Friday's Fancies + Have a heartfelt weekend!




1. Steven Alan striped tank top, $104
2. Sass And Bide The Moment Jean - Neon Nights, $249

3. TopShop leather flat shoes, $90
4. Tortoise sunglasses, $150
5. French Connection wood handbag, $168
6. House of Harlow 1960 gold jewelry, $25

7. House of Harlow 1960 tribal hoop earrings, $115


Well, it's our final weekend in Chicago.  It's totally bittersweet.  I don't know how exactly I'm feeling - a mix of excited, sad, emotional, eager, etc.  But at least my last weekend in Chicago will be a good one, full of awesome people and good times.  Tonight I'm headed to Evanston to hang with two cool cats to eat wood oven pizza and have a lot of laughs.  It should be nothing short of awesome. Sunday is our going away party - hooray!  I'm excited to gather everyone in one backyard and have a fond farewell.   Lots of packing will be had and hopefully some good food and drinks thrown in the mix.

Today's Friday's Fancies outfit is a casual outfit I'd love to wear at any point this weekend.  But only if the weather cooperates.  The weather has been a bit of a downer as of late...grr.  Hey, how about that wood clutch?

Whatever you get up to this weekend - I hope it's a good one.  Until Monday, friends!

Thursday Randoms


This handbag, found via Svpply, needs to be in my hands as soon as possible.  Not only is it beautiful, but it was made by a collection of beautiful women in Stellenbosch (embroidery, hand-stitching


This wedding cake is how I imagined my own wedding cake to look.  Minus the amazing cake topper we had, this cake is perfect.  I love the way it's frosted - kind of messy but still beautiful (our coordinator/bakers didn't seem to understand what I meant and instead gave me a cake that was frosted without a flaw).  In fact, so many things from this wedding resemble my own.  The boutonnieres look exactly like ours, her bouquet resembles my bridesmaids bouquets and so forth.   


This couch has it all.  Style, shape, color, not to mention the serious attraction our cat's claws would have.  But the cat aside, this beauty would make a nice addition to the new house.  I imagine spending winter evenings perched upon it and snuggled up in front of the fireplace.


This lovely sunroom has been bookmarked as inspiration for our own sunroom/screened-in porch.  I have big plans of transforming that room into something magical.  Some spanish tile perhaps, festive lights and boatloads of plants will make it the space of my dreams.


Last but most certainly not least, EmersonMade never ever fails to impress me.  Her lovely E.M. India collection is incredibly dreamy and I want every last piece.  Here's hoping I win Joanna's shopping spree giveaway!

Etsy find :: Phoenix Botanicals






Today I came across Phoenix Botanicals, a Brooklyn-based, handmade line of herbal skincare.  Friends, I'm in love.  I want to go on a shopping spree and completely immerse myself in all of the products found in this store.  The packaging, the combination of scents - it's heaven.

Did anyone else have blogger issues this morning? I wasn't able to use the photos I uploaded until about 10 minutes ago.  So frustrating!

Welcome, Summer


Today is officially the first day of summer and I couldn't be happier.  I love summer, and summer's in Chicago feel like something I can't quite pinpoint.  It kind of feels like if you blink it will be gone.  You can't take these summers for granted because they don't seem to last.  They're like pure gold.  Anyway, I'm glad summer is officially here because I love so many things about it.  Camping (especially with dogs who drink whiskey), watermelon, ice cream, the lake, long walks and summer drinks - just to name a few.

I'm so ready to go camping, too!  As soon as we get settled in, I'm begging people to go camping with us.  We got a new-to-us tent (thanks, brother), a lantern and other camping accessories while I was home last time (Wichita is home to Coleman so prices are dirt cheap) so we're ready to go.  Just seeing the tent and fire below has me giddy!


Camping


Vintage top, $17
Old Navy long sleeve top, $6.97
Old Navy floral denim shorts, $23
Keds wedge sneaker, $30
Progressive Microwave Smores Maker, $9.99
Festival chairs - music festival seats - chairs for festivals -..., £9.99
Cabela's: The North Face® Base Camp Duffle Bag, $100
Camping Equipment Sticker - Embellishments, $4.59


Summer, I'm so glad you're here!

* Top photos first row l to r = 1, 2, 3
second row = 1, 2, 3

Weekend Recap


This weekend was everything I had hoped for - full of laughing and hanging out with friends.  Throw in many hours of pure productivity and boom!  Another great weekend was had.  That's right.  Some highlights include ::

  • "Babysitting" so our friends could go out for a date.  Lil' buddy was asleep the whole time, which is why babysitting is in quotes.  We just went and hung out at their house the whole time.  You know, played their games, snuggled with the dog and cats, dressed up in all their clothes.  Wait, what?  Just kidding about that last part ;)
  • Moving supplies - not so much a highlight but getting all that stuff together took a lot of the copious amounts of stress away.  
  • I'm not going to lie - Badger made me the worlds best homemade mojito with vodka.  I'm spoiled and I like it.
  • LOUIS C.K.!!!!!!!!!  Goodness sakes, this man is funny.  I enjoyed every minute of it and my face hurt pretty bad afterward from all the laughing.  The special guests were a serious treat - I mean, we the audience were spoiled that night.  
  • Our spare room is packed up for the most part.  Our cat is confused and had himself convinced we were leaving him.  We packed up several boxes, got rid of so much stuff and took a giant bag to the dumpster - all in a few hours.  Now that we've made a dent, I can feel some of that stress melting away.
  • Dinner + Euchre with friends.  Most epic euchre game ever.  
It's looking like a busy but good week for us.  Tonight we're planning on seeing Super 8!  Cocktails with my girls tomorrow, a tentative trip to the zoo later this week and lots and lots of hours spent packing I'm sure.  

How were your weekends?  Terrific, I hope.

Friday's Fancies/Have a sunny weekend!





Spaghetti strap dress, $195
James Perse shirts top, $50
Friis & Company sandals, €63
Hobo International leather clutch, $118
Necklace
Unisex sunglasses, $89
Tasha Polka Dot Wire Headband, $28
NARS Nail Polish (Nordstrom Exclusive), $17


Today's Friday's Fancies was copied off of this outfit from Kendi Everyday.  I don't have any shame in the fact that I copied it - because yesterday I wore my own version of this outfit and quite frankly, I plan to wear it again tomorrow.  Not only is it comfortable, but I felt good as I walked around the neighborhood.  But I have to give her credit because there's no way I would have thought to do this on my own.

This weekend is one of two we have left here, so we're going to try our hardest to make the most of it.  We've got tickets to see Louis C.K. tomorrow night at the Chicago Theater and I couldn't be more excited.  Do you guys watch Louie on FX? It's an awesome show and the new season premieres June 23!  I suggest you check it out.  We've also got a million and one things to do this weekend to get moving on this whole moving business.  So I have a sneaking suspicion that this weekend will fly right on by.

What are you all up to this weekend?  Terrific things, I hope.  Whatever it is - have a terrific, sunshiney weekend!

Thursday Randoms :: White Out


Why hello, beautiful kitchen!  It's nice to meet you with your beautiful cabinetry and subway-tiled walls. You would be a joy to be in morning, noon and night.  


Oh dreamy bathroom, you look as if you consist of a warm summer breeze bringin hints of fragrant flowers from what must surely be an incredible garden right outside those windows.  Your paneled walls and canopy shower curtain have perfection written all over them.


A soda crate turned into a garden tote.  How is it that something so simple and ordinary could turn into something so amazing?  


Oh BHLDN, why weren't you around last year when I was getting married?  If I had the options you're giving everyone now, perhaps I could have saved money on the perfect dress.  Le sigh.


Oh Zara white pleaded skirt, your simplicity is killing me right now.  Please be mine.


White lion, you rule.  I'm not sure if you're even real, but that doesn't matter.  


Summer Bucket List

As some of you know, this summer is kind of huge for us.  We bought a house and are packing up our life in Chicago for a new life in Louisville, KY.  We're moving in a super short amount of time, which leaves me freaking out on a regular basis.

Our house is awesome. It's everything we wanted, it has many bedrooms and bathrooms, a big yard and a lot of character.  We're both incredibly excited to move, to start a new chapter of our lives and to put down some roots.  But we're both sad, incredibly overwhelmed and feeling nervous about all of the change.

Last summer was huge for us - we got married.  But that didn't really change much of anything, except for the fact that we can say 'husband' and 'wife' and we both wear rings and my last name is different.  But we didn't pick up our lives and leave behind good friends to try and make new ones somewhere else.

So my summer bucket list is kind of a strange one.  As much as I want to do anything and everything in Chicago while we're still here, I keep finding that we're not doing anything we thought we'd do.  I haven't been to Millennium Park for a free Monday night concert.  We haven't visited any of the museums we said we would.  We haven't gone to those restaurants we'd never been to, or the blues bars I have been wanting to experience.

Even though summer has just begun - I feel like it's already ending.  I have to do all of this stuff within the next two weeks or else we'll have to save it all for when we visit.

Before we move, I want to ::


Go see a show at one of the two best venues in Chicago - The Hideout or The Empty Bottle.  It's been too long since I've gone to either of these two places and that really kind of breaks my heart.  


Spend an evening hanging out at Kingston Mines with two very close friends.  I think this one will happen for sure (hint hint)


When I first moved here (and even before I moved here) I visited the Museum of Contemporary Art many, many times.  It's such an incredible museum - the art is so much more my speed and the size isn't at all overwhelming.  The first time I went, I fell in love because I was able to see some of Cindy Sherman's work in the flesh.  I haven't been in years and will be a little heartbroken if I don't make it down there before I go.  I would also like to go to the Museum of Science & Industry again, but I really want to go there with my littlest niece, Ally.  She is big into that kind of stuff and I can't wait to potentially see her face light up!


Most importantly, I really just want to spend the remainder of our time here with my friends.  I've made some incredible friends here and I'll miss them with every beat of my heart.  They're the kind of friendships that will last forever and ever, and I can't even begin to express how much that means to me.  

After our big move, the bucket list includes spending as much time as possible outdoors, going down to the lake with the in-laws, going for long walks at dusk to explore our new neighborhood and most importantly - get a puppy!  Oh and then there's the whole "getting settled into our house and buying new furniture, painting and carefully decorating the house room by room".  But I imagine that will take a long time and I've got no plans of rushing it!

Thanks to Jillian of Cornflake Dreams for the link up - be sure to swing by her lovely blog to read more bucket lists!

Laura Evans Photography






This weekend, I spent a great portion of my time browsing through Laura Evans' Flickr account.  Her photos are absolutely breathtaking and provoke a dream-like quality.  The tones in the photos are so unreal - I could stare at them for hours and hours.  I can't even decide which one is my favorite, which is why you can find all of these on my Pinterest.  I'm so in love.

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