask?  Really, it's just a brownie with a cookie in the middle, but I've now heard them described twice as greater than the sum of it's parts.  My coworker brought some of these into the office last week, and we took the whole tray down before noon.  I then had to make them for a barbecue we went to over the weekend.

Sorry for the terrible iPhone photo, I almost forgot to get a photo before they disappeared so this was the best I could do.  

To make these, you'll need one box of brownie mix (plus whatever ingredients the mix asks for) and a package of refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough (the recipe makes 24 brookies, so I used a package of 24ct break and bake cookies).  You could make everything from scratch, but you know, that takes a lot of time when you're suffering from a major chocolate craving.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease two muffin tins.

Prepare brownies as directed and pour mix into muffin tins.  Add one piece of cookie dough to the center of each.  

Bake for 20 minutes, until the brownies look set and the cookie dough has started to turn golden brown.  Let them sit 5-10 minutes in the tins, then loosen the edges with a knife and let cool completely on a cooling rack.  If you can wait that long.  The boyfriend and I both grabbed them as soon as they came out of the pan.  Which, let me tell you, was an excellent choice.

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My favorite things

Sometimes simple basics are all you need.  Here are a few of my favorite items, all paired together.

Tee - Target / Jeans - Gap / Necklace - Baublebar / Earrings - JCrew Factory / Sandals - Target

This week is one of my first slow ones in a while.  Without my class or a plethora of plans, it feels like I suddenly have all of the time in the world.  I think it's finally time for me to set up a little crafting/project space in our spare bedroom.  You know, cause it's only been six months since I moved.  I originally was looking for desks or tables, but then I found these gate leg tables (option one, option two) that I think will serve my needs but be able to fold up smaller for when we have guests.  One is technically a dining table, but shhhh, don't tell.  

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This weekend...

This weekend I...

- Went for a walk through some statues in the park.
- Had a mini reunion with some of my friends from high school I haven't seen in years.
- Went to the draft for the fantasy football league I joined (yes, you read that correctly) and successfully drafted several of the players my boyfriend wanted.
- Worked from home on Friday and managed not to get out of my pj's until 2pm.
- Went to two barbecues in two days.
- Met up with my sister and her hubby for some soft serve at our favorite hometown ice cream store.
- Mayyyyybe went the store to check out these boots and mayyyyybe made a purchase.
- Was served a five-egg omelette at brunch.  Seriously, five?
- Discovered that Titanic is on Netflix Instant and subsequently watched all of Titanic.




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Fall Wishlist

I knooooooooow it's only August, but all of the fall clothes coming into stores (and fall posts by other lovely bloggers) has gotten fall into my brain.  Don't worry, I'm still excited for the rest of summer, but I have been making (and checking things off of) my fall wishlist.

1. Jacket / 2. Quilted Top / 3. Coated Jeans / 4. Riding Boots

What's on your fall wishlist?


P.S. I'm being featured on Simple Easy Style today.

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Street Fest Wear

I found these pictures from a couple of weeks ago, when it was suuuuuper hot instead of the mild weather we've been having lately.  I actually wore this to go to Burgerfest - in retrospect, white may not have been the best choice, but I was going more for the roomy fit to leave loooots of room for burgers ;)

Top - NY&Co (really old) / Shorts - Club Monaco / Bracelet - Michael Kors / Sandals - Target

On a side note, yesterday I finished the summer class I've been taking.  Three cheers to no more night classes until October!




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