aubin and wills

I'll take this please.  

And I'll be wearing this underneath:

Paired with these jeans:

When I saw this outfit in the June issue of Lucky, I went a little weak in the knees.  It's so perfect for chily days like today, and it's an outfit that I would never get tired of.  I will also never get tired of the t-shirt, yoga pants and hoodie outfit I currently have on right now (how thankful I am to be at home on the couch now, where I belong, with some r&r for the rest of the day).  Anyway, aubin & wills has my heart.  The price? Not so much.  So if any of you are so inclined, I can start up a 'buy Mo lots of cool, hip clothes' charity and y'all can contribute and write a 'we are the world' type song to sing on the telethon that will be hosted on PBS.  Ok, I kid.  But I can really set up a pay pal account if you're going to insist!

Their mens collection is pretty handsome too.  I must say, my tall skinny fiance would look mighty handsome in this Yoxford henley.  

They even have housewares, such as shaving brushes

And cute glass jars and such for holding candy and other things (mine should come full of candy, please)

So, I'm pretty much sold on this store, can you tell?  It's apparently all the rage in the UK (is that true, Anna?  Daniela?) and it's now available to us online.  But hopefully it will make it's grand entry to the states soon enough, so I can lust after these ensembles in the store instead of getting drool on my keyboard!  

Oi..

Kind of how I'm feeling today...

* Via Nataliedee

Demon kitteh

I'm not going to lie or cover it up.  My sweet kitteh, Gus Gus, sat on the remote last night and changed the channel to 666. 

I am skaired.

* pic via here via icanhascheezburger.com

Another rainy day

It's been chilly and rainy here in Chicago for the last umpteen days.  I love rain and thunderstorms but I really could use a sunny and warm day.  Like, stat. 

But there are some things to look forward to:

1. I am leaving work an hour early today (huzzah!)

2. I am leaving work an hour early today because I have an appointment at a fancy spa to get a fancy massage that I paid only $40 for via Groupon back in February.  I have so many knots in my shoulder/neck from who konws what and no matter how much stretching I do in a day it hurts like hell all the time.  So this massage is absolutely necessary.  Hooray! 

3. Tonight we get to have some drinks with Ann Badger, my bridesmaid and soon to be sister-in-law, whom I love dearly but rarely get to see.

4.  Tomorrow is Friday.

5. The high is supposed to be 73!  That's 20 degrees warmer than yesterday...

Pictures via Polanoid

American Able

Unfortunately these images aren't shareable in the way I want them to be, but please don't let that deter you from checking out American Able by Holly Norris. 

"'American Able' intends to, through spoof, reveal the ways in which women with disabilities are invisibilized in advertising and mass media. I chose American Apparel not just for their notable style, but also for their claims that many of their models are just ‘every day’ women who are employees, friends and fans of the company. However, these women fit particular body types. Their campaigns are highly sexualized and feature women who are generally thin, and who appear to be able-bodied. Women with disabilities go unrepresented, not only in American Apparel advertising, but also in most of popular culture. Rarely, if ever, are women with disabilities portrayed in anything other than an asexual manner, for ‘disabled’ bodies are largely perceived as ‘undesirable.’ In a society where sexuality is created and performed over and over within popular culture, the invisibility of women with disabilities in many ways denies them the right to sexuality, particularly within a public context.'"

"This work is part of a group exhibit for CONTACT 2010 and will be showing on over 270 digital screens in 50 Toronto Transit Commission stations on May 6, 11, 22 and 31."


Please go check this out and if you're in the Toronto area - you should definitely take a gander!

* Thank you Maggie for sharing this w/me!

Lusting for designer fashion?

Have you heard of Rent the Runway?  If not, let me know and I'll gladly send you an invite (which nets me $20 credit after your first order, pretty awesome).  Anywho, RTR is pretty awesome.  If you're a big dreamer for high fashion but your pocketbook doesn't support your dreams, then this site is pretty perfect for you.  You can rent, for 4 days, the designer dress of your choice.  They have tons of beautiful dresses and accessories, all starting at $50 for dresses and $10 for the accessories.  I've been scouring the website and lusting over the dresses and thinking to myself, this is perfect for some wedding-related events.  Naturally, I want to buy some dresses for the occassion, but the thought of wearing a designer gown to my rehearsal dinner really excites me.  Like this dress by Theory:

I can rent this for 4 days for $75 or buy it for $450 and wear it once or twice (or maybe just around the house most nights like I plan on doing w/my wedding dress once my groom has seen it).

I could buy this beautiful antique cascading crystal necklace by Ciner for $350 or rent it for $50

Or this silver bib bling by Janis Savitt which retails for $1,140 for a rental fee of $150.

So are you sold yet?  I have yet to order anything but I certainly plan on doing so!  You can even shop by occassion.  How wonderful is that?!

Early Jewelry

Early Jewelry is an adorably awesome little company based out of my old town Lawrence, KS, that makes incredble jewelry.  I had the pleasure of meeting the brains behind the biz, Kylie Grater, back in December when the Renegade Craft Fair was going on.  I was so delighted to discover her work and then discover she was a Kansan too! 

My favorite part about their jewelry is the fact that Kylie grew up on a farm in rural Kansas...which influenced her design aesthetic.  It really shows through but not in a way one would ever expect. 

Last, check out these seriously adorable heart studs.  All profit from the sale of these little studs go directly to the American Red Cross.  How wonderful is that!?

Congratulations, Kylie!  Your jewelry is incredible!

Can you guys feel the love for Kansas today!?  It's been on my mind, what with all those tornadoes yesterday...

PS - do any of you using blogger have issues when trying to center text or pictures?  Every now and then it just does whatever it wants.  It drives me crazy!  Hence the pictures in scattered places, some centered text, etc...

Fresher than Fresh

Good morning.  It's dark, rainy and super chilly here in Chicago.  So what better way to distract myself than dreaming of warm summer afternoons slurping up 100% natural snow cones?!  Megan over at Mimi & Meg posted about Fresher than Fresh, a Kansas City based snow-cone business that operates out of an adorable vintage trailer.

With flavors like blackberry lavendar

Espresso and Mexican cane sugar

And green tea pear...

This operation is nothing short of irresistable.  Owner Lindsay Laricks started the business last summer and the love grew instantly.  Last Friday kicked off the start of the 2010 season for FTF and if their summer is anything like it was last year, they're going to be some pretty busy bees.  Times are tough and small businesses feel this hurt more than ever.  With a high demand, the tiny but adorable vintage trailer they operate out of has some issues and let's face it; an ever-growing business has a high demand.  High demands result in the need for more space/work area.  And since times are tough the finances for the bigger spaces tend to lack.  So that's where people like you and I come in.  After seeing Megan's post, I immediately wanted to do my part.  I mean, this is one sweet (literally) business and they deserve to flourish.  So, dear readers. Let's do what we can to help support FTF by donating $1, $5, whatever you have to help reach their goal. 

If you scroll down to the bottom of this page, you can also find the link to their donation page.  Read up about their project and why you should be a backer.  And if you live in KC, I'm envious of your proximity to these delicious-sounding snow cones! 

Betty White on SNL

Did any of you happen to catch Betty White on SNL?  I'm sure you did...wasn't it the funniest episode you've seen in ages?!  She was hilarious - I laughed so hard my stomach hurt!  It was an epic episode and if you haven't seen it yet, queue it up here.