Latest Lip Love

Living with a roommate who is obsessed with lipstick has really been the best thing. Not only am I getting more adventurous with colors I might not have worn before, but she has a whole pile of them on deck for trials!

My latest love is COVERGIRL's LipPerfection Lip Color in "Divine". It's a really purpley color that I think goes really well and stands out more from my red hair color. It seems to last for hours, and is enriched with a silk moisturizing complex to keep your lips soft. I will definitely be buying this for myself ASAP!

Grimes

I have been trying to do some research for the Pitchfork Music festival in July along with some of the Lollapalooza pre/after shows for August. I dropped the ball on getting Lollapalooza tickets this year, but some of the after shows look like they could be pretty good (and MUCH more budget friendly). 

Though I did manage to compile some playlists to get a taste of both festivals, I got a little hung up when I found this. I don't even know what exactly she reminds me of... maybe a little bit of Sleigh Bells, a little bit of M83, a little bit of some kind of super relaxing dance party I've imagined in my head before. Whatever it is, I just had to share it. It might not be everybody's cup of tea, but I hope at least one person out there enjoys it as much as I do.

Hello from the Windy City!

It's official- I'm a Chicago resident again. I took a little break with the last month being a whirlwind of figuring out logistics, packing, apartment hunting, working, job searching... etc etc etc. It was a busy one! But now I am officially settled in Chicago, and hoping to button up the job side of things in the very near future!

I'm living in Wicker Park, so I am really excited to be seeing a whole other side of the city from when I was living here in the fall. Our first week was full of lots of "touristy" things that I always wanted to do and never got around to. I'm very grateful to have roommates who are interested in taking advantage of everything this city has to offer! Here are some pictures from the first week: 

 On our way out for some city exploration and a Chicago Film Tour

 ...Did I mention the film tour was BYOB?

  One of the film tour locations: where John Dillinger was killed & Public Enemies was filmed

A stop at the Hershey Store by the Water Tower for dessert- YUM!

 

Architectural Boat Tour

Zombies Vs. Skeletons at Cobra Lounge

 The CUTEST bathroom at The Bedford, just a few blocks from us

 Gino's Deep Dish Pizza (I have to admit, I think I'm more of a Giordano's fan)

 Photoshoot with the Rock'n'Roll McDonald's statues while waiting for our film tour bus

A gorgeous afternoon wandering around downtown by the river

We have already had a lot of visitors and are looking forward to a lot more. All in all, I am just so happy to call this city home again... for real this time!

The Kentucky Derby

This weekend was my first Kentucky Derby... and probably my last. It ended up being fun and was a big event on my "bucket list", and I LOVED seeing all of the different dresses and hats, but it was just WAY too crowded. I think in the future I would like to try The Oaks (the day before the actual Derby) or go one of the days earlier in the week when it's not AS busy, but still dressy!

Unfortunately I did not do any betting. I picked the horse who won it all based on name and colors the night before (I'll Have Another in purple and white) without having any idea what any of the stats were, but did not end up placing a bet because I didn't know how! Lauryn and I sat together and our dads took the other set of seats, so we spent most of the day playing fashion police rather than being too concerned with the actual racing.

Here are a few pictures from the day:

 

Outfit

Hat: Berkeley Hats

Dress: Torrid

Shoes: Target

 Dad and I 

 Lauryn and I

 Our dads becoming the best of friends over cigars

 Class acts!

 The craziest hat we saw all day

 One of my favorite hats. You can't really see the shape, but it was Mad-Hatter-esque!

 Mint Juleps, of course!

 Another favorite hat. I think I just liked anything pink...

This is when the winning horse (white/purple) made the dash to take on the lead right in front of us!

Overall I think I would prefer horse racing much better if I knew how to bet and could do so on a slightly cooler day. I'm sure I will be back for more races at Churchill Downs, if only to have an excuse to buy another hat!

Crispy Peanut Butter Chicken

My newest post on Alex's Wonderland: Crispy Peanut Butter Chicken.

I thought it would really just be rude not to share it with you all, because it was DELICIOUS. I was so glad I found a recipe that hit pretty close to what I was going for and only had to make a few adjustments. I highly recommend trying this one out!

In other news, my hat AND dress for the Kentucky Derby have both arrived and it is taking all of my self control not to share them with you guys immediately! I'll be honest, I've been wearing the hat around the house a little bit the last few days. Putting it on immediately makes me feel like I'm going to some fancy event like the Royal Wedding. If only there were more occasions to wear such silly but wonderful accessories!

A 23rd Birthday in Pictures

Patterns in Blue

I bought this skirt and shirt last week and wanted to get a little bit out of the box and mix up some patterns by wearing them together and toning it down with gray accessories. Overall I liked the outfit, but I have since done the skirt with a basic black tank top and black accessories and I think I liked the outcome of that a lot better. I will for sure be repeating that in the future to get some pictures. 

I was so glad to find this skirt, not only because of the ability to wear it as a high-waisted skirt with a shirt to give off the appearance of a dress (that can be more easily customized), but because I was in love with the springy feel of the light blues on the white. What other ways would you style the skirt?

Outfit

Shirt, Skirt, Cardigan, Purse: Old Navy

Scarf, Sunglasses: Forever 21

Boots: DSW

ASOS Curve

Here are some of my current picks from the ASOS Curve line:

Swing Dress with double layer 

$53.72

Exclusive Dress in butterfly print

$68.04

Wrap Dress with bow detail

$62.67

Playsuit with flippy short

$62.67

Tank Dress with bubble skirt

$44.76

Skinny Jean in true red

$57.30

I might have to take some upcoming birthday money or raid a little bit of my savings to grab a few of these. I love the flowy/flirty feel of the dresses!

Birthday Wishlist

It's funny how the older you get, the faster birthdays seem to creep up. This one will be the 23rd, which in itself seems pretty uneventful. I have been wanting a Kitchen Aid mixer, but at this point I am thinking that I may be better off saving that one for next Christmas. The focus for now will be on a few pairs of shoes I've been looking at, particularly a new & more comfortable pair of cowboy boots. This may have been a little exaggerated with the recent trip to Nashville, but there's no question in my mind that they will be worn plenty!

 

ARIAT Heritage Western R Toe boots in Russet Rebel (Size 9)

(Link Here)

I have been told by a friend who has ridden horses for years that these are some of the most comfortable cowboy boots out there. My old pair have gotten pretty worn down on the soles, but they're still wearable, so I want to go with a slightly darker color so they aren't too similar.

ARIAT Rhinestone Cowgirl boots in Sassy Brown

Ok, these are more of a "fun" wish list item and probably on the end of this list next to everything else. I think these are more inspired by this Nashville trip and would be a fun boot for any trips back there. I'm sure I would find other occasions to wear them (such as a trip to Austin in November for the stateside return of Formula 1), but I don't think these would be in the regular rotation as the others would. I do like that they are really just studs instead of actual rhinestones.

TOMS Crochet Women's Classics in Silver (Size 9)

(Link Here)

I think I have finally decided on a pair of TOMS to start out with. My friend Lauryn has these in white and said they have been great & are nice and breezy, making them great for Spring & Summer. She said they have also held up really well, and I love how they're just a little less casual than the regular classics. 
 

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer (Sephora)

 

Gentleman Jack

Starting with my dad bringing a bottle of 1942 Angosturan rum back from a trip to Trinidad as a Christmas present, I think "present holidays" are a fun opportunity to try new bottles of things I wouldn't normally by on a regular basis. 

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Cherry Tart, Tutti Frutti, and Pink Truffle (CVS)

I'll be honest, I kind of want to try all of them, but these look like the ones I'll wear the most.

SOME NIGHTS by Fun.

This has been an album that I listen to enough to want to buy a physical copy. While iTunes is wonderfully convenient, I will admit that having Spotify has changed the way I handle music in that the albums I really love are something I want to have a copy of to not only upload to an iPod but also have around in either my car stereo or somewhere in my room for easy listening. 

 

Urban Decay All Nighter (Sephora)

This is just something I stumbled across while looking at the primer. I'm curious to try the smaller size of this and see how well it works.