Maui Wowee

I'm sure some of you guessed it...

and I'm in Maui!!

I haven't been here since I was in 7th grade. Want a flashback? Uh, here we go:

Don't you just love my platform sandals? haha I love how awkward everyone looks in this picture, all we're missing is my brother, B!!


I'll try to post pictures here and there of beautiful Maui :)

Have a great week!

Happy Friday!!!

The week is over so let the fun begin!


What are your weekend plans?


I leave tomorrow for vacation and am counting down the hours!!

via

I'll give you a couple clues as to where I'm going.

It's 9.5 hours from Chicago.

It's warm & sunny.

We'll be whale watching.


Any guesses?!?!

Also, if you'd like to do a guest post while I'm gone, I'd love to have you here on Pursuit of LLT!

And the Freebie Friday #5 Winner Is...

The winner of this week's Freebie Friday is:

Daniela from D, etc!

Congratulations!!!

D blogged about the giveaway and only commented once for that so I had to enter two additional entries into the giveaway!


Please email me at PursuitofLLT@gmail.com with your address and your canvas tote will be on its way!

Oscar, Oscar

I absolutely love the Oscars. The red carpet, the winners, the speeches. You name it. Here is a list of the 2011 Academy Award Nominees along with who I think will win in the more mainstream categories. Sorry, I don't get Sound Editing and Sound Mixing...

There were some surprise nominations along the way this year...Jeremy Renner for The Town. That was unexpected to me. He definitely was good but I was surprised!

Best picture

"Black Swan"

The Fighter"

"Inception"

"The Kids Are All Right"

"The King’s Speech"

"127 Hours"

"The Social Network"

"Toy Story 3"

"True Grit"

"Winter’s Bone"

Actor

Javier Bardem, "Biutiful"
Jeff Bridges, "True Grit"
Jesse Eisenberg, "The Social Network"
Colin Firth, "The King's Speech"
James Franco, "127 Hours"

Actress

Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman, "Rabbit Hole"
Jennifer Lawrence, "Winter's Bone"
Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"
Michelle Williams, "Blue Valentine"

Supporting actor

Christian Bale, "The Fighter"
John Hawkes, "Winter's Bone"
Jeremy Renner, "The Town"
Mark Ruffalo, "The Kids Are All Right"
Geoffrey Rush, "The King's Speech"

Supporting actress

Amy Adams, "The Fighter"
Helena Bonham Carter, "The King's Speech"
Melissa Leo, "The Fighter"
Hailee Steinfeld, "True Grit"
Jacki Weaver, "Animal Kingdom"

Director

Darren Aronofsky, "Black Swan"
David O. Russell, "The Fighter"
Tom Hooper, "The King's Speech"
David Fincher, "The Social Network"
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "True Grit"

Animated feature

"How to Train Your Dragon"
"The Illusionist"
"Toy Story 3"

Adapted screenplay

"127 Hours"
"The Social Network"
"Toy Story 3"
"True Grit"
"Winter’s Bone"

Original screenplay

"Another Year"
"The Fighter"
"Inception"
"The Kids Are All Right"
"The King’s Speech"

My picks are in BOLD but the ones I had trouble with I Italicized because I'm so torn!!

Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay were the hardest ones for me to pick.

Do you watch the Oscars? Who are your Oscar picks?!

Weekend Woes

So this weekend was a bit, uh, stressful.

Friday: My dear friend, J, and I decide to go see Blue Valentine. (Super good, honest, depressing) He walks to the right to get his ticket. I go to the left. I hand the teenager my Debit Card to have him tell me it's denied. WHAT? I say. That's impossible. I knew I had cash in there, I text Chase, and sure enough $ in my account. I ask him to run it again. Declined.

Via Chase

Now I'm just humiliated. I have $2 in cash so I hand him my credit card. I then proceed to walk into the theater feeling like a dirt bag. J and I laugh but it's not funny.

Saturday: I go to Chase and surprise, surprise! I have money! Some guy in Houston accidentally CLOSED MY DEBIT CARD! ughhhh! 2 clicks later and I'm back in business.
Still hugely embarrassed, though.

Then later in the day my brother and I are walking to his car when I hit a patch of black ice and WHOOSH. Next thing I know I'm laying on my back covered in snow. Great.


Via

AND Finally. I'm driving to meet my cousin when I realize there's a cop. Whoops. I tap my break to slow down. Nope. Pulled over. Very expensive ticket follows.
:(

To make matters worse, I have to go to the police station to pay my bond to get my license back because I need it to travel on Saturday. (Passports are SUCH a hassle when you just need a license) and my court date is when I'm on vacation. Talk about bad timing.

SO yeah, that was my weekend. Talk about the curse of the 3s!! Let's just hope nothing else happens. XX (those are my crossed fingers!)

Hope your weekend was better than mine!!

Freebie Friday #5

It's the first Freebie Friday of 2011!!

And why not start the year off with a chic canvas tote?

Look cute. Pass on plastic bags.

It's a win, win!

Don't mind the wrinkles...yours is still in the packaging. This one is mine and has gotten some use and abuse :)

J.Crew Canvas Bag!

TO ENTER:

1. Follow Pursuit of LLT & leave a comment!

For extra entries:
1 extra entry: Follow me on Twitter (@PursuitofLLT)
1 extra entry: Tweet about the contest
3 extra entries: Blog about it

For every extra entry please leave a separate comment.

Contest will run through Tuesday, January 25th at 11:59 CST.

Good luck!

Row Your Boat

I want to be on a yacht wearing these clothes. Who wouldn't?

The Nautical look is big right now. It's all over the catalogs, runways, and fashion magazines. I'm a big fan of it because let's be honest I love stripes. Need a refresher? Check out this post.

1. UO Staring at Stars Ranger Hat $34
2. Sperry Top-Sider Angelfish Boat Shoes $74.95
3. DVF Canvas Nautical Tote $85
4. Tory Burch Striped Espadrille $95
5. Ray Ban Cockpit Sunglasses $139





1. Bailey 44 Gyro Jacket $187
2. Ann Taylor Knit Striped Dress $128
3. Gap Wide Leg Trouser Jean (dark rinse) $69.50
4. Hudson Jeans Wide Leg Trouser Jeans $165
5. Hy & Dot Stripe Blazer $108
6. Anthropologie First Mate Skirt $148
7. Banana Republic Linen Nautical Stripe Crew $39.50

My faves are the Tory flats, DVF tote and Ann Taylor dress.

What do you think about the Nautical look? Are you on board?

Guest Blogger, Perhaps?

Hello fellow blogger friends!



I'm going on vacation at the end of the month and will be gone for 10 days.

(ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh, i'm so excited!)


It was a spur of the moment-thank you Travelzoo for the heads up-kind of trip.

So here's what I was wondering....

.......would anyone like to do a guest post?

Via

any topic.

any thought.

anything.



Just let me know! Comment here or email me at PursuitofLLT@gmail.com


Thanks!

Leaving On a Jet Plane

My friends & I are off for a weekend to celebrate L's final days as a single woman.

Via

The weather is acting a little bipolar right now in Austin and it might be rainy and chilly for us.

That's ok. Rain + 60 degree weather > Chicago weather.
You gotta take the good whenever you can, right?!

Via

After our weekend of debauchery, L will be well on her way to becoming Mrs. A.

It's going to be a fabulous wedding and I can't wait.

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What does your weekend entail?!

Gilt's Sister

Did you know gilt.com has a sister site, GiltCity.com? I just figured this out two days ago and am pleasantly surprised!

They have offers for:

Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco.

You can get a giggle membership and $75 gift certificate for $25 in Chicago.

You can wine and dine and Aspen Social Club in NYC

You can pamper yourself for the new year at Maxime Salon in Boston

Or you can get a handle on the new you in 2011 and purge your closet with styling tips in LA!

Just use your Gilt.com log-in information and get going! What will you find in your city?

all images from gilt.com

Inslee Haynes Designs

I love coming across new artists and designers. I found Inslee Haynes through Emily Giffin and now I'm hooked.

I immediately fell in love.

Her sketches are so whimsical.

Take a look for yourself...





She sells stationary, cards, and calendars. She even takes commissioned work.

Isn't she fabulous?!?!


All photos are property of Inslee Haynes.

Lady Like Dresses

The lady like look is quickly returning and soon to be everywhere! It's fun, flirty and still incredibly fashionable. Just ask Jackie O.

Spring is right around the corner (although it's snowing right now...) and it's time to focus on the next season ahead.

These dresses are charming, chic, and classic. (I'll ease up on the alliteration, yikes!)




1. Anthro Across the Land Dress
2. Anthro Gull Wing Dress
3. Mara Hoffman Picnic Dress
4. Tucker Smocked Collar Mini Dress
5. Shoshanna Beaded Neck Dress
6. Merona Shelby Dress
7. Merona Laura Dress

Will you be buying a lady like dress this Spring?

I know #1 and #2 are calling my name! and they're even better in person!!

Guilty Pleasures

I was about to write a post about Spring Catalogs/Clothes when I got distracted by the Internet (go figure) and next thing I know it's been 42 minutes. HUH?!

It got me thinking about what I was doing over the last 42 minutes. Such a huge guilty pleasure of mine...

Celebrity Gossip Sites! I love reading JustJared.com, PerezHilton.com (like him even more now that he's not so rude), Lainey Gossip, D-Listed...etc.

Then I thought about more of my guilty pleasures. Believe me. There's always more!

loving all the pictures people post on their facebook.

mini cupcakes. so small. so tasty.

Via

frozen candy. i don't know why but a resse's peanut butter cup just tastes better from the freezer!

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singing super loud in my car and thinking I actually sound good. ha.

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getting complimented over and over on something you got from Target.
Fast forward to the next day: you wear your DVF dress and no one says a word...

Via
(scored for $34.98 and they're gorg in person!)


What are your guilty pleasures?

The Memory Tree

These were too cute not to share. I found these on Lovliday's Esty shop. (so much cuteness)

I LOVE the idea. It's so unique!

The concept: you start off with an empty tree. When your friends and family come to your event they push their thumbs in ink and then stamp them on like a leaf. Sign your name. Wipe your thumb. TA-DA!!



You could have it at your wedding!



or baby shower!



or even give the old school family tree a modern makeover.



I'm seriously in love with this, can you tell?!?

So perfect! And who looks at their wedding guest book? This is functional and decorative. SO amazing!

Happiness Is...

Purging your closets of 2 full bags of clothes & shoes.

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Stumbling across a great recipe (that's healthy AND delicious!)

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Seriously go check out Gina's blog, skinnytaste.com it is BEYOND amazing!

and getting a blog award! (Thanks, Chrissy!!)

Per the rules of the blog award I'm passing this on to:
Red Vines for Breakfast
See Jane
Style Obsession
Slumber Designs
Lemons and Laundry
D, etc.
Village
Oh, My Darling
Style & Charm
Rambles with Reese

To receive this beautiful award, you just have to:

1. Post about your award.

2. Pass it along to 10 other trendy bloggers.

3. Leave a link to the Trendy Blog Button so they can grab it.


:) have a good one!

Austin Bound

I'm heading to Austin in 2 weeks for a girls weekend with my friends. We're celebrating L's bachelorette party and I can't wait!

I've never been to Austin, so I don't know what to expect.


If you have any tips or pointers, let me know!

Via

I always like having a trip on the books and now that my TX weekend is approaching it's time to think ahead!

To 2011!

I was lucky enough to celebrate the New Year with a visit by my friend, J, who lives in Denver. She came in on Thursday and we spent the whole weekend eating, drinking, and LAUGHING!

We had sushi and wine on Thursday and finally saw Black Swan.
AKA Terrifying. Creepy. Incredible Performance.

Via

Friday we shopped. Got our Make-up done. Rang in the New Year with friends. Thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.




Saturday we Brunched. Lounged. and had Due's for dinner. SO GOOD.




Sunday it was time to say goodbye which is always sad. But the weekend was so fun I'll be laughing about it well into the New Year.


What did you do for New Year's?