Strobing Beauty Trend

Have you heard of the latest beauty craze, strobing? It's been popping up all over the place lately, so I finally looked to see what it actually was, and it turns out I've been doing it for years! Strobing is basically contouring, except you only use illuminators - no scary dark colors necessary, which makes it way easier! The technique is simple - you use an illuminating cream or powder (I love Stila's All Over Shimmer Liquid Luminizer - it blends really easily!) and put it where the sun would naturally hit your face - the center of your forehead, down the center of your nose, across the tops of your cheekbones, the center of your chin, and your cupid's bow (bonus - I also put it in the inside corners of my eyes and under my brows, and sometimes in place of eyeshadow when I'm in a hurry).

In the weeks leading up to my wedding people kept telling me I was glowing - well part of that was natural, and part of it was the strobing! It not only adds a subtle shimmer to your face, but also gives some of the sculpting benefits of contouring without all of the work. You can see it on my cheekbones in my extreme close-up below - it's subtle but really pretty:

I like to start with a base of tinted moisturizer (hellooooo Bare Minerals Tinted Gel!), and then I put the illuminator directly on top and blend with my fingers. I then top with setting powder to take down some of the shimmer and so that it lasts all day.

 

And voila! All done! It just takes a minute or so more to apply, and to me it is so worth it.

Have you tried strobing?

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July Budget

Every month I post about my clothing budget. My budget per month is $300, which to some may seem like a lot and to others a little, but feels just right for me. You can read my thoughts on my 2014 budget here. 

I get a lot of questions about my budgeted dollar amount per month - i.e., "doesn't it seem like a lot?"

It's always weird to talk about money, but I thought I'd share how I make it work. I don't talk about it here a lot, but I work basically all the time. When I'm not at my 9-5, let's just say that every day I'm hustlin (wow that was embarrassing to type and I'm not even drinking wine!). I make a tiny, tiny bit of money from this blog space, but I have another side hustle too - I do freelance graphic design and build websites in my free time, which is where my entire clothing budget comes from each month. #bosslady

That being said, another month done! I feel like I finally met my goal of buying fewer, higher quality items. Of course, I mentioned I actually picked this dress up in June but didn't count it last month because I thought it was going back, so really I only bought two things (erm, and like, 10 more that I returned). But still, progress! We're still in summer, but I had to pick up these rain boots for Fall when I saw them in the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. I love the look of my Hunters and Sorel snowboots, but I never actually want to wear them because they're so big and bulky. Even though it snowed so much last winter I still only pulled out the snow boots a couple of times. So here's hoping I actually wear these!

Sperry Rain Boots - originally $119.95, on sale $79.90
LOFT Scarf - originally $34.50, on sale $15
Ann Taylor Dress - originally $139, on sale $83.40

Total Spent: $178.30
Total Saved: $115.15

I really held it in this month after going a little crazy in June, and as more Fall clothes start arriving in stores I'm sure I'll have a hard time holding back next month. But for now, I'm feeling pretty good ;)

Did you budget in July? How did you do?

P.S. Today is the LAST DAY to complete my blog survey and enter to win a LOFT giftcard - enter here!

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Throwback… Tuesday?

Blouse (similar and no sleeves) and Necklace - JCrew Factory / Skirt (similar) - LOFT / Flats - Tory Burch / Bracelet - Michael Kors

I put this outfit on last week and thought, "Hmmm. This looks familiar."

Oh right. Because last time I wore this skirt on the blog, it was basically in the exact same way. After I wore the skirt once or twice way back in 2012, I decided to throw it in the wash (whyyyyyy? it's a skirt that barely touches my body!) and when I pulled it out the hem had come completely undone. Noooooooooo!! I'm fairly competent at sewing, but hemming something with pleats sounded scary, so I put it in a pile to take to get repaired.

Ummmm, and three years later, it's finally back! #procrastinator

Even though it's summer, I've been rocking a lot of long sleeves lately for work. First because my office is always cold, but second because when I take the train to work it's somehow even colder. I once got a cold in the middle of summer after getting totally soaked walking to the station and then having to sit in that ice box for an hour. Brrrrr. So, in conclusion, lots of long sleeves with skirts, because somehow that feels a lot more summer-y than short sleeves with pants. And long sleeves with shorts for the weekend because my neighborhood in Chicago never quite gets the summer memo (#coolerbythelake), and long sleeves and shorts make me feel cool.

If you haven't taken my reader survey and entered to win a $50 gift card to LOFT yet, you have until Friday - you can enter here.

Previously on KDTI: This skirt, a similar blouse, and lots of blurry mirror photos

 

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This weekend...

This weekend I…

…Started things early with a baseball game on Friday afternoon. The Cubs lost, but likely because my brother was there - he claims he's never seen a win!
…Grabbed drinks at Duke of Perth, which was my brother and sister-in-law's favorite hang when they lived in Chicago. It's a very chill hole in the wall where we've spotted a couple of celebrities hiding out over the years.
…Went out to dinner to celebrate my sister in law's birthday at Hutch. The food wasn't anything special, but all of the cocktails were really good! Mine oddly had balsamic in it, which was surprisingly really good.
…Drove out to the suburbs for my cousin's wedding. It was so fun to see all of my family again after they were in town last month for my wedding, of course in a lower pressure situation for me this time ;) I also can never say no to hitting the dance floor, Jeff and I make up with enthusiasm what we lack in actual skill. Things got so aggressive that during the last sony I somehow managed to poke Jeff in the eye and knock out his contact #skillz

I hope you had a good weekend! Don't forget to take my reader survey and enter to win a $50 gift card.

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3rd Blog-iversary Survey and a Giveaway!

Somehow with all of the excitement of the past month (ahem), I managed to blow right past my 3rd blogging anniversary! It has been a crazy three years, and I often can't actually believe I've kept it going this long. Thank you so much for reading my little corner of the internets, you have no idea how much your support means.

As a little bonus for you, now that my wedding is over I'm going to start posting 4x a week instead of 3. You can expect a weekend update on Monday, a style post on Tuesday, and other content on Thursdays and Fridays, including beauty, shopping, food, DIY, and wedding posts, or possibly an additional style post for funsies. This new schedule will be starting next week!

To celebrate my 3rd Blog-iversary, I finally put together a Facebook page for Kristina does the Internets! I had been resisting because I personally don't like to follow blogs that way, but I finally realized it's not about what I want, it's about what you want. And if you want to follow KDTI along on Facebook, now you can ;)

I also put together a little reader survey to find out what you like about KDTI and what I could be doing better to make this space more useful for me. I actually used to work for a survey company (what?) so I finally put some of my weird knowledge to good use ;) Please take the survey here - it'll just take 5 minutes of your time and you can enter to win a $50 giftcard to LOFT through the Rafflecopter widget below. The survey will be open through next Friday, so get clicking!

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See some of my current picks from LOFT below:

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Polka Dots in Firenze

Dress (similar) - LOFT / Bag (similar) and Heels (similar) - Sole Society / Necklace - BaubleBar / Bracelet - Michael Kors

I think these are the only other outfit photos we managed to take in Italy. Whenever I travel I have these grandiose plans to take photos all over the place, and then it turns out while I'm on vacation I don't really feel like working (yep, blogging is definitely work!).

These photos were taken on a sidestreet around the corner from our hotel in Florence before dinner one night (we stayed right by the Duomo). Word on the street was we had to try a Bistecca Fiorentina, or in English, a freaking gigantic steak. If we were going to eat eighteen pounds of cow we wanted to do it up right, and decided to try walking in to La Giostra after we couldn't get a reservation. We got there right when it opened, and I'm pretty sure we were the only walk-ins they had space for. After some freaking amazing pear ravioli, a steak the size of our heads, and a whole lot of wine, we walked out very happy campers.

When packing for Italy, I mostly stuck with flat sandals or sneakers, but wanted to toss in one pair of fancier shoes for dinners out. I chose to bring these block heels, and was so glad they were the pair I decided to go with. We saw lots of tourists with their stilettos wobbling around on the cobblestone roads, but I was good to go in these babies! Packing win.

Previously on KDTI - Polka Dots:

 

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This Weekend...

The AZ crew being totally normal

This weekend I...

...Got to go back to college (cue Avenue Q)! My senior year I went on an Alternative Spring Break trip to Arizona, and two of my friends from the trip got married down at U of I (the good ole University of Illinois) on Saturday. The wedding was actually in the Union and we all stayed in the Union hotel, which was fun and nostalgic and really weird - the building technically closes at midnight which means we were running through the empty building in the middle of the night. Jeff and I have been down to U of I a bunch of times together for sporting events but weirdly have never actually made it to campus together, so I took him on a long walk around the quad and probably bored him to tears talking about which buildings I had which classes in and which buildings are haunted, which have stairs that lead to nowhere, why there's a cornfield on campus, you know, the ush. We also met up with all of my friends in town and managed to hit up a bunch of our favorite spots during the weekend - Firehaus, Brothers, Murphy's, and Joe's. Oh, and of course we also had to climb the Alma Matter in the middle of the night ;) It was such a fun weekend, but one of those ones that you need another weekend after to recover from, I am SO exhausted. Brb, gonna go nap for daysssssss.

I hope you had a good one!

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Roasted Corn, Bacon, & Shrimp Salad

Right before our wedding, Jeff, who previously scoffed every time I suggested salad for dinner, went on a healthy streak and actually requested I make some salads. Specifically "heartier salads." One that includes shrimp, bacon, avocado, and corn definitely seemed to fit the bill!

I mean, bacon was the real seller. Men like anything with bacon in it. Well, really, me too. I also love a salad that has something warm on it, provides a nice contrast with the cold veggies. 

And oh my gee, each salad as a WHOLE EAR of pan roasted, caramelized corn on it. It's like summer on a plate. Jeff loved it so much he's requested it twice since, and I'm pretty sure I can convince post-wedding Jeff that it'll still make a pretty solid meal. 

The original recipe can be found here. The only changes we made were to add some cherry tomatoes we had hanging out in the fridge, and replaced the buttermilk dressing (which sounded not so healthy) with a sundried tomato recipe that complimented everything perfectly. 

Do you have a hard time getting your mens to eat salad? Any "hearty salad" recipes you think Jeff would like? Share please!

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White Eyelet

Dress - Ann Taylor / Bag (similar here and here) - Coach Factory / Bracelet and Sandals (similar) - Michael Kors / Earrings - JCrew Factory

This may be a twirl? Unsure. Totally normal.

So. This dress. It was supposed to be returned. I bought it last month and thought, "Nah," and put it in a bag to bring back to the store. And then, you know, the week of my wedding hit, and I didn't get an opportunity to take it back. And then I was packing for Italy, and the dress was just begging to go in my suitcase, so here we are. You win this time, shirt dress.

Seriously though, this felt like the perfect touristing outfit. I am not one for shorts and sneakers unless we're hiking or climbing 500 stairs to the top of a church or something. A light, breezy dress plus some super cushioned sandals (seriously, not sure I can ever wear a pair from Target again #spoiled) and I was good to go for a day wandering the streets of Rome.

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Previously on Kristina does the Internets - White Dresses:

 

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Life Lately

Happy Monday! Not that that really deserves an exclamation point, but I am excited to get back on track this week after being super jetlagged and then out sick. I hope you're ready for a little photo overload - I'm sharing some snaps from our wedding, the honeymoon, and what's been going on since.

First - the wedding! I tried not to share too many details ahead of time both to keep things a surprise for our guests and to avoid stalkers so I'm excited to share them now. The Lincoln Park Zoo is one of my favorite places in Chicago, so I was super excited to get married at Cafe Brauer at the zoo - basically a dream venue.

Pre-wedding - we got ready at The Renaissance on the river

With all of our parents

We got married under the structure my dad built for my brother's wedding

First dance!

Dancing with my daddy

And more first dance

The Monday following our wedding we headed to Italy! Since it was our honeymoon and we wanted to do some relaxing, we started the trip with five nights in Positano, and then split the rest of our time between Rome and Florence. It was perfect - we got to lay on a beach for a few days but still had plenty of time for sight-seeing (neither of us had been to Italy before).

We somehow wound up with THREE selfie sticks (best invention ever, especially for traveling!) so get ready for a lot of those ;)

Positano: 

Tank (similar) and Skirt - Ann Taylor / Sandals - Michael Kors / Bag - Coach Factory / Necklace - Amrita Singh / Bracelet - BaubleBar

Dress (similar) - Target / Sandals and Bracelet - Michael Kors / Bag - Coach Factory / Necklace - Amrita Singh

A kayak tour through Positano Sea Kayak

Rome: 

Florence:

A day trip to Tuscany

Getting what was voted 2x to be the best gelato in the world in San Gimignano

And, if you aren't too overloaded...

While we were gone my sister had a baby! Mae Ellen (or MIGHTY MAE) was born on July 2nd, and I was so excited to meet her when I got back. This is the first grandchild on either side of our family so she is going to be spoiled to death.

And then we also had a little bet to settle up. You may remember Jeff and I are in a couple's fantasy football league and the girls somehow pulled off a win for 2014. Sure, the football season may have ended in January, but half the group got engaged or married since then, and we all had a million other obligations so we just got around to the celebration/humiliation this weekend with a little MANi-pedi time. The guys were dragging their feed a little (their faces when we walked in the salon were priceless - not only were they in girl zone, but there were THREE bachelorette parties) but they all ended up loving (or at least tolerating) their little bit of pampering. Oh, and they had to pay for mani pedis for all of the girls too ;)

So that's it, we're all caught up! I'd say life is about to go back to normal, but we have back to back weddings the next three weekends, so not quite ;) I hope you had a good weekend! 

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