Love: Lungs

I threw a few Florence & The Machine songs on a playlist what seems like forever ago, but I only recently got ahold of the entire Lungs album and have since fallen totally in love with it. It's the perfect "daytime" music for driving, doing things around the house, you name it. The album in its entirety has a variety of songs, ranging from the popular "Dog Days Are Over" to the really upbeat "Kiss With a Fist" and a handful of more mellow songs. One thing remains pretty constant though... the woman has an incredible voice.


The album, which came out in 2009, was re-released in 2011 including a second portion called "The B-Sides" with a demo of "I'm Not Calling You a Liar" (Then called Ghosts), a live version of "You've Got the Love", and a few covers. I was particularly excited and totally surprised to hear a cover of Cold War Kid's "Hospital Beds."

A new album is set to be released sometime in November, but in the meantime, I definitely recommend checking out Lungs! You can follow this link to get to the Florence & The Machine YouTube channel and watch the video for "You've Got the Love."

A New Love for Brown

This is a dress that was a little bit of a surprise purchase the other day at Target. We had to go to get some other things and it had been a few weeks since I had looked at their dresses and thought I would check it out. I picked up four or five to try on, and was hesistant about this one because the pattern at first glance almost seemed a little too "camo" or something to me. I'm not normally really attracted to thinks with a brown base color, but I gave it a shot. It didn't hurt that I knew I could wear it with my brown wedges, which were really my first brown-based inspiration.

I didn't end up liking a single other dress but LOVED the fit of this one! This is actually the dress I mentioned in the last post about wanting to get in more than one pattern or color but they only had this and leopard print. I was also surprised how much I ended up liking this print... it paired REALLY well with the belt from Forever 21 that I have been favoring lately, and of course my brown pair of super-favorite-wedges from Target. And I won't lie, I think this dress really emphasized my tan, which is always a big plus in my book.

One of my favorite parts is the neckline. It comes up high enough to cover plenty and not be too revealing but is also open enough to not feel too restricting. (Forgive the bangs, they're looking a mess in this picture)

Outfit
Dress, Shoes: Target
Purse: Nine West via TJ Maxx
Belt: Forever 21
Bracelets: Charlotte Russe

Edgy Floral

Taking floral prints and adding an edge is becoming one of my new favorite go-to's for outfits, whether it's the denim vest, or going with all black accessories, lots of rings, and feather earrings. This was another night in Destin of dinner/shopping, and maybe a few cocktails. We went to a restaurant at The Village at Baytowne Wharf called The Village Door (Which was REALLY good by the way! The food was great and apparently they always have some kind of live music going on.) and sat on the back deck which was right on the marina. It was a gorgeous night, and I only wish the weather had been so nice and not humid the rest of the week!

Outfit
Dress, Flower Ring, Wedges: Target
Bracelets, Feather Earrings: Charlotte Russe
Purse: Carlos Santana via TJ Maxx
Belt: Forever 21
(Drink: Vodka Cranberry)

(By the way, this is the little bun I have more or less been rocking for the entire summer. I am so sick of humidity, and SO glad the weather in Chicago has been gorgeous this week. Hard core contemplating cutting a few inches off my hair!)

Yet Another Leopard

Remember the Forever 21 leopard print dress I posted about a while ago? Well, of course I bought it. I really wanted to wear it with my black strappy wedges, but this was on a night in Florida when we were going out to dinner and potentially doing a bit of walking around a shopping area so I didn't want to end up with angry feet.

Outfit
Dress, Belt: Forever 21
Sandals: Target
Earrings, bracelets: Charlotte Russe
Purse: Carlos Santana via TJ Maxx

I actually just got another dress from Target that I REALLY loved the fit of, enough that I wanted to buy it in another print. It's a pretty basic pattern so could easily have been dressed up in different ways, but unfortunately the only other pattern was leopard print. LOVE leopard print, but given I now have this and the other leopard print dress I posted in the last outfit post, I figured I probably was good on that for a while.

(Side note: Does anyone know how to get pictures to not be quite so blurry when you make them bigger? When I upload pictures, even though the original size is HUGE and can be seen by clicking on it, the vertical pictures are always too small and get blurry when I enlarge them. I have it set on the largest upload setting, but don't know if there's any way to get around this and make it bigger but still clear?)

Lollapalooza: The Friends & The Food

(This post apparently unofficially sponsored by Bud Light.)

I kept making Sarah let me take outfit pictures of her all weekend. In this one she was like our own little fashionable Dora the Explorer, backpack and all!

We may have played in a fountain... on multiple occasions...

My dad and I... rocking his favorite little fedora!

Andouille Sausage, Fingerling Potatoes, and something else I forget on a really fancy bun.

Some classy drink mixing going on.

The Lobster Corndog. YUM.

The only problem with this is that for about a week after Lolla I was constantly craving the fanciest junk food that you can't actually find anywhere.

Uh, yeah, let's just say I was going for comfort and staying cool all weekend... not so much the best outfit I've ever worn. Haha.

Lollapalooza: The Music

Hello from Destin! I just wanted to do a quick post with some Lollapalooza pictures. Another to come soon. For now, this one will focus around the music. I didn't manage to get pictures of every band we saw, just because I was trying to enjoy the shows without getting too carried away with picture taking. Here are a few from what I did get.

Two Door Cinema Club, Day 1



Coldplay, Headliner Day 1

The city made such an awesome backdrop for the stage!

Eminem from the back, Headliner Day 2

I just could not get over how many people were there. Saturday was kind of a bust, but a few in our group really wanted to see Eminem so we walked over around 6 so they could work their way closer to the stage. My dad and I watched for a while and wandered by both Pretty Lights and Beirut before the night was over.

The Cars, Day 3

Cold War Kids, MY Headliner for Day 3

My favorite part of the whole weekend... even with all the rain and mud. We spent the entirety of two other sets working our way up to the front row for this. Totally jealous that the next day a family friend was sitting right next to all the band members on a flight to LA.

Chicago Brunching

Three of my good friends were up in Chicago last weekend for Lollapalooza, but we didn't walk over to Grant Park until 3 or so most days which left plenty of time for experiencing some of South Loop's finest brunch locations... or at least our favorites. This was probably the first time in quite a while I had made any real attempt at getting dressed/dolled up with moving and as hot as it had been, so I made a point of getting some pictures.

Outfit
Dress, Shoes: Target
Belt: Forever 21
Bracelets, Earrings: Charlotte Russe
Headband: DIY
Purse: Nine West, TJ Maxx
Sunglasses: Delias
(RIP... these little guys didn't survive the weekend, and they didn't even get worn to the actual festival!)

Brunch was at Eleven City Diner, a particular favorite of ours. I alone have been there a handful of times and somehow had never discovered how amazing their pancakes are!!! I definitely stole a few bites from Katelyn.

Band on the Run

All moved out of The Jungle in Bloomington, settled in Chicago, and yet again dealing with not having internet!!! Right now I'm at my parents' house in Southern Indiana and leaving for Florida tomorrow, and I think the condo down there has it so I'll try to crank out some posts/get some scheduled in case the wireless is for some reason not up when I get back to Chicago. It has been a crazy month, that's for sure.

For now, I'll leave you with some pictures from a Paul McCartney concert we saw at Wrigley Field on August 1. I'm not going to lie, I was excited when I heard we'd be seeing him, but probably not as excited as I should have been. He was never my FAVORITE Beatle, and most of my favorite songs were John songs, but he WAS a Beatle none the less. The show ended up being probably among my five favorite shows I have ever seen. He is still SO amazing live, and played a ton of Beatles music along with songs I apparently didn't even realize were his. If you have any interest in him/the Beatles, it is totally worth your while to spend the money to see him.

(As always, you can click any picture to get a bigger view!)

"McCartney has more hits than the Cubs"... Loved this one!

My little brother is a little bit of a nut.

John's "Give Peace a Chance"

Live or Let Die

Hey Jude

Day in the Life

Have you guys been up to anything fun this summer? Any other good concerts out there? One of my next posts will be a Lollapalooza recap of sorts. See you then!