Friday's Fancies + Have an Enjoyable Weekend!

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dress // bag // sandals // sunglasses 

 Happy Friday + Long Weekend, everyone!  The holiday is finally upon us and I'm sure many of you are hightailing it out of town for a weekend of fun aplenty.  While I have no big plans for the weekend, I'm so excited for the extra day off to catch up on life.  I'm anxious to spend some time cooped up with Stevie and Gus, reading a book and listening the rain we're expecting.  Sounds pretty nice, right?  Husband is off having a guys trip with his dad and grandpa (pretty cute, right?) down at the lake so it's just us ladies (and chief!) to hold down the fort.  What exciting plans do you have?

This week's Friday's Fancies is a true representative of what I'd love to be wearing all weekend long.  Comfort + style all in one!  If it weren't the end of summer I might consider purchasing both the dress and the sandals - I can't stop staring at that bright pop of yellow!  What is your ideal Labor Day look? I'd love to hear!

Here's to a fantastic long weekend, my friends! Safe travels to those of you with awesome adventures scheduled and all of you be safe and try to stay dry!  xoxo

Thursday Loves

I am pretty hungry right now and the thought of eating this is making me mad! Mad for eggs, that is. Via

Last night we caught the opening monologue of Conan for the first time in ages and I am still laughing about this. Nick Offerman (the beloved Ron Swanson) read young female celebrity tweets while working in his shop.  That was all it was and it was awesome.  Definitely the only rewarding bit of Conan last night, in our opinion.

You may have seen this floating around the interwebs lately, but I find it to be NUTS!  Artist Bryan Saunders Lewis took every drug known to man (though most of these seem to be medications than street drugs) and drew a self portrait while under the influence.  It's fascinating, I tell you, and definitely worrisome.  We as a nation are prescribed these medications every day...and these are the portrayals! Yikes!  Source

I desperately wish this was me this weekend.  Alas, I'll be home alone with no plans of putting my feet in water and letting the waves crash over them.  Alas.  Via

I literally love everything about this image.  Seriously.  That is all.  Via

Hope you all have are having a lovely Thursday (and week).  Only one more day until the long weekend!

Oh Deer!

nail art // sweater // ring // figurine // linens // photograph // cardboard antler // pin

We see so much deer around our neck of the woods and they really are as adorable as they are portrayed (except when they frantically run in front of your moving car or when they munch on your plants and flowers).  Don't you just kind of wish you could keep a deer as a pet and snuggle with it at night?  Or maybe the allure of seeing a deer in the flesh would be lost if you were always around it.  Either way, a deer could never replace the love in my heart for my Stevie and Gus!

Weekend Recap

Hey, everybody! Hope you guys all had a great weekend.  We sure did and I tried to capture some of the best moments.  Stevie really hammed it up for the camera this weekend and I couldn't resist sharing her adorableness with you all.  Some highlights of the weekend include ::

• Friday night birthday celebration with family - we ate delicious dinner, cooed at baby Ava and re-watched Bridesmaids (it gets me every time).  
• Lunch at Salsarita's (I recommend this place when you're in the Qdoba/Chipotle kind of mood)
• It took us all weekend but we (and by we I mean my awesome husband) rearranged our living room in anticipation of the furniture we're still planning to order.  This included rerouting the speaker wire, cable/internet and rehanging the tv.  Oof, what a chore! But it was SO worth it!
• We may or may not have gone on an online shopping spree for said living room project.  Hello West Elm frames and accessories!  
• Sunday morning walk on the trail with the pooch
• New porch swing! Husband's grandpa crafted us a beautiful swing that you can see above.  Hanging it up wasn't easy, and husband and his dad cursed the builders of this house for inconsistent studs galore.  It's up and in studs though, just on the wrong side.  But that's cool.  It looks BEAUTIFUL!
• Playing with Stevie in the front yard is so much more enjoyable for some reason.  Maybe it's because of the porch that I can sit comfortably on?  Yeah, that's probably it.
• Video chat with two of our favorite people :)
• Breaking Bad - seriously, if you don't watch this show by now there is something wrong.  Something seriously wrong.

So I kind of caught up on sleep, had some laid back fun, tried not to think about work and enjoyed myself thoroughly.  What did you get up to this weekend? I'd love to hear!  

Here's to a great week ahead!

Friday's Fancies + Have a Happy Weekend!

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Hello, Friday! You're looking REAL good today, let me tell you.  I've waited so long for it to be this special day, for the work week to end and for sleeping in to commence.  Lord knows I need it.  That and some good old fashioned r n' r.  

Today's Friday's Fancies is channeling my favorite kind of outfit.  The casual, laid-back look I love.  Aviators, an adorable weekender, comfy worn-in jeans, a chic sweater and fun slip-on shoes.  It makes me want to take a road trip just looking at it!  What's your road trip style?

What have you got planned for the weekend?  We're celebrating a family member's birthday tonight (happy 19th, Sara!), I'm definitely going to do some sleeping this weekend and maybe some other fun stuff will commence.  But for now, no big plans after tonight.  Just the way I like it :)

Happy weekend, everyone! 

Thursday Loves

My stomach is growling just looking at this. I used to not consider myself a fan of beets but that has all changed.  Our homegrown beets were superb, especially paired with goat cheese.  So honestly, this sandwich looks pretty much perfect.  Via

Oh J.Crew sweater, I need you in my closet!  You are the epitome of my style - especially paired with those jeans and messy side pony.  I definitely wish I had $95 lying around to spend on a sweater.  Maybe I'll do some extra chores around the house ;)

Oh. My. God. I looooove these illustrations!  Tutti Confetti, you make my heart flutter!

This is random, but I'm totes diggin' this chick's effortless hair.  It looks part ratty (like mine usually does) but with the perfect amount of wave in the perfect places.  Rarely does my hair do this but when it does I feel like I should go out and paint the town red.

Last but not least, I thought I'd leave you with a drool-worthy image of amazing barstools.  That's all.  Via

Relish in the Details :: Zara

It might just be me (no, it certainly can't be!) but the details of the dress and the sweater from Zara have got it going on.  Seriously.  They're the kind of embellishments that anyone could wear and it can leave you feeling any way.  They're the perfect combination of soft and tough mixed together and I'm in love.

Weekend Recap

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Hello, everybody!  Here we go with another week.  Hopefully Wednesday comes fast because my baby has left me for work yet again.  Stevie and I shall do tons of snuggling together while bumming it up on the couch.  Or maybe we'll be awesome and go for long walks and be social.  Although the last time he was out of town we did go to a bar and she did sneak behind the bar and bark at the bartender after she barked at guys on the patio and then she escaped through the back door and ran down the street with me chasing her like a crazy person.  Maybe we shouldn't let that happen again.  Where was I again? Oh yes, the weekend.  It was a good one, folks. Some highlights include ::

• The Campaign - we had free tickets so we figured a comedy would be the best way to spend them.  It was funny but I'm not going to tell you all to go rush out and see it.  It is definitely Netflix worthy and you will definitely laugh.  I'm also sure that whenever you see pugs you will think of this movie.  
• Douglass Loop Farmers Market - we traveled down to the Highlands to get our farmers market fix.  It's not quite as easy for us to go to one here as it was in Chicago.  I mean, we just walked two blocks and voila - the Logan Square Farmers Market and all its glory was right there!  This one may not have been as big as the LS one, or as many people or as much variety, but it still made me happy and we still made it home with flowers and beets (we have no shortage on tomatoes this year!).  
• Tom + Chee - this is a new grilled cheese restaurant in town that is all the rage.  We were so close to getting food from the taco truck but when I realized I was planning to eat the same meal for lunch and dinner we opted to hightail it over to grilled cheese heaven.  It was pretty great but considering the fact that grilled cheese is my vegetarian staple I was a little disappointed with the lack of options for myself.  It was a meaty grilled cheese paradise, much to my chagrin.  But still delish - and cheap!
• We painted our stairwell! What a task.  We used this color again and it really brightened it up a lot.  It was so much of a task that we honestly only did one coat.  It could probably benefit another coat but if you saw how tall this stairwell was and how hard it was for my 6'4" husband to reach you'd opt to not paint another coat as well :)
• Captain's Quarters - what a strange place this is.  Going to this restaurant was like being on vacation in Florida mixed with a weekend at Kentucky Lake.  Insert a 1992 high school reunion, a one man cover band and people walking around in suits, bikinis and resort wear and you can easily fool yourself into believing that you've left Louisville and gone on a very weird vacation.  On the Ohio river, no less.  But hey, the weather was nice and a rich old sleazy man with very bad jokes bought my husband a tequila shot and a beer!
• After a Sunday brunch at home featuring biscuits and gravy, we got productive and did our chores.  But then I took advantage of the sunny Sunday afternoon and baked this and made the whole house smell heavenly!

Apparently this Monday is all about really super long sentences (see above).  How were your weekends? Thanks for all the good vibes you sent Anna-Maria's way, that lady is now a DOCTOR!  Holy guacamole, congrats, my friend!  

Here's to a wonderful week ahead, my friends.  Remember...wake up and be awesome.

Friday's Fancies + Have a Colorful Weekend!

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It's FRIDAY!  I am incredibly thankful for the fact that it is Friday and that I can put that super rough work week behind me.  Obviously I survived, but I'm going to be truthful - we are all hanging on by a thread at this point.  Hopefully in a month or so we can look back on this week and laugh, because it sounds much better than crying!  Thank goodness we're a small office and all know each other pretty well.  I was remembering a time at my old job where we went through something similar and I thought about how awful it was because we were a big department with young and old working together.  Now that was rough.  But I digress.

We lost our power last night during a pretty severe thunderstorm.  When I took Stevie out this morning I noticed a massive tree branch had fallen and missed our truck by inches.  Thank goodness the Subaru is under the carport!  We took advantage of our power being out though - we played Yahtzee by the candlelight and I went to bed rather early with the sound of rain and thunder off in the distance.

Now on to Friday's Fancies!  This week's theme is "summer sunset" and I basically took that theme rather literally.  I'd totally wear this though, and I'm almost positive that I desperately need that Calypso St. Barth's tank in my closet.

What have you got planned this weekend? I think we'll be working on some more house stuff (after living here for over a year, I have a serious urge to FINISH but it's still so much work and money), hopefully going to the movies and hanging out with awesome people.  Whatever you get up to this weekend I hope you have a fabulous one!  xoxo.

PS - everybody send some good vibes out to my dear friend Anna-Maria, who is defending her dissertation today!  Break a leg, AM!