This new bakery opened in our hood and I wasn't excited for the reason you may think. Sure some sweets are reason for excitement but they had this super cute mural painted out front! You all know I love a fun wall so I decided it was time to pull out this Victoria Beckham for Target romper so I could color coordinate with the poppy mural out in front of the bakery accordingly named Poppies!
I've had a lot of friends ask me about my vintage neck scarves so I'm going to share with you a few tips. I NEVER pay more than $7 for a vintage scarf! I find them at vintage stores in bins or clipped to clothing rack ends. I also find them at lots of outdoor flea markets. Usually they run me about $3! I try to keep the colors close to things I already own but I love bright ones like this one that offer a great pop of color. They are so simple to wear too, I swear! I think this is the part that people fear the most, they think they are doing it wrong. All I do is fold diagonally and then fold inwards from the top corner so that I'm left with a long strip with the tip tucked all the way inside. Tie it high around your neck, tie it loose, tip it to the side, tie it uneven so one end is longer than the other, all of these work for me! I swear they are way easier to pull off than you think! So stop envying the neck scarf people of the world and become one yourself!
I was causally enjoying a lobster roll on my way back from Park city after my workout when I came across an exciting email. 40% off home decor at Target! Since I had just refreshed our master bedroom, some of the stuff I had my eye on is now SUPER cheap! Heck yeah!
I have an alarming number of these pieces already in our house, so you know I love them! Only about 7 hours left to this sale so buy now, return later! it's Target! they have a sweet 90 day return policy. You are welcome in advance.
What I wore to the sale: My fav, goes-with-everything white tee and my magic mom jeans you all know and love. And my pink Adidas.
I totally recommend wearing something similar to the sale or any time you plan on trying a bunch of clothes on. It's great to have a basic top and bottom so you always can make an outfit. Nothing worse than walking into the fitting room in a dress to try on a top when you have no pants! Avoid this awkward situation and plan ahead!
First up, this red Adidas sweatshirt. I'm wearing a Large and probably could have gone down a size. Its a roomy fit but the color and light material are great.
I LOVED this scalloped neck and bottom sweater. It totally has a Kate Spade vibe to it without the Kate Spade price tag! It comes in 7 different colors and I really wanted to try on the yellow, but my store didn't have it so I ordered it. I'm wearing a medium.
This top is full of drama. The bow is nice and stiff but still soft and not scratchy so i think it would hold up very well. There is also a good amount of stretch in the top which helps because the back neck zipper required some very bendy arm movements.
This is just the perfect teacher shirt. Dressy and perfect for work and would look so cute tucked into a pencil skirt. It comes in this blue stipe and also black and white.
This split back turtleneck by Free People is one I had tried on this past winter but didn't want to pay $70 for a sweatshirt. The sale price is way sweeter and the mint color is so cute!
I didn't really pay this sweater much mind when I tried it on, but after seeing it again when I watched back my IG story, I really liked it. It comes in White, Black and Navy. As much as I like it, I don't think it will work out well this fall for teaching. Have you ever tried to write on an Elmo camera with bell sleeves? If so, you probably have ink all over the ends of the sleeves! However if you are just wearing this out and about, I say go for it because it's super cute!
This cardigan is AMAZING and selling out FAST. It looks so expensive, is super soft and adds a fun touch to any outfit. I love that since the stripe is in all neutral colors, You can really throw this cardigan over anything. I think it would be so fun over a printed dress.
So last year, Topshop offered a very similar cardigan to this one which I bought and love. The sizing on this one seems to be adjusted from last year's version. I own a 4 from last year and it's huge! this is a 4 as well and it fit just fine, but I like a looser fit with my cardigans so I'd go up.
Sale Price$56.90 || SOLD OUT
Didn't have time to try this one on. Truth be told, I put my clothes back on before I saw it was there under a bunch of other stuff. The lace is so pretty on this one but lord knows I have nowhere to wear this to right now. But for just $38 bucks, if you have an event coming up, I'm sure it would be a hit!
Sale Price$38.90 || After sale: $59
A statement heel might be great for most girls, but as a teacher, I like to go with statement flats! Comfort is key and a fun pair of flats always get my students attention more than you would think. These silver sneakers are perfect for everyday and in my eyes, the silver is a neutral so they kind of go with everything from jeans to dresses!
Also let me note how flipping adorable those tiny ear crawler earrings are next to the shoes! They looks totally expensive, like a tiny constellation of stars on your ear. They come in silver, gold, and rose gold! The perfect everyday earring that packs a subtle punch.
I saw this ruffle hem drop waist dress on two girls in the fitting room and thought it looked so cute on them. Looked kind of matronly on me but I think if you are shorter than me (5'9) if may look cute.
This top is adorable for summer. It's hard to tell but it has a small white pinstripe pattern on it and it has buttons down the back middle. Comes in 3 colors and I'm pretty sure this one is selling out fast! The price is too good to last!
Alright, I know you've probably heard of the Nordstrom Sale but are you as excited as I am about it?
It's basically shopping Christmas in the summer! Every year you can walk in to Nordstrom stores when early access starts (TODAY!!) and see all the little sheer tents they have set up over the sale items all over the store. They do such a good job of teasing you with curiosity in the days prior to the sale with all those Fall deals tucked behind the curtain! The little sheer tents were up a few days ago when I was there and I was dying of anticipation!
So why is this sale better than any other sale? Well it covers literally thousands of items in Womens, mens, kids, baby and home & beauty exclusives! Hundreds of dollars of savings on new Fall items that will be marked down at insanely good prices and then marked back up to the original price August 7th!
I am looking around my office/closet right now and can see tons of stuff I've scored there in the past. Make-up and brush sets, My favorite candles in 3 packs, cute pillows, cozy pjs, and my favorite Black Adidas that sold out so fast last summer! Even a few items for Athena last year were scored at unheard of prices before she was even born! did I mention how excited I am to shop for her this time around!
Things will sell out FAST! I've been studying my dog-earred copy of the sale catalogue for weeks now. I even have an appointment all set up for noon Today to shop the early access sale in person. You can do so in store or online as well but you must be a card holder!
Here is my short list that I have had my eye on for weeks now, and in my usual style, everything is under $70 because that's the way I roll. Affordable style for life! Be sure to follow me on Instastories to see everything in store, fitting room diaries and new discoveries along the way.
I didn't really realize I missed this til I was looking through these pictures from our recent girls trip to New York...
Let me explain.
We went to the Peninsula Hotel for afternoon tea which was divine, especially after a super chaotic day and a half of trying to squeeze in as much as we possibly could into such a short trip.
Before tea, my friend Ashley and I stepped out to shoot these pictures. The street was darkened, covered in long dramatic shadows from the buildings surrounding us, even though it was bright and sunny out.
I realized as I looked back at this moment how much I miss the shadowed streets of city living. The way you can get lost in a pocket of a street and pretty much hide in broad daylight. You get lost in a sea of people passing by, all trying to go their own way, not giving any mind to you.
I know, that sounds a little dark. I admit when I first left Chicago, it was nice to have people meet your eye and say hello when crossing their paths while walking in Salt Lake or even on a hike in the mountains.
I've always really enjoyed living in dark spaces. It's funny because most people want natural light and windows but I always loved my shotgun-style apartment in the heart of downtown Chicago. I even covered the front window with a giant wardrobe. It was like I could go home and hide in my apartment. If you want to see, here's a feature post full of photos of my apartment before we moved. I lived right in the loop back in Chicago and loved to take walks at night through the financial district, Millennium Park and by the Sears Tower. It was such a cool feeling to be in places that are so alive in the daytime, but feel like a ghost town at night. Probably not the safest hobby, but I am still here to tell the tale! It was my own little relationship with my city and I could decide how to enjoy it. It's almost as if you claim each spot as your own when you are alone in it. When you have your own moment with a busy spot, you form a relationship and memory with it even though it's just a spot on the concrete.
I loved that you could leave your apartment wearing whatever you wanted. Every time you step out the door you can be a new person. Run to the drug store in your PJs, or wearing a cute dress to meet friends. I'll never forget the strange and exciting feeling of walking onto Halsted, my old street in Chicago, in my wedding dress. What surreal moments you can create on busy city streets!
So maybe I'm not like everyone else who's chasing the sunlight, but I love that hidden feeling you can get in big cities. Strange how in the places that are the most over populated, you can feel the most hidden and small.
So now that I've shared my weird little mole-person ways with you, Anyone else feel like this? What is your relationship with your city or did you even realize you had one?
Happy fourth of July! It also just so happens this is the day that my Athena Boo turns 8 months old too. As you can tell from the pictures she is beyond thrilled to be taking pictures with her mama...
I decided today would be a pretty great day to give you all an update on this crazy baby!
1. We are pretty sure we are about a million more times fond of her than she is of us. She is not a snuggly baby and we joke that she is only lukewarm on her own parents. Even though she's an independent lady, this does not stop us from giving her a million kisses a day! Her personality ought to be interesting to see how it plays out in daycare.
2. She also doesn't seem to give much thought to other babies. As I mentioned before, I take her to Little Gym classes so I can get her acclimated to other kids and adults. She's always the first to want to leave circle time and get to climbing! Now THAT is her jam! She always leaves the circle and goes to the parallel bars and waves at the people in the circle like "hey suckers, this is where the real fun is!" It's actually pretty funny.
3. She is incredibly strong and determined. She can pretty much do any of the climbing tasks independently at Little Gym and anything that involves jumping or hanging! She's like a tiny body builder and she ain't got time to chit-chat with other babies! Once she learns a skill she is dead-set on learning the next! I am in shock of the things she can do and accomplish, daily.
4. She said "Mama" last Sunday and this weekend said "Papa" and it melts our hearts! When she talks it looks like she has a mouth full of marbles and it's adorable! She's very good at mimicking what we say or feeling our mouths and watches them move to practice making sounds.
5. She loves to talk with her grandpa on Facetime and does her signature wave to him through the phone all the time.
6. She can climb the entire staircase by herself, and really quickly too might I add! She started this at about 7 months and hasn't looked back. Don't worry, we are always right behind her.
7. She loves to make out with herself in the mirror or in her reflection of the dishwasher or stove and it cracks me up every single time!
8. She is not exactly a smiley baby as you can see in these pictures. Seriously, getting her to smile in a picture is pretty hard. But she is really silly and makes us laugh all day long.
9. She appreciates her sleep and always sleeps a solid 12 hours at night. However the last week she has been trying to only take one nap a day and it is exhausting keeping up with her all day! She is just way too into living life!
10. She loves to watch her mama get ready. watching me brush my hair and then brush her hair is a morning ritual. She stares at me when I put on makeup and get dressed. This gives me hope that I have a future shopping buddy and spa partner on my hands.
I have the tendency to unintentionally dress us alike. It's happened on several occasions where I haven't noticed till strangers in public are like "Aww, how cute, you match!" Then I look down and realize we are both in stripes.
This outfit matching was intention and her outfit was one of the very few clothing items I bought before she was born. I remember seeing this little gingham Gap romper on lots of my friends kids last summer and loving it so much I just had to get it.
My top is only $21 and my jeans are MAGIC! Honestly, I am in love with these jeans. The pockets have flaps made in that attach all the way to the zipper and hold you in in all the right places. My girlfriend Briana told me about them 5 months ago after she had her baby and I'm not sure what took me so long to go try them on. Needless to say, we both think they are the perfect mom jeans and they smooth out that dreaded "mom pooch" like magic!
