September

September is one of my most favorite months of the year. With September, I think you get to hit the refresh button on your life. More so, even than New Years, I feel like September is the true "beginning of the year".

What I'm loving about the next 30 days

1. Office supplies

I have a legit addiction to all things office supplies and I love having an endless supply of post-its waiting for me every morning

2. Football

I have a crush on college football. I like that it makes people crazy and brings strangers together because they share the bond of the same college team. **I like to honk and wave at cars that have hawkeye stickers, much to my passengers dismay.

This weekend, we are buying tickets to a bar ($25 dollars, all you can eat/drink) with some friends/fellow hawks and I'm SO excited.

3. Lung Run 10k

I'm not going to lie here. Mainly, I'm excited to get this done with. My 10k is next Sunday and I'm ready to rip my training schedule off my wall and send it on its way.

4. Boots

I can't wait to put away my flip flops and bring out the boots. I have a great pair of brown riding boots, but this season I will also be investing in a black pair. These are by Juicy Couture and I'm loving on them right now

5. Knits

Riding Boots + Leggings + Long Knit = Nuff said

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TOTALLY UNRELATED

Can I please just say that these two ladies look SO flawless its almost not fair?

Talk about knocking it out of the park....far

All Grown Up

Big girl work starts tomorrow! I'm absolutely ready to tackle this new challenge and couldn't be more excited, but of course, I'm super nervous.

In preparation of work I needed to update my closet. I found out that my office doesn't have a dress code. My "office" is no small office. Located on Michigan Ave in downtown Chicago, I would imagine it's home (well, work) to probably upwards of 5,000 people. I have a friend that works there and says you see a true mix of styles. Some people dress casual, some will wear suits. My goal is to fit right in the middle. I am only going to allow myself to wear jeans on Friday because I feel a little more professional when I take the time to put business clothes on.

Here are some of the new goodies I've found:

Top, Skirt, Belt - J.Crew

Top and Skirt- J.crew
Shoes- Gap

Dress- Eci (at Nordstroms)

*this did not photograph well but its really cute

Dress and sweater - Forever 21

Top: Nordstroms BP
Skirt: Micheal Kors

New work bag- Cynthia Rowley

This is my "First Day of Work" Outfit!

Top and Pants - Gap
Shoes - Juicy Couture




I also treated myself to my first 'No Chip Manicure'. Sara and I went to CiCi's on Lincoln Ave and splurged a little on our nails. The french comes in at a stiff $55.00 but regular color is $45.00. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out, and if it lasts for 3-4 weeks, I will be really happy with it!

Wish me luck!

ten random thoughts

Saw this today at Kentucky Mama and decided to give it a try


1. The top of my left foot hurts every time I put pressure on it. I think it's from wearing heels and dancing like a crazy person on Saturday night, but I actually have no idea. I have my 10k in 3 weeks, and really need to be training for it. However, I don't want to run 4.5 miles today, so I may milk this injury for all its worth.

2. It's 10:10am on Monday morning and I'm still in bed. This is the last Monday before I start my Big Girl Job and I'm guessing (if the job goes well, that is) that I won't have the chance to do this again for a very long time.

3. Speaking of my Big Girl Job, I have no clothes for it.

4. I am SO ready for fall. I want to light pumpkin spice candles, cook chili, watch college football, turn off the air conditioning and open the windows, and decorate the house. I'll even take September, which in Chicago could be as hot as July, or it could snow.

5. We literally have no food in the house and I will be having dinosaur egg oatmeal for breakfast - most likely in bed. Don't fret, I'm making a trip today

6. I get to see my best friend Claire this week before she leaves me for a year in Italy. She has started a blog that she promises to keep up and you should check it out here

7. I check my mail box fourteen times a day because I'm anxiously awaiting my new Tory Burch Reva's

8. I really want to get fake nails put on but I have to type a lot at my new job and they destroy your nails, so I'm forcing myself to wait it out

9. I got new Marc Jacobs rain boots (I'll post the picture this week) for SO cheap I could cry

10. This list of ten random things was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.

Work

I started the hunt for work clothes today (I'll post all my loot next week). I really don't have the necessary items for a corporate job.

I need shoes, clothes, accessories, and most importantly, a work bag.

I headed to Nordstrom's this morning to swipe this beauty up...


...but it didn't do it for me.

Longchamp is huge in Chicago right now and I thought I would join in on the trend. There isn't much going on with the bag, and for $150.00 I felt like I could do better.

Now, I have to find something for under $150 that's actually is better. Easier said then done.


On my way back from Nordy's I popped into Marshall's. Thought about grabbing this for $80 but ultimately decided against it. It's a good shape and size but its too logo-y so I left empty handed.



I've straight up spent 2 hours on ebay and haven't found anything.


Good thing I don't start work for another week, because, I mean, you cannot start work without a new work bag.


The search continues on...

...

Well there was no Louboutin's written into the offer but...

I GOT A JOB!

I am now an Advertising Sales Planner!

I must go now, I need to put the champagne on ice

it's a denim party

Denim tops have exploded.

I cannot allow myself to do the denim on top and bottom, but I love the look of a denim top with ---> a skirt, black pants, white pants, white shorts, etc....pretty much anything EXCEPT blue jeans.

Here are celeb inspirations:



And here is how I rocked it:

I ordered mine from American Eagle, and I wore this outfit to a Sunday outdoor birthday party.





















My next outfit with the top is to keep it open with black leggings and a black tank. Perfect for my Thursday plan of going to Eat.Pray.Love with girlfriends!

Fall Forecast

After a week of +100 tempature days I have been dreaming about the crisp, cool air of fall. I'm ready to keep my windows open, watch the leaves change colors, and start wearing all of my fall clothes.

I like to follow the trends, but subtly. No point in investing on leopard print "everythings", if come spring, the trend is out. So, I tend to pick up on the trends in accessories.

Trends I will splurge on, our trends that are classic (which is a paradox because how can you have a trendy classic? But, whatever).

We will see a lot of leather in the fall - that's an area I'll put my money into. Camel coats - again, I'll splurge for that. Neutral colors, I've been dying over, but, a leather sleeveless moto jacket - uhh...no. ***However, I did see a really cute one at target for 20 dollars, however I'm no where cool enough to wear it.

This is how I will be rocking the trends for the fall

Also, I'm not going to lie....but I'm also really ready for some Christmas music.

Reality Check

Let's get real here for a second: My current job ends on Thursday, in a big-I-dont-know-how-im-going-to-pay-rent-or-afford-my-clothing-addiction kind of way.

Here's a short recap of my life: I just graduated and was planning on being a teacher. Then the teaching economy in Illinois bombed in a very large way. It made getting a teaching job hard, which made me think, "hmm, its hard finding a job, maybe I don't really want to teach anymore" and which then made me think that I want to go into business.


Well, fast forward to the present ----- NO JOB!


I have been shockingly, make that very shockingly, calm about this ordeal. I have been positive that I will have something lining up in no time. Ya, guess what.....


NO JOB!


I have a few leads here and there, but I really don't know what is going to materialize.


On one hand, I'm God forsaken scared shitless that it will be months and I will be unsure, unhappy and broke. And on another strange side, I'm really excited to see what is going to come of my life. Maybe I will fulfill an unknown part of myself and find great success and happiness in an area I didn't know I would love.


I'm a big girl now, with big girl bills to pay, and I need a big girl job.



Here's hoping I get a really great phone call tomorrow offering me a 100k job where I only work 3 days a week and they offer me a bonus in the form of Louboutins!

Lady Gaga

I'm minutes away from going to see Lady Gaga at Lollapalooza. Lolla is a huge music fest in downtown Chicago and Ms. Gaga is opening up the weekend long concerts. I'm not a huge fan of hers but I think the experience will be bananas.




I went on the hunt for a black jumper today to wear for tonight (I've actually been looking for a good one for months and have had zero luck), but, again, no success. I did however find this cute dress for a bridal shower I have tomorrow. It was a great deal from 90 bucks down to 30. Gotta love Ann Taylor sales!



When I came home, I got creative. I decided to make my own jumper, so I combined black J.Crew shorts and a black halter from White House Black Market, with an old J.Crew belt, and believe it or not....made a jumper! I'm happy with it and it will be perfect for the concert!

Have a great weekend!

OOTN

Outfit Of The Night

Banana Republic Tank, Hudson Jeans, Target shoes, Burberry scarf, Micheal Kors watch

Joel and I are walking to a wine bar in Lincoln Park for the night. Cheers to a good weekend!

P.S. apparently the down comforter under the bed needs to be pushed back farther - Whoops!

What did I just do?

Uh. Oh.


I just signed up for a 10k race. You know, in a mere 6 weeks. By myself.



What did I just do to myself???



I have done one 10k race before, 2 years ago in November, with a girlfriend, and I didn't die, but it wasn't "easy". I'm pretty comfortable running 2 to 3 miles, and I don't push myself to go farther, which is why I had to sign up for this race. I'm goal oriented and I'm hoping this gives me the mojo to start going after things that I want to do to better myself.

Whenever I train for races (5k/10k) I always use Hal Higdon's Novice Schedule. It's really do-able and he eases you into long runs without feeling like you are on the express lane to hell.

Week	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
1	Stretch & strength	2.5 m run	30 min cross	2 m run + strength	Rest	40 min cross	3 m run
2	Stretch & strength	2.5 m run	30 min cross	2 m run + strength	Rest	40 min cross	3.5 m run
3	Stretch & strength	2.5 m run	35 min cross	2 m run + strength	Rest	50 min cross	4 m run
4	Stretch & strength	3 m run	35 min cross	2 m run + strength	Rest	50 min cross	4 m run
5	Stretch & strength	3 m run	40 min cross	2 m run + strength	Rest	60 min cross	4.5 m run
6	Stretch & strength	3 m run	40 min cross	2 m run + strength	Rest	60 min cross	5 m run
7	Stretch & strength	3 m run	45 min cross	2 m run + strength	Rest	60 min cross	5.5 m run
8	Stretch & strength	3 m run	30 min cross	2 m run + strength	Rest	Rest	10-K Race

I don't have 8 weeks to train, but since I've been running a few times a week, I think I should (hopefully) be okay.

There's no time like the present, right?

Chicago Street Festival

I'm a newbie in the city and I'm still trying to figure out what I want my "city" look to be. Last night, we hit up the Lincoln Park Street Festival. It was lots of music, beer, and fried foods - pretty much Chicago at its greatest.

I, of course, was mainly interested in the what everyone was wearing. Looking back on it, I totally should have taken pictures of outfits, like they do in Lucky Mag, but....I didn't. So here is my best reenactment of what hit the streets last night.

obsessed

One of the worst....cough, cough best.......things about my new house is that there is the cutest candy store a stone's throw away.

CANDYALITY

Every time a visitor pops in, I insist on taking them to this sweet gem.

Well now, I'm truly addicted to the newest trend in candy ---> Chocolate gummy bears



They sound kind of weird, but they will blow your mind. Run, don't walk, to your nearest candy store and beg them to order a batch of these. You will not be disappointed.

TOMS

After months of crushing on these, I finally decided to make these pretties at home in my closet.



TOMS is such a great company and the shoe is super comfy and really versatile. Apparently they stretch out a ton, so Jeff (my Nordstroms BFF go-to shoe guy) insisted I go a 1/2 size smaller than usual.

The shoe is a great, casual summer shoe, and I'm hoping they can handle lots of city walking. The only hard part about deciding if I wanted to take Tom home was choosing which pattern! Do you have TOMS? Whats your favorite pattern?










P.S. My next pair:

My Style Icon

You know, because I've been whining about it, that I'm really unhappy with my closet. It's time for an update. I've been shopping every single day for the last 4 days and I've come home with one shirt. I shop, and shop, and shop, and I have no idea what I'm looking for, what I need, or what I want. I'm heading back out to the jungle (a.k.a. clothing stores) on Wednesday and I'm determined to come home with revamped style and pulled togetherness.


Which leads me to my all-time favorite dresser in the entire universe. Here's why:





She knocks it out of the park every, single, flipping, time.

Not Happy

I'm really unhappy with the clothes in my closet. I keep wearing the same things and can't seem to make a cute outfit on a daily basis. I just continue to look in my closet and see absolutely nothing. Tomorrow I have the whole day to myself and I think I'm going to try and score some cheap thrills at Forever 21 and Nordstroms Rack.

I'm not on my own computer right now and don't have access to my inspiration folder (aka I'm hella too lazy to get up, walk 200sq ft into the other room and power up my computer), so I will take pics of the clothes I get tomorrow and see how I can play with them.

Do you get in these funks? I feel like it happens to me way too often.