beach hat

I've been on the hunt for just the right beach hat...nothing too big and not a tacky fedora one! I was checking out the new City Target last week during lunch and saw this hat...cute and cheap! So excited I snatched it right up!

Even our little fashanista approved.

Bring it on summer! 

hollywood issue

It's that time of year for Vanity Fair's Hollywood issue and I jumped for joy when I saw my Hunger Games girl, Jennifer Lawrence, on the cover with my The Help favorite, Jessica Chastain. You ladies look HOT!

I have been collecting the Hollywood issues ever since I was a kid. The first one I bought was in 1997 and it had Kate Winslet and Claire Danes on the cover, two of my all time favorite actresses at the time and still are today. Look how young Kate looks! And Renée Zellweger! Wouldn't it be fun to get all dressed up with your friends and pose like this! 

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destination houston

We are headed to Houston in two weeks for a wedding where I am a bridesmaid for my good friend Mallory. She tells me the weather is in the 60's so I'm coming prepared! I recently made some purchases from Old Navy this week, everything is 30% off! We are planning on visiting the Houston Zoo and if you can't tell, I'm really into animal prints right now....

golden globes 2012

Awards season has begun and that means red carpets, red carpets, red carpets! Every year I love to watch all the awards shows with my bff Erin. We text each other during the entire red carpet starting at 4 PM to the end of the awards show at 10 PM. Funny story about our ritual HERE...

I was very excited to see Laura Dern win for Enlightened, the best show ever. It's so uplifting, sweet and funny. I cheered when Octavia Davis won for The Help. I watched that movie twice this weekend! Loved it! "Eat my shit..." hahahaha. Those were really the only wins I was excited about, pretty disappointed in the rest of the winners. I was rooting for The Help, New Girl, Bridesmaids and Game of Thrones to win top honors. Oh well...but I did majorly cry when Michelle Williams accepted her award, she is so beautiful and gracious. I want to be her friend!

Now my fashion picks! I did not like a lot of the dress choices this year but there were a few that were edgy and stood out (FAVORITES), and a few that were just HOT dresses! Then you have those people where you wonder "Where are their stylists?" and "What is Kyle Richards doing at the Golden Globes??" See my style picks below and let me know what you think!

birdie scarf

I bought the CUTEST scarf I have ever owned the other day at the Gap! We were just leaving the store and it was wrapped around a mannequin and I stopped and grabbed it! I told Sean I thought it was soooo adorable, so we turned around and got it! It has little yellow and pink birdies and is my favorite color of dark blue, love it!

wow white dress

My sweet letter to Anthropologie got me browsing their BHLDN Web site yesterday (bad Caroline!) and I noticed this new dress I haven't seen before.

This IT dress is the ultimate romantic white gown. Look at the detailing on the sleeves and lower skirt, aMAHzing! 

And of course you have to get the matching booties! 

All of this will only cost you $6,535! ;)

{images BHLDN}

color bar

Kendra Scott makes colorful and romantic pieces for any occasion, but YOU can also create your own color palette to match your wedding colors. I can play with this color bar all day! 

Go here and start creating your own color bar designs! 

sarah seven

Finding a wedding dress at a bridal boutique seems like it can be a happy and exciting time for many girls, a ritual every future bride must do. I have been on few bridal gown searches with friends and here is a classic line from one of those times:

"You can cut that dress after you wear it and dye it a dark green!" - groom's mother

She said this right after my friend found the most perfect dress, and she was dead serious! Why dark green???

So it is no surprise that I have seen many bride's just order their dresses online. It is just you and the computer. The computer won't judge you or your dress. Plus, you can send it right back if you hate it and you haven't disappointed any sales woman.

There are many options these days - J.Crew, Nordstrom, Ivy & Aster, even Anthropologie.

But one of my favorite places to look online is Sarah Seven. All of her gowns and dresses have a unique look, and she sells accessories and other styles of dresses, not just bridal.

Here are a few of my favorites bridal dresses:

{images sarah seven}

wedding #1

FYI: I am by NO means getting engaged, married or anything anytime soon!

But I am a girl who likes weddings. I am also a girl who has been in a LOT of weddings. This January will be my 10th turn as a bridesmaid for another one of my closest friends.

So I have decided that I will start dedicating my Wednesday posts to random stuff about weddings that I love and also my history of the weddings I have been in.

Let's start this post with the very first wedding I was ever in! I believe I was only 7 and it was for my dad's wedding to my step mom, Christine. I don't have pictures of the wedding now but will post some once I get my hands on them! Christine looked beautiful and I want everyone to see!

Christine's mom, our Grandma Joe, made the bridesmaids dresses. And I remember getting little pink ballet slippers to wear with the dress that we had to dye blue! We also had to wear bustles under the dresses so they would be nice and poofy! I just remember feeling so pretty, like a little princess!

This is my sister's dress below. I have mine locked away somewhere in storage! You like? :)

me want...

I'm getting the home decorating bug and I really, really want these items from CB2! Not only do I love to use orange as an accent color but now yellow is starting to grow on me as well. Me want.... 

the met's patterns + long sleeves

Here are my four favorite looks from the Met Ball. Patterns, patterns, patterns! I think wearing a patterned dress is very risky but these ladies pulled it off perfectly. I have always loved a formal dress that has a different look to it. Emma Stone's floral Lanvin dress kind of reminds me of the dress I wore to my 6th grade dance....of course I wasn't as glamorous as she looks here, with those amazing blue earrings and perfect pink lips.

And how can you not love Michelle William's Miu Miu birds with her pixie blond hair. Sophisticated and adorable!

I have really liked all of the long sleeved dresses that the Hollywood ladies have been wearing. Diane Kruger looks very L.A. noir in her Jason Wu ensemble. I read that her hand embroidered top took 500 hours to make! 

It is no surprise that Renee Zellweger's Carolina Herrera dress is my absolute favorite of the night. The train, the sleeves, the open back, the color, the sparkle! What a perfect dress.

Kruger, Stone, Williams

Zellweger

 {pictures from people.com}

mom day!

Paper Source is my go to place to buy little gifts for the ones I love. Here are some perfect gift ideas to give to your mom, grandma, aunt, sister or favorite mom friend! The My Mom: Style Icon book is a must have for any woman and the reusable roll up bags and girly garden tools are great to have around in the summertime. Happy Mother's Day to everyone!

easter-wear

Easter is almost here! It is time to find that perfect Easter dress that has all the right colors for egg hunting and family brunch. I use to beg my dad to buy me a new Easter dress every year. I remember one year my dress looked just like Dorthy's from the Wizard of Oz....no joke. So happy I have no pictures of that dress around! I absolutely love the dresses below (look at that adorable bow!) and the shoes could go with either outfit. For little gifts add the colorful cupcake kit or the salad rabbit ears for the perfect Easter egg basket!

 

{photos from ModCloth.com}

swimsuit season

It has been a few years since I have bought myself a new swimsuit and I think I finally found two that I would definitely consider buying. I never thought in a million years that I would buy or even LIKE a white swimsuit but I am absolutely in love with this one. Classic and glamorous.

This next one I know is more my style and personality. I love wearing blue and purple, so with the contrasting patterns and the illusion of the ever popular "cinched waste" this suit is a dream. It even looks comfortable for a swimsuit! Now if I can just get that girls body...

{swimsuits from Anthropologie}

oscar style countdown

The Oscars are this Sunday and I am sooooo looking forward to the red carpet styles for 2011. One of my favorite red carpet gals is Cameron Diaz and last year she was wearing my favorite Oscar night dress by Oscar de la Renta. Don't you just want to wear that dress everyday!?? I love the shape around the waist and the balls of gold dripping down the dress. The other two dresses she wore I love because they are such bold colors, you can't go wrong with a pink or red gown. Her red carpet choices always have a softness to them but they are also very playful and glamorous. I hope she brings her style to this year's Oscars!

 

{photos from InStyle.com}

long sleeves & pink a go go!

I have seen a ton of dresses with long sleeves making the rounds on the red carpet, magazines and my favorite stores like Zara and H&M. Of course my girl Leighton knows what is up and strutted this sheer Burberry long sleeved dress down the red carpet at the Golden Globes this year. Some may think it looks drab on her but paired with her fabulous hair and sparkling Jimmy Choo shoes Leighton could do no wrong. Plus she is going to the coolest after party - HBO.

My second favorite dress of the night was the beautiful bright pink Calvin Klein dress that Claire Danes wore. How could you not like the shape and color of this dress!? It is so flattering on her and this pink would look good on anyone. I have always loved Claire from watching My So-Called Life all of the time growing up. It was great to see her win for Temple Grandin, especially since the real Temple was there to see her win, it was so sweet to see how excited she was for Claire. Temple is in her 60s and is one of the most well-known adults with autism in the world. I kind of teared up during that moment! : )

{photos from InStyle.com)

gg fashionistas

I recently finished watching season 3 of Gossip Girl (thank you Sean!) and I just can't get over how much I love the clothes that Blair and Serena wear on that show. They are both fashionistas on and off the set as well. There is always a pop of color to be had and a delicate or extreme accessory to be flashed.  Oh, and don't forget all of the amazing bags!

Here is Leighton/Blair wearing one of the coolest dresses I have seen in a long time, it's so "vogue". You think this dress would be better as a strapless but the straps add a 50s rock n' roll touch. It is way out of Blair's comfort zone but totally rockin' on Leighton. The red shoes are a perfect touch!

If I could have a dream closet it would be Blair's closet. I inspire to one day dress like she does everyday - high wasted dresses, tights, and heels - with the occasional flower/diamond broach or ribboned hair accessory. I prefer Blair's fashion choices over Serena's but sometimes Serena adds that bohemian flair that I love so much. Plus her hair always has that messy look that I accidentally seem to achieve everyday. : )

What I love about Blake/Serena's look off the set is that she tends to be more relaxed in what she wears but also risky. When I see her outfits I always think to myself, "That looks hot and comfy...I want to wear it!"

I can't wait to get season 4 of Gossip Girl! Are you a Blair or a Serena??

{photos from InStyle.com and Gossip Girl}

ahoy cardigans!

I really liked my sailor inspired outfit that I wore this week. I wore this stripped shirt and a blue cardigan with my brown corduroy pants from J.Crew and brown crocodile flats. I really love cardigans, I have about 10 in every color! They are always good to have around to wear over T-shirts, dresses, and of course sleeveless shirts! The best cardigans are ones you can find that have different designs on them, like these two from ModCloth. I am totally in love with the yellow flowers on the cream cardigan, it is a great choice if you like to wear a lot of layers. The shorter polka dot one would be perfect to wear over a short dress that has a high cinched waste.

happy new yeasayer!

Sean and I got a chance to ring in the new year with one of our favorite bands, Yeasayer!!! They had a countdown and started playing right at midnight! Some of their best songs are Madder Red, Ambling Alp, 2080, O.N.E. and I Remember.

The whole concert was fun, happy, colorful, awesome, amazing, beautiful, crazy, and loud! Check out our pics and my navy sequins jacket I wore!

the winter coat

I have been searching for a winter coat ever since we moved to Chicago. I never thought I would ever need to buy a super long winter coat that basically goes down to my ankles! But the temperatures in Chicago this winter are so cold and I mainly do my commuting outside. So I searched and I searched...I wanted something fun, flirty, and flattering! Not a big coat that makes me look like a bear. So I came across this one from a Victoria's Secret website and it was love at first sight!

It is like wearing a blanket and has all the necessary number of pockets for a girl on the go. The fur hood is perfect for covering my hair when the snow comes and the cinched belt adds a nice feminine touch. Here is me with Sean wearing it at the Lincoln Park Zoo Lights a few weeks ago!