Disney Dreaming

At the end of May my whole family is going to Disney World to celebrate my lil bro’s high school graduation. I’m super excited and, of course, am already planning my outfits. Man BFF and I went to Disney about a year and a half ago (during my no shopping year) so now that I’m shopping, I’m going to take full advantage of it! Here’s what I’m buying, and why.

Peplum Swimsuit: Anthropologie

Ok, I couldn’t find a picture that included the detachable peplum skirt, but be sure to check out the link to see this swimsuit in all it’s glory. Here’s why I love this swimsuit: 1. the solid color side panels are slimming, 2. the peplum skirt covers up mah belly, 3. the strapless style puts a nix on tan lines.

Swimsuit Cover-Up: Victoria’s Secret

Picture the above cover-up in black and that’s what I’m getting (just couldn’t find the pic). I’m usually of the thought that swimsuit cover-ups are an unnecessary purchase, but having a cute dress to throw on to hit the pool bar or grab a snack is definitely a must. Forget the towel!

Flip-Flops: Havaianas

One summer, Man BFF were in Washington DC in the dead of summer and I was wearing a dress and heels while we were walking miles and miles. I was desperate to find a pair of $2 flip flops to switch my heels for, but couldn’t find an Old Navy for the life of me. Finally we stumbled upon a Nine West that had freaking $20 flip flops. Ugh! I finally decided to buy them, and haven’t regretted it since. Years have past and the only flip flops that have remained in my closet are those $20 Havaianas. Walking all over Disney requires a quality sandal and these are the ones!

Sandals – Charlotte Russe

While these sandals are guaranteed to not be as comfortable as the Havaianas they will definitely go with all my fabulous, flirty, and feminine tops from Lauren Conrad’s Kohl’s collection.

Purse – ModCloth

A cross-body bag in Disney is a must! Between photo shoots with the Princesses, frozen Margaritas in Epcot, and running around with my niece and nephew, I’m going to need to have both hands free at all times. This sorbet-colored bag from ModCloth will be the perfect bag to ensure I make the most of Disney.

Shorts/Capris – Kohl’s

To go with all my new LC Lauren Conrad tops from Kohl’s, I’m stocking up on bottoms next. In addition to these floral-print shorts, I’m getting shorts and capris in dark blue denim and white denim. While I’m never thrilled to wear shorts, I am going on vacation so I’m willing to bare the gams for Mickey.

Vacation shopping can be stressful but if you plan ahead you can be prepared and excited about everything you’re bringing. Disney, here I come!

Peplum Lovin’

This summer, our good friends (featured in this blogpost) are getting married lakeside in Michigan, and of course, I’ve been planning my outfit since they got engaged. As a groomsmen, Man BFF’s outfit is already decided. Mine on the other hand? Well, the world is my canvas. Ever since the peplum trend popped up for spring, my goal has been to rock a fabulous peplum dress at the July nuptials. Peplum dresses have been everywhere this season!

My requirements:

1. Under $100

2. Not white

3. Dance floor ready

After months (literally) of research, I found my baby. Thank you, TopShop.

Originally I saw this dress at TopShop, but only in white. Boo! I did a little online research, found it in peach, but had no idea what size to order. Honestly, I had forgotten about it until this weekend when Man BFF and I were shopping on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile and I decided to peruse TopShop. Lucky for me, we walked in and the Peplum Scuba Pencil Dress in peach was staring me in the face. The store had only received them in stock the night before! Better yet, the dress fit perfectly and met all three of my requirements! The shopping gods smiled down on me this weekend and I’m already ready to dance the night away in peplum to celebrate the newlyweds!

 

Tags: Peplum, Peplum Scuba Pencil Dress, Summer 2012 Wedding Guest, Topshop

Spring Shopping (At Kohl’s?)

I’ve never liked shopping at Kohl’s. Every time I go in one I feel claustrophobic from the amount of merch and can’t bring myself to stay long enough to look for something I want to buy. But ever since Lauren Conrad (of The Hills fame) started selling her new line of clothes at Kohl’s, I’ve had a bit more interest in braving the over-stuffed store.

I’ve seen LC’s clothes on a few blogs, but it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I really took a look at her collection online, and I loved it. I decided to buck my usual trend of buying one thing here and one thing there and I decided to buy several pieces only from LC’s spring collection. Now, my spring wardrobe has a consistent style with the same color palette and seasonal trends. Shopping within one collection, store, or designer may not work for everyone, but as someone who’s obsessed with matching and organization, this new shopping process is the key to solving my usual hours of frustrating shopping from store to store.

But enough about that, bring on the clothes! Here are a few of my favorite items that are now in my closet:

Pretty good for Kohl’s, eh? Can’t wait to see what LC comes out with next!

 

Something Borrowed

My sister is 7 years older than me, and I’ve probably been stealing her clothes since I was 7. Whenever she’d go out with friends I’d sneak into her room and try on anything and everything I could. Then when she would come home from college, I’d sort through her suitcase as soon as she turned her head. I honestly can’t remember if she ever caught me wearing her clothes, but in recent years, the tables have turned and when I visit her I’ll notice a few of my clothes in her closet that I haven’t seen in years. It’s an endless fashion cycle.

This past week, my sister sent me a box of clothes and a few knick knacks that she wanted to get rid of during Spring cleaning. Tobias was pretty excited to have a new box in the house.

The box was filled with a black jacket, black sweater, black blouse (can you tell my sister works in NYC?), and a few brightly colored tops including this ombre tank.

Shockingly, she didn’t send me anything that had once been mine!

Now it’s my turn to do the Spring cleaning. Besides clothes, my sister sent me some nail polish, jewelry, and hair products. It’s a good reminder that clothes aren’t the only thing that’s taking up space in your closet. If you don’t use it, get rid of it one way or the other!

Birthday Baby

This past weekend, Man BFF and his brother, Phil, ran the Shamrock Shuffle, an 8k race throughout downtown Chicago. They did a great job and I couldn’t be prouder! Check out Man BFF’s blog for all the deets on the race!

While I didn’t run the race, my sister-in-law, Erica, and I did have the important task of creating posters for our runner husbands. Here’s my poster after the race. Tobias is lovin Miss Nicki Minaj.

Besides making the posters and walking to various spots on the course to cheer for the boys, Erica and I also had some birthday business to attend to. The race was on Sunday and Man BFFs birthday was on Monday, so I wanted to have a birthday cake ready for Man BFF when he finished the race. Since the race was called the Shamrock Shuffle, I decided to go for a shammie theme. After we left the boys to go to the starting line, we rushed over to my and Man BFF’s fave downtown bakery to pick up his cake. Check out the beauty!

The guys finished the race and after hugs, kisses, and pictures, it was time to come home for the surprise birthday party. Man BFF LOVES cake so I knew he’d be excited. And he was.

Even Tobias loved the cake!

Success! Man BFF loved his cake!

On his actual birthday, we both got massages (heavenly!) at a nearby hotel and went out for drinks. All in all, a great golden birthday for Man BFF!

 

Primary Colors

Yesterday Man BFF and I were part of the 23% of Chicagoans who got out the vote. Come on, Chicago! Why didn’t you vote?! Rude!

I’ve kind of been in love with voting since I was little. I always went with my mom when she voted and I always had a blast.  The stickers. The pollsters. The pregnant chads. What fun!

Now that I’ve been eligible to vote for a few years now, I’ve become a bit obsessive. In college, Man BFF and I attended a costume party dressed as the Pennsylvania and Indiana primaries. Guess whose idea that was? I also used to print off voter registrations for my friends and offer to mail them in for them. So, as you can tell, my voter patriotism runs deep.

Yesterday morning Man BFF and I woke up super early to make sure we had time to vote. Since we were up early, I tried to stick to one of my favorite looks, denim on denim. While my outfit didn’t exactly scream “God Bless America,” it WAS only a primary. I gotta save the all out Americana look for the real deal in November.

God Bless America and God Bless the Texas Tuxedo! Yee haw! And if your primary is still coming up, vote or be a giant lame-o!

Luck of the Irish

Chicago went cray cray this weekend for St. Patrick’s Day. I guess it’s like this every year, but I’m sure the unseasonably HOT weather added to the madness. It was literally like Mardi Gras! Luckily we had friends in town, so we had even more reason to celebrate with the rest of the city! Decked out in green, we started the morning watching the river get dyed an unnatural green.

Here’s my favorite accessory of the day! Cute green hair bow!

After we watched river go green, we mosied over to grab a brew before we watched the parade. Of course no beer drinking moment on St. Patrick’s Day is complete without green nail polish.

After an afternoon in the heat and a lunch break at home (I made d-lish corned beef and cabbage sammies), our crew headed out to Navy Pier. We had a blast at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville, riding the ferris wheel, and then hitting up an Irish Pub later that night for dinner (check out Man BFF’s blog to read about all the fun!).

The next morning we watched our friend Sara run the Get Lucky half marathon where she was the 2nd fastest laday! Congrats!

All in all, it was one of the best weekends we’ve had since moving to Chicago. Gorgeous weather, awesome friends, and an adorbs green hair bow. Can’t wait for next St. Patrick’s Day!