Lovely Day

Well I'm 27 today! I don't feel much different from yesterday...

In true birthday fashion I am only working a half day today then treating myself to a manicure and PSL (pumpkin spice latte. I hate to brag but Chicago did get them a week early...)

Case in point....met J for a PSL on Tuesday when they made their debut in Chicago!

I'll be going out to dinner with my parents tonight and friend J. Then my parents are coming over to give me my gifts. Yay!! I may be 27 but I still like having my presents on my actual birthday. When I was growing up we would wake up and they would all be next to our bed wrapped up and begging to be opened!

 Pre-birthday celebrations included devouring a Crumbs Mint Patty cupcake!

My weekend plans include our family fantasy football draft, sushi dinner and major shopping!

Hope everyone has a happy and relaxing Labor Day weekend!

recap

I've been a little MIA lately and I blame it on the incredibly busy month of August.


I moved...then got delayed because they had to completely re-do our wood floors
(cue anger, annoyance, and 2 nights out of our new place)

via pinterest

then my brother finally got married! woohoo! it was a whirlwind weekend but it was full of fun, laughter and tears (mostly mine) so I'll never forget it. I love his new wife (my sister!) and they just moved a block away from me so it's going to be fun to have them so close.

Stickers from UPrinting for the gift bags for those staying in the hotel.

yes i blurred out their names...the stickers didn't look fuzzy or blurry. promise!

And finally...if I have to see an Ikea or Target in the next 2 weeks I will black out. I have spent countless hours and dollars at these stores following the move and I'm exhausted!
No more, please!!!

Although, I'll definitely take another Ikea cinnamon roll!

So that's where I've been for most of August. Sorry for being such a slacker!

Now to catch up on everyone's blogs....

weekend round-up

Sunday my Dad and I went for lunch at one of our favorite neighborhood joints. I opted for a corn dog and wow, I forgot how good they are!




Also on the agenda this weekend was a stop at Green City Market. K and I walked in the sun, ate homemade donut holes, K had some blue cheese pizza and I had a fresh sorbet popsicle. It was a perfect city day.


I picked up this amazing dip and could eat jars of it. You can also mix it with cream cheese. Yum!



While walking around with my friend J we saw a wedding being set up in the park by the Newberry Library (the library in The Time Traveler's Wife for all you readers out there) .It ended up being beautiful but I only grabbed a picture before the flowers were done.



How was your weekend?

weekend.

Seeing Something Borrowed tonight with the girls

...and at a theater with a bar! Lookout!

Book Club aka wine, food, and dessert club, on the book The Help.

Spending Mother's Day with my wonderful Mom!


What are you up to this weekend??

Holiday Weekend

I love a 3-day weekend.

What I love even more is throwing a Holiday in there!

If you celebrate Easter, have a great weekend! If not, you can at least enjoy the fun candy!

Oh and Mr. Bunny, don't forget to bring me some of these goodies if you can!

via

via

via

Easter Bunny Cakes--a tradition in our family! I was very proud of this cake in 1988!

Have a great weekend!! Be back Monday!

Shots of the Weekend

I had a really great weekend.

Friday was take-out and on-demanding Country Strong.
Has anyone seen it? Holy depressing story. I'm not a huge Gwyneth fan but she did nail it!

Saturday was my blind blogger date with Allison. It was SO fun. We hugged like old friends when we met at Hot Chocolate in Wicker Park and instantly I felt like I'd known Allison for 10 years. We waited in the lounge for a while and chatted before our deeelish brunch.

Of course, we started with an appetizer. Doesn't everyone start brunch with an app? ha.

Mini doughnut sticks with raspberry preserves. So good.


But better when washed down with a blood orange Bellini
(a new twist that was thoroughly enjoyed)



I then ordered the Brioche French Bread



and Allison got the Quiche. Both were a hit!




After a couple hours of story-telling and many a laughs, we braved the bi-polar Chicago weather for some shopping.

We scoped out Vintage Underground which has so much jewelry you could go blind and decided we're definitely hitting up more thrift stores and possible estate sales when the weather changes.

It was a fabulous day and I'm so happy we met up. Now we're on to planning date number 2 :)



Oh and I saw Superwoman on the way to Wicker Park. No big deal...

Weekend Plans

A quiet Friday night in to unwind from the long week.

via

Brunch with Allison at Hot Chocolate in Wicker Park. I have been drooling over their menu!

photos via

Hoping for a White Sox winner on Saturday (not hoping for the cold rain)

And working on the shower invitations on Sunday....

What are your plans this weekend??

and I just don't feel like doing the FBFF questions this week, whoops.

FBFF- Spring Trends

The FBFF Question this week was:
What are the top 5 Spring trends that you are looking forward to seeing/sporting this season?


I know for a fact that these 5 trends will be finding a spot in my closet oh so soon!

5 Spring Trends by pursuitofllt featuring a tie neck blouse

GAP tie neck blouse
$60 - gap.com

Dolce vita shoes
$160 - nordstrom.com

MICHAEL Michael Kors buckle messenger bag
$178 - nordstrom.com

Cara Accessories chain bracelet
$48 - nordstrom.com

1. Messenger Bag Style Crossbody Bags. Big & Small
2. Coral Lips
3. Tie Neck Blouses
4. Nude Sandals
5. Fabric & Metal Accessories

I am especially fond of the fabric & metal accessories. The two textures work together incredibly well. Big fan of this look!



Hope everyone has a great weekend. I have book club aka wine club with the girls tonight and then my first Sox game of the season on Sunday. It's supposed to be 80 in Chicago this weekend. AHHH!! Can't wait! :)


Enjoy your weekend!

Happy Friday & FBFF- Feminism

The week is finally over. Hallelujah. It seems like it was extra painful this week. So I'm excited to say it's the weekend and I'm ready for some fun.

My weekend plans include a girl's day with my college roommate and our moms. We're going to a cooking class demo and lunch after. I'm hoping to get a pedicure this weekend too, Mom??

via

And I've scheduled a play-date with my niece, P! She's only 10 months old but is walking already! YIKES.

Hope you have a great weekend!!

and now onto FBFF

via

1. Do you think there is an incompatibility between feminism and a
love for fashion?
No, I think there is a stereotype about feminists and that they could care less about fashion and beauty. That's just ludicrous in my opinion. You can have strong beliefs about women's rights and strong beliefs that Jimmy Choos are superior to Manolo Blahniks...


2. There is more to each of us than a love for fashion, how do you
incorporate every aspect of yourself into your blog?
For me, if I'm interested in it, I'm writing about it. Sure, a lot of my posts are about clothes, accessories and beauty products. But a lot of it is also about my relationships with my friends who I adore---the recipes I see Paula Deen or any other blogger whipping up---and the things I am dealing with in my day-to-day life.

3. With the fashion industry still being a male-dominated profession,
how do you think it would differ if women played a larger role?
I think the advertising and image pushed onto women buyers would be a tad different. First of all no 2 women look the same, even if they're the same size and height. We are all shaped differently, look differently and WEAR the clothes differently. If only everything wasn't so cookie cutter as to "how" you should look.

4. How is your self-image and the way you carry yourself informed by
your beliefs?
I believe you can be Smart and Funny. Sophisticated and Goofy. Stylish and Serious. You really can be the person you want to be without compromising for others. Who said everyone had to be a Stepford wife? Boring! I think once you truly like who you are, everything else comes through. There's no need to worry, you can just live.

5. Do you think clothing/makeup/hair helps communicate the truth about

yourself or are those things superfluous add-ons?
I think it can help you get your point across. If I want to be taken seriously at work I'm not going to show up in a certain look. It just won't work for me to get where I want to be professionally. However, at the same time, if I want to rock a deep red lip that doesn't mean anything I'm saying should be viewed differently. It's a fine line, I guess....

Weekend Shots

I considered Thursday the start of my weekend last week since it was St. Patrick's Day. I'm Irish so of course I had corned beef! We did a traditional Irish meal with corned beef, cabbage, boiled potatoes and carrots. Some people don't like it at all but I do and actually it's a bit comforting because I've had this for almost 26 St. Patrick's Day dinners.


I decided to jazz up the table since I had my baubles around from the previous Saturday (aka green beer day)

Zapatista takes their fajitas very seriously!

The rest of my weekend was quiet with cooking, baking and lounging. I was lucky enough to find some great pieces with Gap's Give & Get Coupon. Did you end up going?

Hope your weekend was great and here's to hoping this week FLIES by.

And I recently remembered I actually set up a facebook page for LLT so go on over and see. I actually am tech savy 2% of the time....

T.G.I.F.

I really want to say how happy I am that it's finally Friday. This week completely drained me and I couldn't be more happy to have two days off.

I plan to spend the weekend reading, cooking, and recharging.

via

Have a great weekend!

Snapshots

Quick snapshots of my weekend....
forgot my camera so it's all through the eyes of my blackberry. whoops.

Dinner at Girl and the Goat on Sunday. I wanted SO badly to love this restaurant....but I didn't. It was 3.5 star experience. Some food was great. Others was meh.

The worst part? Our table was ON TOP of another. Some gentleman's (well that's up for debate) back was pressed up against mine. And he was rude. He put his arm/elbow on the back of my seat. Ugh, get out of here!

My main 3 thoughts for the night:
1. Don't overcrowd your restaurant. You're not a cheap diner. $$$ should equal space.
2. $4 for bread and spread? Come on.
3. Pig face. Eww.

Saturday night I went out to dinner at Angelina's and caught up with friends. It's worth a stop even if it's out of your area...so delicious!

After dinner I met up with my cousin and his wife for a night out and see our friends in from London. It was J's first night out post-baby and her friend A bought her a mini bottle of Veuve. It was baby sized!

And finally, the joys of a FREE latte because of my gold card membership.

What did your weekend entail?

Cowboy Boot Love

After winning Valerie's giveaway from Langston's, I was excited to place my order for a pair of Ariat boots. I had a hard time choosing between the Caramel colored boot and the Weathered Brown boot. I went with the Weathered color and I'm so happy!

My beauties came in the mail (3 days after I ordered them. Talk about amazing and fast service!) and I'm already anticipating their first wear.







Feminine dresses with boots?

via

My blush lace skirt with the boots?

via

Skinny jeans and a long sweater?

via

The possibilities are endless! I'm excited to kick my heels up with these boots :)

Big thanks to Valerie and Langston's!

Have a great weekend!

Long Weekend Wishes

....a grande soy, sugar-free, cinnamon dolce latte from Starbucks.

via


Shopping and Lunch with my Mom

via

Make another batch of cake batter cookies.

And most importantly, enjoy my 3 day weekend!

What are your weekend plans?

Wedding Weekend

The day is finally here for L & B!

Tomorrow is their wedding at the quintessential Chicago hotel, The Drake.

Via

I know it's going to be a fabulous day for them. I'm so excited!!

I'm thinking about wearing this dress...if not I have a back-up Cynthia Steffe in my closet.

We'll see what happens!

What is everyone up to this weekend??

Have a great one!

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!