Alright, I may possibly be the worst blogger, ever! It has been forever since my last post, and I feel so guilty. I promise I have had a lot of “stuff” going on, so I haven’t just been sitting on my sofa eating bon-bons! Not to mention work has been completely mad! I always seem to have crazy February’s at work, but managing them while preggo seems to be a little more exhausting!
Other fun news–we bought a new car! It was not in the budget or in the plans, but our sad little paid off car finally kicked the bucket. We got a Nissan Versa, and it is the perfect little city car. This is actually the first time my husband or I have purchased a new vehicle. The financing is daunting, but the new smell really is intoxicating. What the heck is that?
We also had our ultrasound on Friday and we found out it’s a girl! I am beyond thrilled and holding back everything to avoid purchasing a surplus of cute little polka dot dresses and mary janes.
So to celebrate all the news, I am posting a preggo photo of me. I haven’t even posted one to Facebook, because well…I can’t say that I feel the glowing beauty vibe that some women experience (just look at my hair–what is going on there?) I hope this helps you all feel special and forgive me for my tardiness.
Do you remember this post? The infamous “tights” post where I was fawning over Kate Spade dresses? Well guess what? Kate Spade is a little closer to the Budget Retro price range. Hip-hip hooray! Currently on the site you can log-in for the sample sale–which is about 75% of regular prices, making it worth the investment to me.
I don’t really want to buy a dress that I can’t wear right now, but I LOVE this sweater and red never goes out of style. Shipping is also discounted to $5. So hurry, hurry, hurry and go buy beautiful dresses ladies!
p.s. To the two beautiful Jen’s at work who are looking for wedding shoes–I saw some lovely ones on the sale page.
I must preface this post by saying that I love high design. I love thoughtful, functional and hand-crafted items. I appreciate quality things that are made to last and span lifetimes. I also realize that, against my best efforts, I am middle class. Being middle class, especially living in large cities, you have to learn to balance all of your luxury wants with practical needs. For instance I love gastro-pubs and fancy food, but my practical need is that I really just need to eat food. I really love expensive shoes that are made to perfectly fit your foot, but I just need shoes that won’t fall apart and look moderately presentable. This realization kinda of stinks, no?
Well, I had another funny realization this week as I basked in my middle class glory. I had been looking for a floor lamp for our living room for a few months. Our apt lighting is harsh and gross and not what I want in my face in the late evening/early morning (the only times I am usually home.) I tried to go vintage retro, but frankly the really lovely lamps were pretty pricey and the affordable ones needed to much TLC. A gal at the vintage store said she saw similar lamps at Target, so off I went. I got a small, stainless steel floor lamp with a modern, petite lamp shade. It’s cute, but really just “okay.” The lamp only cost $40 and isn’t even featured on the site. Last night I received our CB2 catalog and found a similar, but more expensive lamp which I thought was kind of funny. I mean CB2 is kind of the poor man’s designer choice (I hope that doesn’t offend anymore–I love CB2!), so it got me wondering where this lamp really got it’s start. Just for fun I found a similar style at Design Within Reach for $500+. That is right, I can’t even afford to purchase the knock-off, I have stooped to the knock-off of the knock-off. *sigh*
p.s. Yes, the shades are different, but my shade looks more like the first one.
My apologies for the creepy picture, but I thought this was better than posting a pic of a real person whom I don’t know. I am so excited to be able to tell people freely now and also to explain why my posts have been so sporadic and sub-par (not to mention that I have completely ignored the horrible google ads that have been on my page–what is the deal with that?!). I have definitely been hit pretty hard with the first trimester issues and I am trying my darndest to pull myself back up again. I think January is going to be a good month. So please do not fear that this blog will somehow be turned into a mommy blog or that my pregnancy is going to drown out all of my other interests (you should know me better than that!) but I can’t say that a little venting/celebrating will not slip through every now and again.
So my vacation may have been a little more extended than planned. I am sure you all missed me very much. My trip to NYC was lovely, I had the chance to spend time with almost all of my ladies. I ate lots of food, walked the city and of course had a little pampering. I am ashamed to say that I did not take one photo the entire trip! I actually didn’t even do much shopping, I had no idea how easy it would be to revert back to my old habits while there, but for a short bit it felt like I never left. Although that ended when I made the poor choice of going into the union square Forever 21 which was a mad house and the line to purchase was 50-deep. I had a small anxiety spasm and promptly left–then I realized how great Chicago is. ha!
So for the second time in a year, I bid farewell to NYC.
I just asked for the BabyCakes recipe book for my birthday, so I was doing a search on where it could be purchased online and I found this video of the author, Erin McKenna and her bakery staff ummm….frosting cupcakes? It is really hilarious. Make sure you have your speakers on to get the full effect. Happy Friday!
I didn’t want to squish all my new news into another post because that seems a little convoluted, so I decided to just give you a side bar post to get you up to speed. This has been an insanely busy fall and I am trying to catch up, but the top-line milestone are:
I have decided to try for the Zooey style (which may or may not require temporary extensions….that is TBD). My husband has never seen my hair long, so I will humor him this one time (kidding).
I finally got the sofa of my dreams (all is now right with the world!). I will be posting images once we get the new rug ordered and in place. It is so beautiful! (Mandy Hine Irwin–we need to have a design conversation before I order this rug!)
I have been offered an opportunity to be a Chicago contributor to a new site coming next month. This is huge news and I am really eager to have a new outlet. Details are still TBD, but you all will be the first to know.
In honor of my anniversary this month, I have decided to give you a special treat by highlighting my entire bridal getup and giving you the purchase details. My garb was 100% Budget Retro and worth sharing. I also thought this month would be a great time to highlight a few other Budget Retro weddings. I am a sucker for a cute bride and pretty dress.
I am joining a small stitching club in Chicago, so hopefully I will have new crafty inspirations to share in the coming weeks!
I am also headed to NYC (Nov 20-24) to celebrate my 30th birthday, so I hope to post on some of my favorite shops. It has been a year since I moved away from Brooklyn and I am so excited to see my friends and experience the city as a tourist. ha!
That sums up the major announcements, but I thought a few of you would like the news and an explanation for my slacker mentality.
I was back home in Ohio last weekend for my nephew’s 4th birthday. The party was pretty insane for a Sunday afternoon. My sister and her husband took the chance to make it a kid and adult party all in one. It was super fun! Now because I only go home in small bits, I feel like I see everything from a bird’s eye view. I mean I know that my friends Tim and Kerri have 5 kids…I have met them all, but when you see them hanging out and interacting and just being stinkin’ cute…it is so weird. I have known my friend Tim since I was 14 and now he has 5 children…5!!! So then just to top off my shell shock I was actually dressed like two of the little cuties. Yup–that is just how mature my style has become. ha! So here’s Fionnuala (Nola) and I, rockin’ it at the party.
Oh and I am super sick today…so please send your prayers and all around good vibes so I can get through the work day and my dinner with girlfriends tonight.
Hello my lovely readers, It is Monday morning and I have had very little sleep. I had full intentions of getting up super early and sourcing my latest Mad Men post, but my body would not cooperate. A too fun weekend is resulting in a no fun Monday. Please have patience with me. I know you already tolerate my poor grammar and short posts, but just this one last favor is all I ask. I will post tonight, but if you think of anything you want to see in the meantime–send me an email and it will most-likely make it in.
Did I mention that I have an intense love for finger puppets? I have no idea why that is or where that comes from, but I do. I find them so adorable and not creepy like full-size puppets. A couple of weeks back we were on a mini-road trip back to Ohio for the weekend and we stopped at Taco Bell (don’t judge…I love the bell as well). My step-son got a kids meal, which of course came with a toy. We stopped getting excited over these toys quite a while back because they are usually pretty lame! To my surprise, Milo pulls out the coolest toy, EVER! It was a thumb wrestling “arena” with Lucha Libre masks for your thumbs. Holy Cow! How stinking cute is this? I say High Five to whomever dreamed this up–it has given me lots of laughs. Look at the little arms…please tell me you are laughing right now?
For those of you who are not familiar with Luch Libre, here is the Wikipedia definition: “Lucha libre (Spanish for “free wrestling” or free fighting) is a term used in Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking countries referring to a form of professional wrestling involving varied techniques and moves. Mexican wrestling is characterized by rapid sequences of holds and moves, as well as ‘high-flying moves’, some of which have been adopted in the United States, and colorful masks. Lucha libre has also transcended the language barrier to some extent as evidenced by works such as Mucha Lucha and Nacho Libre. Lucha libre performers are known as luchadores (singular luchador).”
I am sure my love for finger puppets does not travel far so instead I did a little hunting for other Lucha Libre inspired goods. Enjoy! (Click the links to find/buy the goods via Sublime Stitching and some crazy ebay store.)
