Stars & Stripes

Happy Monday everyone!  I'm skipping my usual weekend post this week because my weekend is still going - I'm currently up in northern Wisconsin with my family doing all kinds of outdoorsy stuff.  So instead, I thought I'd bring you a post inspired by the Fourth.

Americana style is always my favorite, so I'm always excited to celebrate America's birthday in a little red, white, and blue.  Some of my favorite patriotic picks are below:

Dress / Scarf / Sandals / Shorts / Tank / Necklace / Shoes / Bikini 

Are you planning a little party to celebrate the Fourth of July?  Be sure to check out some of my previous posts:

Easy 4th of July Photobooth (plus a few more pictures from the photobooth)

Fourth of July Party

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

Pink & Jeweled

Blouse - c/o Lovelywholesale.com / Skirt - Loft (old, similar) / Heels - Shoe Mint (old, similar) / Watch - Kate Spade

You guys know by now that I love a good jeweled collar, and this blouse is no exception.  I love the way they dress up an outfit, and they take away the need for a lot of jewelry.  This top is making me wish I had a pair of dressy black shorts or a cute circle skirt.  With this particular skirt it's feeling a little too put together.  With a pair of shorts and these heels, it could definitely be date night or going out wear, and with a circle skirt and some flat sandals it would be a super fun and girly look.  

I hope you're having a great Friday!

Linking up with Friday Fab Favorites. 

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

Another Travelin' Song

Maxi - Gap / Jacket - Kohl's (old) / Sandals - Target (old, similar) / Necklace - YuniKelley (old, similar)

I don't know about you, but when I travel, I need comfort.  Jeans are so not an option.  Which I guess is weird, since I can make it through a regular day of sitting in jeans.  My current go-to when I'm on the go is a maxi dress.  It's like wearing a giant blanket.  I wore this for my flight to Tennessee last week, except I added a scarf at the last second when I stepped outside to head to the airport and realized it was about 50 degrees outside.

This particular maxi is my new favorite.  When I went to the store to look at it, they only had size small (ahem, that is NOT my size) but I thought I'd give it a try anyway.  Turns out, the small fit perfectly!  I ended up ordering it online so I could get a tall because the regular was super super short.  So if you decide to buy this particular dress, you may want to go down a size or two.

Oh, and here's a little outtake for you.  Whenever Jeff is in charge of pictures, I can't help but get a little goofy.

What do you wear when you travel?  Are you a fan of the maxi?

Linking up with Summer Style.

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

Review: Extraordinaire by Colour Riche

Something that has never really made it's way onto KDTI before is beauty posts.  I somehow became a product junkie without really realizing it (I blame Birchbox) so I'm excited to start sharing the products I've tried with you.  First up is the new Extraordinaire by Colour Riche lip gloss from L'Oreal Paris.  I received a sample of the gloss in Coral Encore and was super excited to try it because the color is so fun and summery.

The gloss went on really well and is super pigmented.  It was a little sticky, but I have yet to find a gloss that isn't sticky so I can let that one slide.  I love the color (even though I'm not sure I would count this as "Coral"), and it lasted through drinking and eating, which is great for me because I'm not so great at reapplying.  Overall, I think this gloss is a win! 

I received a sample of this product as part of the StyleWatch Style Hunters program.

Linking up with Little Friday.

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

Kate Spade Sale

Sales on sales on sales!  Kate Spade's sale section is an extra 20% off with the code MORESALE.  Normally when I get sale alerts from Kate Spade I glance through, but am never that excited by anything.  Umm, not this time.  I basically want everything.  Here are some of my picks:

Flats / Bow Earrings / Clutch / Coin Purse / Pants / Pink Bag / Blue Bag / Pineapple Earrings /

Sandals / Wallet / Tee 

What's your top pick?

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

Flower Power

Dress - c/o Lovelywholesale.com / Belt - Old Navy (old) / Sandals - Nine West (old, similar here and here) / Necklace - unknown (gifted)

I pulled this dress out of the box, and Jeff said I was going to look like a total flower child.  I don't usually go for flow-y dresses like this that lack a lot of shape.  A dress without a defined waist falls straight down from my chest, which makes me look huge.  I decided to give this fun dress a try anyway because I loved the sleeves and the floral pattern, and went with the old standby of belting it.  For curvier girls, I've found that wider belts work better on dresses like this because they add more definition.  Dresses with structure tend to look better with skinnier belts since there is already a defined waistline built in, and a wider belt may change the shape of the dress.

Linking up with Spotlight Weekly Linkup, Stylish Tuesday, Style Sessions and Trend Spin Linkup.

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

This Weekend...

What volunteering for DI always looks like - lots of candy and sticky notes.

So I had an interesting weekend to say the least.  On the one hand, I was off in Knoxville, volunteering for Destination Imagination again.  I had an amazing time seeing old friends, making new ones, being creative, dancing the nights away, hashtagging everything, singing Disney songs at the top of our lungs over terrible DJ's, and accidentally crashing a wedding.  On the other hand, I got downsized & found out while I was away on my trip, which was, you know, a little bit of a downer.  On the downside, I have to start looking for a new job.  On the upside, it's going to free up some more time for blogging in the interim so I'm planning on publishing posts in the afternoons as well as the morning a couple of times a week.  If there's additional content you'd like to see, feel free to let me know!

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

Guest Posting at With Luck Blog

Hey everyone!  Today I'm guest posting over at With Luck Blog for Jenn while she's away on a service trip.  Hop on over to learn more about how I pack for a short trip.  I'm actually heading out of town for a long weekend this morning, and am really wishing I had picked up some of these pieces for the trip!

I won't be posting tomorrow while I'm away, so have a great weekend!  I'll be back on Monday.

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

What's In My Bag: Day to Night

So somehow I deleted this post, let's try again! 

I've never been one to be that curious of what's in other people's bags, but I know other people really are.  I was so impressed by how much my new convertible clutch from Ann Taylor could hold that I just had to share.  I wore this to work last Friday with the strap attached, and then removed the strap when I headed out from work for a little date night with Jeff.  I didn't want to abandon anything at the office over the weekend, which is my usual day to night strategy, and was amazed by everything that could fit into this little baby.  So what's in my bag?

•  The actual strap from the bag, because I knew I would want to switch it back into a shoulder bag on Saturday.
• Cherry chap-aid.  Basically my life source.  If I do not have chapstick with me, I sort of freak out.  #addict
• The insert from my much bigger wallet, just to hold my id, credit card, bus pass, and cash.
• iPhone (case is Kate Spade, no longer available)
• My watch, which I took off to aid in the day-to-night transition (also Kate Spade)
• Sunglasses (Target)
• Keys (keychain is also Kate Spade, do I have a problem?)
• Headphones, so I can listen to music on the bus and pretend I can't hear strangers when they talk to me
• Hand lotion, my other addiction (this is Sweet Pea from Bath & Body Works)
• iPad mini, which was what really sealed the deal on this bag for me (case is from The Joy Factory)
• And a super classy Father's Day card that I was carrying around so I wouldn't forget to bring it with me when I went out to see my dad on Sunday.  He seemed to enjoy it :)

Now that I know this baby can hold my iPad too, I plan on using it alllllllll summer long, so get ready to see a lot of it :)

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

Mint & Shorts

Sweater (really old), Tee, and Belt - Old Navy / Shorts - Gap / Sandals (old, similar) and Sunglasses - Target / Bag - Ann Taylor / Watch - Kate Spade

I wore this sweater over the weekend, and my mom could not believe that it's four years old.  "But it's mint! Mint is so now!"  Apparently pastels are forever.

Linking up with the Spotlight Weekly Linkup, Trend Spin Linkup and Stylish Tuesday.


Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

This Weekend...

This weekend I...

...Woke up early to help cook brunch for Father's Day.  Is brunch a Mother's Day thing?  Either way, I tried making quiche for the first time, and it turns out quiche is super easy to make.  I went for spinach, onion, and bacon - yum!
...Went to my Grandma's 89th birthday party, she was pretty excited about it :)
...Went to see my trainer bright and early on Saturday morning, and then realized it's a lot harder to go to the gym when all of the restaurants open up their outdoor seating for brunch.
...Got my first mosquito bite of the season.  And my first ice cream cone.  I guess some things even out.
...Went over to the (almost) father-in-law's for lunch, and enjoyed his amazing views of the lake (and our house hahaha).
...Went for a run with my sister and her dog around their neighborhood.  It turns out you stop a lot more when a dog is involved.
...Finally started watching the new season of Orange is the New Black, but only made it through one episode so far so no spoilers!
...Had a little date night with Jeff at Maude's Liquor Bar, the pork shoulder was unreal.

I hope you had a good one!

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

Casual Weekend

Tee - Old Navy / Jeans - Gap / Shoes - Reebok / Necklace - Stella & Dot / Watch - Kate Spade

Since I started sharing my outfits online (almost two years ago, wow!) I've felt a lot more pressure getting dressed.  Like I have to be put together all the time, but also try not to repeat outfits or wear pieces I just showed on the blog.  Last weekend, I decided not to care.  I was just going out to run some errands, so I fell back on the old standby of a comfy tee, boyfriend jeans, and sneakers.  With a few of my favorite accessories (this necklace and watch are now being worn on the daily), I actually still managed to feel put together. I think I selected the perfect day to dress down, because as it turns out, boyfriend jeans are the perfect choice for pounding down cupcakes like it's your job.  

I hope you have a great weekend!

Linking up with Monday Bloom.

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

Ted Baker Sale

Ted Baker is currently having a 50% off sale with some really pretty pastel items up for grabs.  I love that everything on their site can easily be dressed up or down.  I can see any of these pieces working in the chilly weather we've been having in Chicago, as well as paired with shorts and tanks in the normal heat being experienced by the rest of the country.

Sweater / Bag / Dress / Jacket / Jeans / Sandals

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

Current Wishlist

So I'm having a little problem with my budget this month, as in, I've already spent it.  Well, not all of it, but pretty close.  I feel like I'm doing the same amount of shopping/buying as I did in May, except this time I haven't been returning any of it.  What can I say, every purchase just knocks it out of the park.  Soooooo, what that really means is, I have a lot of things on my wish list right now that I guess I should be good and (maybe) not buy them.

Maxi / Tee / Heels / Necklace / Sweater / Wedges / Blouse

Maybe, someday, we can be together.

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

Eyelet & Dots

Top - JCrew / Shorts - The Limited (on sale!) / Sandals - Shoe Mint (old) / Watch - Kate Spade / Necklace - Stella & Dot

We've hit a weird weather phase in Chicago where every day the weather man says it will be eighty degrees, except for by the lake, where it'll be sixty.  The lake effect is REAL.  Apparently the Great Lakes are still partially frozen/colder than usual because of the polar vortices (yes, that is the plural for vortex, I looked it up), which means instead of slightly cooler by the lake, it's been really really really cooler by the lake.  I put this on for a dinner date with a friend after hearing an optimistic weather report, but sadly had to head back inside and add some pants to the mix.  Someday it'll be your day, adorable polka dotted shorts, I promise!

Linking up with Trend Spin Linkup, Stylish Tuesday and Little Friday.

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!