An Outstanding and Obsucure Valentine's Weekend.

Happy Belated Valentine's Day, sweets!

My new obsession...silky, colorful, little jackets.  Perfect for spring and really anything. Dressed up and impressed this LBD quite nicely, dontcha think?

Dress, H&M; Jacket, F21; Tights, Hue; Shoes, Stewart Weitzman; Earrings, UrbanOutfitters; Clutch, Accessorize.

Obscure

- Saying my name over the phone.  Seriously, no one ever understands what I am saying.  They say, "Tara?," "Kayla?," and my favorite one that happened this Friday night, "Gaylor."  I am totally serious.  Maybe next time I think of ordering take-out or simply just calling to inquire about something, I'll be Katie or Sarah or Christie.  Those are easy, right?  Gaylor.  I can't get over how hysterical that is.  

- The millions of bags that i seem to carry in and out of my car every day.  My book bag, purse, gym bag, lunch bag, old grocery bag with junk in it.  Woah, I feel claustrophobic even thinking about it.

- The aggressiveness I accumulate on the road.  I promise I am not that way in everyday life, but if you try to do something stupid on the road we are on...you may get a mouthful (I won't cuss, don't worry...that is too much for me).  "Arg, use your blinker dumb dumb! Choose a lane why dontcha! Ughhhhh!"

...I'm afraid I am revealing myself too much to you today...

- So you're going out for a special occasion.  You get in your dress, you do up your hair, you spritz a little perfume, you smooth some lip gloss on.  The door bell rings and that special someone walks into your place.  You are still upstairs putting your finishing touches on.  You walk down the stairs.  The special someone says, "You look amazing," "you are beautiful," "wow." You are incredibly embarrassed and throw your coat on without acknowledging those lovely compliments.  "Please don't look at me," you think......OK people, is this just me?  Who else hates this part of the night?  Do you feel like it's your senior prom too?  OK, phew.

Outstanding

- Venti 5 shot Americano with cream.  My perfect morning wake-up.

- Valentine's day dresses.  Love my LBD.

- This clutch that I totally won on Twitter.  Check out who gifted me with this lovely bag.

- The 40 to 50 degree weather we are going to experience this week.  I am giddy with thinking I can wear just a blazer and scarf and tights with open toed platforms.  Amaze!

-Christopher Wilocki photography.  He and I did a shoot this weekend and it was of course amazing!  Check him out!

Lacy Day

Happy Sunday, everyone!  I used to work every Sunday evening and since that nonsense has stopped, Sunday has become my favorite day of the week.  Who cares that work and school and whatever else is included in your daily grind starts tomorrow...it is Sunday and it is altogether glorious!  Sleep, eat, relax, go to church, sing some songs, watch a show, shine your shoes, go to target, pet your puppy, make a list, bake a cake.  Do whatever your pretty little heart desires, but if you do have to work, I totally understand.  I feel for you toots.

dress, Forever21; blazer, Gap; tights, Urban Outfitters; boots, Minimarket

I love dresses.  I would wear them everyday if I could.  You should too...and if someone asks you, "why are you so dressed up" as I often get asked, just ignore it.  They obviously wouldn't understand.

A look into the future.

Like I said from the very beginning, I love fashion.  I love good style and the ways that people communicate by what they put on each morning.  It is so fun to see what people come up with and I myself have so much fun playing around in my closet.

I want to start doing some outfit posting...so original, right?  But seriously, I love people's outfit posts and I know I am not in the minority...so, why not, right?  Right?  What do you think?

As for now, I am limited with cameras and people to take them (or rather too embarrassed to ask my mama to take them, but I'll get there...maybe I will recruit my 10yro sister.  She would be hysterical and I could start her career as a fashion photographer.  Perf!).

So yes.  Here is a post!  What I am wearing today!

  

Jean button down, Anthropologie; Tank, L.A. Made; Pants, H&M; Boots, Minimarket

A not so sophisticated saturday, but I need something comfy cozy to clean up my junk.  And besides, I wandered over to The Daybook and saw a sweet little giveaway and thought my current outfit would look great if I swapped my fav black boots for a sweet new pair of rusty colored booties.  Don't you think they'd look cute?  So cute.

Okey dokes!  This has been way too long of an explanation.  Way better photos, way "funner" and cuter outfits and shorter prefaces to those outfits to come!  Let me know what you think of my idearrs.

 --->

There is something delicious...sompin' like Cupcakes

Cupcakes.  

Nope, I haven't stepped into a warm, sweet, little, trendy cupcake shop (obviously...don't you see the crazy scattering of sprinkles and disney princess baking cups?) but instead spent Friday's snowy afternoon baking some sweet Valentine's Day goods with an even sweeter four year old.  I mean, is there anything better to do to keep warm?  Fill a house with delicious scents, lick your frosting covered fingers and listen to silly songs that a creative little girl makes up for you?  I think not.  

 

Nom nom nom...
It's Saturday...let's bake!

Style spotlight

New York fashion week is here and all over my twitter there are people tweeting about the runways and the designers and the models and the intense excitement of NYC right now (I wanna be there!).  But there is one model who has a fashion sense after my own heart...Lily Aldridge.  She is adorably beautiful and I want her wardrobe.  And her gorgeous hair.  Maybe I should embrace my sun bleached ends too?  Love this girl's chic style and effortlessness.  

She too wears tons of black and gray with maybe a little purple thrown in.  My closet exactly.

The good, the bad and the adorable.

Woah.  It's been like forever.  Well, 4 days.

I have had one of those weeks where everything I do is 10 times more difficult than it has to be or normally is.  Like going to the gas station and having to change pumps twice because it is so darn cold the machines are frozen...3rd times a charm, I guess?  And like when you're driving to class and you hit a train and the line at Starbucks is to the door and then you get behind a bus (the kind that stops at every kid's house...how do you get that hook up anyway?  What happened to bus stops?) and then there is an "accident" on the highway so there is traffic because everyone is stopping to look at what really is just a flat tire and thus you are late to class.  Yup, those are 2 examples of the things I ran into this week.  Sheesh.  OK, I am done!  Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday!

Now here are some really good things from the week:

- That tomorrow is Friday (redundant, but seriously I am sooo thankful)

- A gym day with the boy who looks oh so good working out.  Hott.

- Clean sheets, pillow cases, blankets, and duvets.  I think I even slept through the night because of this laundry magic.

- That I discovered Burberry Children.  I want my future munchkins in these clothes.  They won't be because a solo sippy cup was $60 dollars, but a girl can dream!

Can I have him? Please?

Girl's night out

One of my best friends and I had a total girl's night this weekend.  We enjoyed manicures and pedicures as we sipped on delicious white wine and read fashion magazines.  Although the best part was probably dinner at this amazing Argentine place.  It was called Folkore in Wicker Park (you must check it out if you live in Chicago...it was beautifully designed and had our mouths watering with the best mojitos we had ever tasted).  After the girly start to the evening, we "manned up" by ordering a huge slab of meat.  It was seriously massive.  Even the waiter brought it out saying, "usually this is big, but this is especially huge."  Those chefs in the back had no idea two young ladies were about to dive into it.  I'd like to tell you we polished it off, but we didn't.  We weren't even close.  Kelly took it home for her and her roommates to enjoy for the next week.  

The meat.  We are such ladies, aren't we?

Survival Kit--February edition

It's February and I am sooo over this winter thing.  In fact I am almost positive the majority of us are done with the cold and squirming for sunshine on our skin.  But since it is only the beginning of February, I decided I needed some things that could get me through this month and probably the next (spring always comes later than it should.  Humph).  I think these things will give us all a little bit more warmth, hope, style, and endurance as we make our way through this icky month!

(click on the pics to get the goods!)

                                    Kiehls coconut lip balm.
                  Smooth, smelly, and oh so glossy.

The bag I am taking on my
      next trip         Something purple that wraps
                                                                      
Quirky and cute suit


Something long. I love maxi dresses for all seasons.    

                                              Bronzer.  We all need a nice glow.
                                          

Stay warm!  44 more days till SPRING!

Snow, thunder, lightning

So I live in Chicago.  And I assume if you listen to any sort of news you have heard that a blizzard has swept through our area, and in fact most of the midwest.  Well it came.  It definitely came.  Tuesday afternoon the sky opened up and people started going crazy.  Gas prices spiked, bread was wiped off the shelves and everyone left work early to make it home in time before the snow made it halfway up their door.  I strategically was stranded with some of my favorite people.  It was lovely.  Even when the power went out and thunder pounded and lightning struck (what??? it's February, not July!  But it was eerie and amazing).  We rested, played games, ate food, shoveled like a million pounds of snow, cozied up, I studied for a test, concocted some weird yummy hot chocolate and baked cookies, and so much more.  It was so fun that I am ready for another one to hit...bring it on!

(Bottom right photo is of the driveway.  There are like 4 cars under there.  Gah.  There is so much snow.  Frozen Tundra)

 These few pictures I have do not do the mounds of snow that surround us justice.  This stuff is high and wide and here to stay...this snow is not going anywhere.