Sweet home, Chicago...

Hi pretty, lovely people. One of my favorite past times is snuggling with Meowf and looking through fashion blogs (thank you Coach for getting me hooked but also inspired to start this blog) and I found one that lives in Chicago, IL! I nearly fell off my bed I was so excited! Most of my favorites live on the east coast and one is from Seattle, WA but does not live there (sad Seattle is the bees knees, I should write about it huh?!)

alovelyescape.blogspot.com is so wonderful! I feel like our style is similar in that it's pretty laid back but every once in a while we punch you in the face with an amazingly styled outfit! And like any good blogger alovelyescape not only posts outfits but delicious recipes and DIY projects! I don't know what it is but a good snapshot of a scrumptious meal really makes me happy!

Gray + pink = fun!!

Any other fashion lover who is a bears fan & wears legit gear (no pink in sight) to the game is alright by me! 

So, if you get a chance check out her blog it's wonderful for those of us in the Midwest (reminds me of a Nelly song, Midwest Swing anyone?)

xoxo

English Tea...

Two posts in one day...sayyyy whaaaaat?! But I wanted to quick post about the two Butter London polishes I got yesterday. They're limited addition for the holidays so if you like them you better hurry and get yours!

Dark Knight is black with pink and blue glitter and it's so pretty! It's on my toes right now (dress code...BOO) but it will make an appearance on my digits for New Years Eve.

Tart with a Heart is pinkish/nude glitter that I put on my fingers for now. I am going to try it over Chanel Peridot too. But it's a fun/festive nude for the holidays!

I took this picture of the bottles...it's that little bird so cute? loves it!

xoxo

Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and Christmas at Tiffany...

Hi pretties! Today is awful weather wise, it's cold and windy! I think my house might blow over. I wanted to do a post today about my Tiffany & Co. jewelry collection because I wear at least one piece everyday so when I do more outfit posts you'll already know what I have! I take off my jewelry every night and most especially to shower so I usually rotate. I am not trying to brag or boast about my collection, they're mostly gifts from loved ones over many years so they've become little treasures that I adore! So here goes...

Most girls who own Tiffany know this ring and probably own it already. It was the first piece I got, I think I was a junior in high school. I used to twirl it around my finger in class so it has stretched a little but I like to wear it more in the fall/winter because it has a tough look to it. It's probably my fav because it's was the start of my love of T&CO.

The Elsa Peretti heart necklace was a graduation gift from my godparents when I graduated high school. It's the medium size and I wore it on this chain for a very long time but my necklace collection grew so now I usually wear it on a longer chain from T&CO like this...

For Christmas that same year I asked Santa for these matching drop earrings. I know the stud earrings like this are more popular but I love these because they're delicate yet eye-catching. I usually wear my sapphire stud earrings from Kyle but these are nice when I dress up and want a little more bling. 

I asked for this bracelet to finish the set :) I hardly ever wear all three pieces together because I'm not that match-y match-y but I wanted a heart bracelet that not everyone had so I figured why not. It's very delicate (like the earrings) but it's so easy to wear on my baby wrists :)

Since Sex and the City and Carrie (not me) always wearing a pinkie ring, I really wanted one but couldn't find one that would actually fit. Then I found this ring in the catalog T&CO usually send out right before Christmas and thought I could order the smallest size and if it didn't fit squeeze it to size. Luckily I didn't have to do that because the smallest size fit anyway. Lots of hearts, right lol but it's so cute and really easy to wear on my baby finger. 

This bracelet is from my boyfriend! This color blue is my favorite color and it's delicate enough I can wear it with the Elsa Peretti bracelet without ruining either one. I usually wear this one all of the time, except in the shower, my other pieces usually get rotated. 

I fell in love with the keys, as did everyone else, and I couldn't resist one with a diamond in it. I thought it would be cute to wear with my heart necklace, like the "key to my heart". I know it's corny but I kind of like my jewelry to tell a story. 

The most recent piece of T&CO jewelry I've acquired was when I was in New York City for a few days and I went to the Tiffany & Co store there and you can't NOT buy something. I love rose gold, as you know, and this was the perfect mix! I usually wear it on the same chain with the key but I also like to wear it on it's own. (It's the smallest one FYI). 

So that's my jewelry collection but for Christmas the last few years Kyle has started a tradition of getting me ornaments for the Christmas tree so I can have a whole tree of them one day and it also chronicles our relationship, we don't really have an anniversary so I've used the number of ornaments to help :) Right now we're at two, I know we've been together longer but whateves...(also not bragging about these ornaments! Two I've purchased myself and two were gifts)

This was the first one Kyle gave me and it's my favorite. 

This one is very pretty and festive, I got it for myself last year

This one is so sweet, I also gifted myself this one last year.

Kyle gave me this one last year for Christmas!! It's so beautiful! 

So, there it is. I want to stress I AM NOT BRAGGING about this collection but I wear them a lot and wanted to share them with you. I hope you're having a great week and remembering all that you were thankful for this past holiday. 

xoxo

A weekend in review...

Hello pretties! I hope your Thanksgiving was magical and delicious! Mine surely was! I wanted to share some delights from my weekend with you! I am a special bird and didn't shoot any of the outfits I wore whilst wearing them so I have to make do! It's going to be pretty picture heavy...sorry. I'll start with Wednesday night because we always go out the Wednesday before Thanksgiving (Black-out Wednesday as we so fondly refer to it)...

LC Lauren Conrad for Kohl's Boyfriend Blazer (last year's~ similar {I'm ordering the white})

LC Lauren Conrad for Kohl's pintuck top in pink

ELLE nude patent leather pumps

My rose gold bow necklace with my favorite long strand of pearls

Of course my rose gold watch (worn with all these outfits)

*I swear I didn't forget pants, I wore black skinny jeans*

For Thanksgiving I went a little bit more comfortable and festive in my colors!

Missoni for Target open front cardigan in perfect Thanksgiving colors

(With a black tee underneath)

Old Navy Rockstar jeggings

Tiffany silver/rose gold small round lock

*Black suede Aldo wedge boots for my tooters*

(The rest of these photos were filtered through instagram [carried28])

We drank champagne with hibiscus flowers and syrup on Thanksgiving! It was pretty and delicious

Today I unexpectedly got the day off so I got to enjoy the whole* day with my boyfriend and the Bears (we lost BOO :() which was so nice so I got to put together a Sunday Funday outfit...

Chunky camel cardigan with a Ditka tee and skinnies and waterfall braid

(All silver jewelry is from my Tiffany collection, I should post about it)

Minnetonka moccs (with thunderbirds of course)

A few more snap shots I swear to wrap up this weekends fun...

Sally Hansen Nail Effects in Snow Bunny and Essie Scarlett O'hara (They've chipped from work since.)

This is the mess my bags became from this weekend-Coach classic shoulder bag (vermillion), Coach Julia, and Coach Kristin Willow w/Missoni scarf.

I bought this bear hat from Target and I love it! I'm wearing it whilst writing this lengthy post :)

So to make up for my neglect here is a lot to look over :< I definitely have a lot to be thankful for this year and I am totally looking forward to what's coming in the near future! Happy Thanksgiving!

xoxo

Black Friday Etiquette...

It's the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and the subsequent Black Friday madness that will take over my weekend. So I thought I would share some insight from a retail associate to Black Friday shopper enthusiasts on just how this day is for us working.

Generally the people who are out waiting to get into the stores right when it opens are the Black Friday Pros who are in a good mood and ready for the crowds. I like these people because they are so easy to work with, they understand how busy we are and they don't fixate on one sales associate for help. 

First rule, do not fixate on one sales associate if you don't have to. Most stores pack as many of their employees as they can throughout the day so this isn't necessary. I say this only because it becomes a little overwhelming to try and continually help you and the 50 other people in their zone/department.

Second rule, do not interrupt a conversation between a sales associate and another customer. It's rude and your questions are no more important than any other person shopping that day, no matter how much product you have in your hands, intend on buying, or have purchased in the past. 

Third rule, the person working the door cannot leave the door to help you. Forget they exist once you've walked into the store. Their main priority is monitoring traffic, talking to the people in line to ensure they stay excited, and probably loss prevention. 

Fourth, if you're boyfriend/husband is shopping with you but doesn't get in line with you to get into a store and you get in before he finally meets up with you he cannot just walk in and skip the line because you're inside. So don't ask. It frustrates the front of the line and generally the person at the door. Also don't call the person at the door an obscenities more than likely you'll get kicked out or not allowed in the store.

Fifth, the registers no matter how many a store has going will have long lines. If you're "just coming to return" save it for Monday because you're going to wait or shop around first then return. Also, most stores cannot hold anything on this weekend.

Six, be nice to the cashier if something isn't ringing up at the price you expected. Especially in outlet stores, things get put back wrong and while the staff tries to keep  things clean and in their place it isn't going to be perfect. If you're not sure if something is in the wrong place just ask an associate/cashier before they ring it up. 

I couldn't talk about Black Friday and not talk about the Target Black Friday lady, we love her at the store because she is so crazy! 

My best advice is to be polite, patient, and calm. Remember the gift giving season is supposed to be fun and meaningful because most of the time it's the thought that counts. I mean do you want the story of the gift you're giving someone you love to start with "You will not believe how many people I had to fight to get this for you..." It's the holidays, be gracious to everyone*. 

xoxo

P.S. Pretties I cannot wait to show you my low key Thanksgiving outfit. We're keeping it relaxing this year and I am so excited to hang out, eat, drink and be thankful! 

My outfit of the day...

Hi pretties! I wanted to share my outfit today. I have today off and wanted to look cute before putting my yoga pants and TWILIGHT sweatshirt on for the midnight showing of Breaking Dawn Part 1 :) I cannot wait to see it, there are so many parts I am excited to see how they portrayed and honestly I am in love with Robert Pattinson (sigh TEAM EDWARD). But anywho...

Faux fur vest-Michael Kors, button up-William Rast, cargo skinnies-Elle, shoes-Coach, watch-Fossil, bracelets-Tiffany & Co., fox ring-Forever21, sunnies-Forever21

First, yes our Christmas tree is up already mostly because we bought a new one and I convinced my mom to put it up instead of drag it down to the basement just to bring it back up again in like 2 weeks. It's pretty chilly and windy today so I decided to take the pictures inside! Hopefully you all are having a good week and I'll be seeing you!

xoxo

Dress up your tech...

Happy Monday! Lately I've been obsessed with iPhone cases and dressing up my phone. As you know I have the Elle and Blair nude and black lace case for my phone (here) and while I said when I first got it I probably wouldn't use it all the time, I have been. I figured I paid for it I should use it.

A few of my favorite designers have been making iPhone cases and they're so cute! I just ordered one from Rebecca Minkoff that I am so excited to get!

It comes a lot of color combinations but in keeping with my more red campaign I got red/black. 

This one is so cool! I was tempted to get it but I'm not really that bad a$$ so I digress 

Another one of the options I was deciding on-it's so cute! Marc Jacobs

This is another Marc Jacobs cover I really liked but the RM won out! 

This one is very cute by tibi

For the hipster in all of us! MUSTACHE! 

For all you pretties...another accessory to dress up your outfit! I ordered my RM case from shopbop.com but a lot of websites have designer cases for you :)

xoxo

Smoke...

Good evening pretties! I've been playing up my eyes lately because due to the lack of sun my skin has started to settle into it's natural pale tone for the winter. During the summer I usually play with more gray toned shadows but for winter, due to my pale skin, I use brown shadows with gold tones to warm up my face. Something I really like lately is a brown smokey eye! There are like a million tutorials on youtube or google so I won't waste your time with all that but I find that a brown smokey eye is a little easier to pull off during the day! So use your favorite shades of brown and follow the guidelines for a more traditional/popular smokey eye!

If only all our lashes were naturally this luscious! 

Kristen Stewart's green eye pop with a brown smokey eye

(Oh, Breaking Dawn how I cannot wait for your arrival...have you gotten the soundtrack yet? If not shame on you it's magical)

xoxo

What's old is new again...

Not so manic Monday for me pretties! I've had a lot going on lately and have found myself more stressed than usual, I guess that's growing up. I've been playing in my closet a lot lately and finding new ways to wear pieces I've had for a while. I'll be honest I find nothing more fun than getting something new and creating a whole new outfit. The fashion industry is fickle but the economy is poor at best so we don't all have the means to buy something new so we never wear the same thing twice. To be honest I think true style is finding ways to wear the same piece in different ways but it never appears you wore the same thing twice.

"I dressed myself for the camera for five years-and never repeated an outfit once. (We filmed three to five days a week, with an average of two to three weeks off over the course  of a year-that's a lot of different looks!)" -Lauren Conrad Style, p. 2

One of my favorite blogs- cheetahisthenewblack.com does this trick so well. We all repeat our favorite denim but cheetahisthenewblack wears her bottoms to create different looks.

In her most recent post she wore these cheetah print skinnies with a cozy sweater and faux fur scarf.

With tough accessories and a leather jacket these skinnies look rocker chic

Changing a few key pieces means you'll never be caught in the same outfit. 

She did the same thing with these floral print pants! All she did was change her outerwear, bag, and shoes.

Olivia Palermo shops her own closet often and mixes pieces to create whole new looks

Like I said, it's fun shopping all the time and never having to wear the same thing twice but let's be honest-that's easy. True style is working with what you've got and no one noticing you've already worn that bright pair of denim, printed top, or skirt. So play in your own closet and see what fun you can come up with! 

xoxo