Lusting for :: Marc by Marc Jacobs



I'm so into both the dress and the swimsuit from Marc by Marc Jacobs!  You may have seen this dress floating around the blogosphere but I just can't stop staring at it and needed to repost.  After flipping through the new issue of Lucky and seeing it again, I just fell so hard for its gorgeous color, stripes and summer feel.  And the swimsuit?  So adorable.  I need these in my life, do you need them too?

* Images 12

Weekend Recap


Sorry for the light posting/lack of visits to your lovely blogs, etc.  I've actually been out doing stuff recently - shocking, I know!  I had another nice weekend that was pretty busy which really helped with my serious cabin fever.  Some highlights include ::

  • Friday afternoon/evening drinks with my former coworker + friend, Bean, who is a Denverite these days.
  • Friday night Euchre, part II 
  • Saturday morning brunch with a Groupon that covered all but the tax (score!)
  • El Circo Cheapo (above image) with Inna + Jimbo.  What a good time!  If you get the chance to see it, by all means do!  It's "the poor man's Cirque du Soleil" and to reserve your seat, it's only $10.  We loved every single second of it.  It's not every day you get to see knife juggling, tight-rope walkers in high heels and other amazing acts all in one setting!  
  • Karaoke for Jacob's birthday.  While I didn't get to sing my song, it was still fun to listen to others all night long.  Jake - you kill it every time.  Thanks for humoring me with Sympathy for the Devil even though you didn't seem into doing it.  
  • Lazy Sunday funday which included having a pretty decent Superbowl spread to enjoy with our soon-to-be-parents friends.  
How were all of your weekends?  I hope they were great!

Yellowbirds :: The Color



Today I really want to share with you some new music that I think you will love.  Yellowbirds is a Brooklyn-based psychedelic-folk-rock n' roll band - the solo project of my friend, the very talented Sam Cohen (Apollo Sunshine).

The debut album, The color, is set to release on February 15.  If you're in the New York area, check out the record release show on Saturday, February 12 at NYC's Cake Shop.  I wish I was able to be there!

Upon first listen, I was completely in love, which doesn't happen very often these days.  It usually takes me at least a few listens to really get into something, but with Yellowbirds I was hooked immediately.

Mr. Cohen himself (with the help of his very lovely wife, my good friend Sarah Graves) even screen printed 500 limited edition copies of The Color, available at shows but complimentary with a vinyl pre-order.



So take a listen to the tracks, feel free to download from the Yellowbirds site and/or preorder a vinyl copy today!  Happy listening!

Currently loving...


This fresh Ginger Smoothie I just made via Whole Living.  The ginger is subtle but adds a nice, unexpected taste.


This ModCloth Unexpected Twist Dress that has the best pattern.  Refinery 29 shows you how to wear it now (they forgot about coats, I think, because if all I needed to wear was a jean jacket then I'd be a happy camper).


This kitchen table paired with these lovely chairs spotted on pink o'clock




This incredible shower spotted on Desire to Inspire


This gorgeous Howlite Spikes Necklace from The Vamoose (which is unfortunately sold out but everything else in that shop is absolutely gorgeous).  For a chance to win your choice of handmade jewelry under $40, just go to Cornflake Dreams sometime today to enter - a winner is chosen tomorrow! I hope it's me, I'm obsessed with The Vamoose now!

I hope your Thursdays are treating you well!

Cynthia Rowley's Guide to Chicago


If you're a subscriber to Refinery 29, then you're already in the know about some really great stuff.  But did you know they recently launched a Chicago edition?  In addition to their N.Y.C. and L.A. staff, they've set up shop here in the Windy City and the daily emails have been so far so good great.  From lists ranging from the best boutique sales to prix fixe meals at restaurants, R29 is keeping Chicago cool in ways the weather can't.

Which leads me to this ::

Chicago native and designer Cynthia Rowley gave R29 Chicago the scoop about her favorite spots in Chicago.  I must say, it's pretty exciting to know we have so much in common - maybe we Chicago bloggers might even run into her some day at one of her picks!  Okay, well maybe in the summer time anyway.

So where does Cynthia Rowley love to go in Chicago and what are my thoughts on these spots?


  • Yolk on Wells.  Funny, because this is where we tried to go on Sunday before our movie date.  The last time we dined there, we were seated after a very brief wait but this time, the wait was absurd.  It is pretty good for brunch so it makes sense that the rest of the city would want to indulge.   As a side note, we realized after we ate at a run-down diner that there was yet another Yolk location that was even closer to the movie theater.  If only we had known!
  • The Violet Hour for cocktails.  The Violet Hour is pretty cool, but it's not a place I'm itching to go back to any time soon.  I've been a couple of times and each time has been a pain.  Waiting to get in is annoying, especially when you see that you're only waiting for the sake of waiting - not because at capacity or anything.  The last time we were there, the mister ordered some silver tequila straight up (he's weird, this place is known for their cocktails, not their liquor straight up but I think that's his thing, to do stuff like that to make me go 'huh?') and the waitress came by and poured a bunch of water in his glass without realizing it was tequila.  I still laugh about that.  He got a free drink for that one.
  • Naha for fine dining.  At first, I thought I had never been here but then I realized my memory failed me.  We went here last spring and enjoyed a very lovely meal on a rainy week night.  The food was great, especially the vegetarian dishes they served me from off the menu.
  • The Goddess and the Grocer for dessert/to-go meals.  I've never had dessert from here but I have been there for lunch.  They've got an excellent selection of sandwiches and salads (especially if you eat meat) but this probably isn't news to you.
  • She loves to shop in the Bucktown neighborhood in which her boutique is located - stores like Marc by Marc Jacobs and Scoop, to name a few.  
  • Millenium Park for leisure trips - when I first moved here, I would spend a lot of my time between classes at Columbia College exploring downtown.  I really liked to go to MP and eat my lunch/read a book and take it all in.  It's so beautiful down there.
  • Schubas and Park West for music.  I love that Cynthia Rowley is a fan of Schubas and seeing bands play music.  Schubas is a great venue and I've had a lot of really good times there.  Before I moved here, my bff and I were up here looking for an apartment and we went to see a random show there.  We had a LOT of drinks because the bartender just decided to give me free beers all night.  Kind of creepy, but I was appreciative.  I've only been to Park West once when I went with my buddy Daniel to see Feist.  I quite enjoyed the show and the atmosphere and would love to go back.
So there you have it.   Cynthia's takes on this snowy city.  If you're a Chicagoan or have visited, what are some of your favorite spots?  I'd love to hear.

PS - Cynthia has a blog!

MegaMonsterSnowmaggedonSnowpocalypseBlizzaster

Why is it so hard to take photos of snow?  It never really looks like there is as much snow as there actually is and the color always sucks.  So you'll just have to take my word (plus the word of the news across the globe) that we got a s*** ton of snow in the last 24 hours.  I mean, whoa.  As of right now, 20.2 inches of the stuff is on the ground.  The wind is still blowing something fierce, the temps are dropping.  But at least the sideways snow has come to an end.  I tried to take pictures and video of the craziest winter storm I've ever seen from the time it began until this afternoon.  

The wind really blew hard and snow started to collect on our kitchen window, but not the others.  I took this last night around 8 p.m.


The same window.

This was taken this morning.  Before the snow blower guy came along.

The view from our bedroom window.  Lovely view, right?  Right.  





Our back porch!  I opened the back door, fearful that all the snow would fall in like it does when you open the car door.  But it stayed perfectly in place (thank heavens because it was halfway up the door!).  You can't even see the stairs!  It's like a waterfall of snow!



This is the side street that runs along Kedzie Blvd.  There's snow way any cars were getting out of there today.  We helped push a car a few streets down.  It's really not that smart of an idea to drive a 1992 Toyota Corolla around in this kind of weather, now is it?  There's really not that much snow on the cars because of the 60+ mph wind we had all night long.  It really was a snownado out there!  Thunder and lightning!  

For approximately 16+ hours, Fullerton Avenue was completely covered with snow.  Unheard of!  A snow plow would come along every few hours, but as soon as it plowed any snow it was covered back up again in an instant.  I've never seen anything like this before.  Chicago is always super prepared for this, but even the most prepared couldn't handle the wrath of the 'MegaMonsterSnowmaggedonSnowpocalypseBlizzaster' of 2011.  The firemen were given snow mobiles to rescue cars.  Firetrucks have been blasting their sirens all night and all day long.  I read some stories of a few women who went into labor.   One hospital only had one surgeon who was mid-surgery when a woman desperately needed a C-section.  They had to send an emergency crew to get another surgeon for her because he was totally stuck.  I'm glad that wasn't Hadley!  Speaking of Hadley, she gets another snow day! 2 in a row!

We ventured out to play earlier, and to get beer from Walgreens.  So many people were out and about taking pictures.  We saw people snow shoeing, skiing, etc.  I made a snow angel.  We threw a few snowballs.  He took pictures of me standing next to snow drifts that were (nearly) the same height as myself.  While he took that picture, I was staring at some snow drifts that were even bigger in the parking lot of the Social Security building.  Honestly, it's fascinating.


I look like an Oompa Loompa in this picture.  I guess that's what 3 pairs of pants, 3 layers of tops and a big huge honkin' coat does for my figure.  But to make snow angels, one has to wear a lot of clothes!

I said that this is totally the kind of storm that you tell your grandkids about years down the road.  You don't even have to ham it up to impress them!  I mean, for the love of all things sacred...Lake Shore Drive was CLOSED, leaving hundreds of stranded drivers helpless ALL NIGHT LONG.  But honestly, don't drive along Lake Michigan during a blizzard with 60+ mph winds.  That's just crazy.

It feels so eerie here, but I like it.  That is, as long as my power stays on...

I hope everyone else out there is staying safe and warm!

Cottage Chic


Last night, I took this quiz to try and figure out my decor style.  Because we're in that everything-we-own-is-from-Ikea-or-hand-me-downs-from-my-parents phase, we're saving our money for not only a house, but also for some new grown-up furniture.  Luckily, I can stick to the theme of 'cottage chic' when we do buy new furniture since I think this quiz really did match up my style..  I can even give my mom a sigh of relief by finally having a place that is "themed".  Now I just need to learn to practice patience, because I want to get new and old furniture as soon as the snow starts to melt (at this point, that will never happen).

I'm curious - what's your style?

* Quiz via Leslie at Pink Tulips

I Heart You!


There's a crazy blizzard* outside so what better thing to do than to stare at pretty pictures for Valentine's Day?  I don't know about you but I totally want a chocolate panini and some champagne right about now.

My husband is actually on his way home right now since the blizzard is in full effect and things are getting nuts out there.  Chicago is actually starting to shut down...unbelievable.  Here's hoping the schools close down so our seriously pregnant Hadley doesn't have to travel to the opposite side of town to sit in an empty classroom tomorrow.  My fingers are crossed!

Stay warm, everyone!

* Just for the record, I prefer the Dairy Queen kind over the mother nature kind.

All images from Martha Stewart, Mod Cloth and Real Simple

Exit Through the Gift Shop


So I know I'm a little late with this post.  This documentary came out in April and the hype has come and gone.  But with it being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary, I decided it was due time to watch it.  If you haven't seen it, you should.  Whether you're a fan of art or not, it's a pretty good documentary and there is a lot of "wow" moments throughout.

What really fascinated me about this film is all of the speculation over its story.  Is it a hoax?  The second half is a complete 180 from the first, with the instant evolution of MBW - Mr. Brainwash.  It's easy to believe that it could be a "prankumentary" but I honestly think that just makes it all that much cooler.  

Have you seen it? Do you think it's a hoax?    

PS - check out Anna-Maria's awesome Banksy post here.

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