Holiday Parties

There's nothing better than getting all dressed up and going to a holiday party. Allow me put an image in your mind - As you travel to the party you walk along dark streets and gaze at the shimmering holiday lights. Although it is freezing out, you don't feel the chill because you are cuddled up next to a significant other, a friend, or (more realistically) a bottle of wine. Finally you step out of the icy wind and into a warm house filled with laughter and the people you love. What could be better than that?!

Following the holiday party theme, why not reinvent yourself for a holiday party? Have you ever wanted a different shaped nose? Or even different teeth? Maybe you just want a nose ring and are too afraid to get the piercing.You can instantly change up any of these attributes by using fun cups - yup, just cups! As a poured a drink at my friends party I realized all of the cups have different noses, teeth, and lips! So awesome to play around with :) 

Tis the season!

This is one of the best times of the year. Mainly because the people I love, who are usually spread out across the country, all come back to Chicago for Christmas. On top of wonderful, rare moments with friends and family this Christmas break has been filled with holiday parties, carolers, one snowfall, and lots of cookie making. Who am I kidding, mostly cookie eating! I'm also back working a job I love (a stylist at free people) for some extra holiday cash - if I don't spend all my paycheck at the store (which I do...).

Yesterday my family had the chance to celebrate Christmas with one side of our family. We ate a delicious turkey meal and exchanged fun gifts, like lotto tickets! I was lucky enough to win five bucks! I'm pretty excited about that :) Then tonight my family will eat our favorite dinner of the year, curl up in some pajamas, and read the night before christmas. A perfect beginning to all the Christmas festivities. With all of that being said, I have finally come to what I wanted to say in this post! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and a very merry Christmas! xo

*all images are from pinterest

Odds & Ends

This edition of Odds & Ends features my grand friend Liza! She came to visit for a few days and we got to play around downtown. We went to the Hancock building for drinks, deep dish pizza for dinner, and an improv show at Second City! We also stopped by the Christkindlemarket, Chicago's German Christmas market, for some good ole spiced wine. It was a wonderful visit! Liza, come back whenever your little heart desires!

Chicago Botanic Garden

Although it is wintertime, the Botanic Garden is still beautiful. It is also pretty rocking to walk into green houses after wandering around in the cold. It's almost like a little vacation! Here are a few things that inspired me at the gardens.

Shedd Aquarium

My friend Liza decided to accompany me on the long drive home to Chicago. To celebrate her first time in the big city I decided to take her to my favorite place - the Shedd Aquarium. If you don't know already, I have a large obsession with whales. They are beautiful creatures that both intrigue  and scare the bejesus out of me. The Shedd not only has Beluga whales but it has sea otters, turtles, jellyfish, and basically everything other animal you would want to see - like sharks eeeek! In the midst of our visit we ended up at the holiday fantasea water show where dolphins, whales, and sea lions performed tricks. There were also some visits from carolers, santa, and people dressed like whales and snowmen. It was....weird to say the least. Let me rephrase that, it was a show targeted to children - yeah thats better :)

The dolphins and whales just had babies so there were little nuggets swimming around. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to view them above water (due to bonding purposes) so I have a few blurry pictures of them under water. Just a warning, I took many pictures of the jellies - They are just so photogenic! I'm also sharing a picture from 2011 where I had to opportunity to interact with a Beluga at the Shedd. If you are interested in a experience like that click here!

From 2011-

Holiday Gift Guides

With so many wonderful stores and websites out there it's hard to decide on a perfect gift. Then, if you are anything like me, you can't figure out a gift for someone like your father who seems to have everything he needs. Well mostly everything...he did explain that I could buy him an artificial left knee and my sister could get him the right knee (soccer injuries). For some reason artificial joints don't scream 'Merry Christmas' to me. Luckily, websites and magazines are forming perfect holiday gift guides. Below I've listed my top 3 favorite gift guides for the season!

1) To & From Holiday Gift Guide

With 142 pages of gift inspirations you are sure to find something for that hard to buy person. They have categorized the gifts by receiver (anywhere from mom to the vintage loving girl) and even have a section on gifts that wont break your bank account. Definitely check it out!



2) Terrain

As a sister store to Free People (where I work) and Anthropologie, Terrain has that same free spirited vibe but is focused on home goods. They have some wonderful gifts that fit perfect with a college girls budget. I recently bought these trio of salts as a gift for a friend that loves to cook!



3) Etsy

I am in mad love with Etsy. There is no better place to find one of a kind handmade or vintage gifts. On their homepage they offer gift guides where you can pick a category, such a tech lover, and then scroll through all of the relevant gifts. Buying from Etsy is perfect way to support local businesses during this holiday season.

Thanksgiving Break

I'm alive! I swear! It is the last week of the semester aka the beginning of finals. All I have in between now and winter break is 60 pages of papers, two final exams, and two presentations - I shudder at the thought of it all. Well, before I cuddle up in big sweaters and live at my desk, I thought I would share a few shots from thanksgiving break. I was lucky enough to go home a few days earlier than expected and I got to spend the whole week with family and friends. Half of these pictures are of these amazing blue cheese apricot bites. My sister and I made them as a thanksgiving appetizer. They are so beautiful to photograph with the roasted walnuts and fresh rosemary that I couldn't resist taking a few extra shots.

Potential Xmas Card Picture

The only pictures I took on Thanksgiving - too busy eating :)