Their way vs. My Way

Color Blocking

It's all over the magazines, and today....the last day of +80 degree temps here in Chicago, I finally gave it a try

Here is how the celebs have been rocking the bright color combination:

And here is how I interpreted the trend:

 

I'm not crazy about the shoes I wore, but 2 weeks ago my Tory Burch sandals broke on me while I was walking to work so I've got to work with what I've got! 

What do you think? Have you tried to spin this trend your own way too?

fall obsessions

I'm a huge candle whore, I'm not going to lie to you. If you come into my home, there's a 99.9% chance that I have at least one candle burning. *I get this from my parents....but either way, I absolutely adore fall scents. I use them for the entire winter season, so I'm looking forward to stocking up on "Pumpkin Spice, pumpkin butter cream, amber glow, etc." Yankee Candle does it right.

 I love to put the fall touches all around the house, while still maintaining subtly and style. This front door wreath is right up my alley. I love the burlap bow and mossy green wreath, plus the fact that the pumpkins could be completely interchangeable. This is a great DIY.

 I love this. Come October 1st, these babies will be going outside our front door. 

Be still my heart. This is how I hope to look every single day from now until December 1st. For me, fall isn't about trends and all about the classics.

While I am a Tennessee fan by default (thanks to the Shields family), I do love fall football. There is something so comforting about having football on the TV all day Saturday and Sunday.

 Again, thanks to the Shields for turning me on to the best beer I've ever had. Yuengling is one of my favorite beers but I think the flavors in the beer make it the most perfect fall time beer ever made.

Have you ever had this? It's only sold on the East coast and South due to distribution laws (trust me, I've tried to get it up here) and it just can't be done. What that means is every time you find yourself south of the Mason Dixon line you must stock up.

 I've missed this dinner time specialty all summer long and cannot wait to bring it back to my house. It's such an easy dish and is always a crowd pleaser. Everyone is always in the mood for chili. Plus....I've convinced myself that it really isn't that bad for you.

 I love the cognac color of these Cole Haan riding boots. I'm going to be investing in one pair this fall and can't decide between these or a black pair. It's going to be a really tough choice.

 

Even though you wouldn't be able to judge based on my last two weeks history, but I really do love to run in the fall. I love to run in crisp, cool air, particularly around 5:30/6 when it just about starts to get cold out.Joel participated in the Chicago Half Marathon yesterday and it's absolutely inspiring to see everyone that finishes the race. All shapes and sizes crossed that finish line, and if they can do it...I better be able to too! 

What are you obsessing about this fall?

9.11.01

Ten years ago on this day we all know exactly where we were.

We remember what we were doing and how that changed, the second we found out the two buildings in New York City had been attacked by terrorists.

Then came news that the Pentagon had been struck. Then, passengers derailed a terrorist from crashing into God knows where, and crashed into fields on the east coast.

I was 13 years old.

People lost their brothers and sisters, daughter and sons, moms and dads.

Children who are now 10 years old, have lived a full decade without their parents.

My prayers and sorrow go out to everyone who has been affected, and is still being affected.

Today is a good day to be thankful for the lives we lead. To remember how fortunate and blessed we all are to be here today. Today is a good day to smile at a stranger, call your grandma, and snuggle a little longer with your boyfriend. Today is a good day to talk about what happened and where you were ten years ago, and to remember those who can't do that today.

NYC: part 3

Our last full day in The Big Apple was Sunday I passed on the gym and slept in til almost 10 in the morning. It was vacation, afterall.

I'm going to skip on telling you about the fashion emergency I had.
Okay, I won't.

Here it goes:
I brought a chiffon-y tank top specifically for the open - and specifically to go with my white pants. I was all dressed and ready to go when I slathered myself in sunscreen which stained the entire front of the top. I literally had no other options to wear in the blazing heat.....so what did I do?

What any rational, calm, and mature adult would do.

I burst into tears.
 

I went running out of the hotel room - leaving Joel in my dust - to the nearest store that was open before 11am on a Sunday. I found a random warehouse and picked up the first tank top I found.

I was an unhappy, grumpy camper, but I got over it as soon as we get to the Open. My Aunt and Uncle had two extra box seats in center court and graciously invited us to enjoy Andy Roddick's match with them. Honestly, it really helped pick up my mood! 

We caught the tail end of the Rafa match in our new seats which really helped improve Joel's mood, too!

Before Andy's match started we grabbed a drink, and ran into one of my favorite players, James Blake! We didn't talk for long, but he was sweet enough to snap a pic.

We watched Andy take down his opponent in 3 straight matches. I will admit that I did spend a lot of time watching Brookyln Decker (who is more beautiful in person), but Andy is one amazing athlete to watch.

 After some amazing tennis, we rushed home to make our 7:30 dinner reservations.

The hotel had given us 2 free drink vouchers which made getting ready much more fun! 

 

Our dinner spot for the evening is the relativley new hot spot Beauty & Essex.

It is a pawn shop store front. On our drive over, our cabbie literally asked us if we were sure this was the street we wanted to be dropped off at.

As we walked through the pawn shop, the guy behind the cash register opened the door which led to an unbelievable stunning restauant lobby...a lobby too, where Lisa Vanderpump happened to be checking in for her reservation.

My cousin Alex, who we were having dinner with, went right over to her and started to pet the infamous Giggy before I joined them and we asked to take a picture. She graciously accepted and as we were about to snap the photos, in walked Kyle Richards and Adrienne Maloof. 

It took me a good thirty minutes to get over this.

After our dinner, Alex and I headed downstairs to the bathroom (where they serve free champagne) and we bumped into our friends again. They asked us, "Hey girls! Can you return the favor?" so we snapped a picture of them. Then, we exchanged cell phone numbers and met up for brunch the next day. 

Ha...I wish.

Either way our NY trip was filled with all of our favorite things and I'm feeling refreshed and happy to be back home.

NYC: part 2

On Saturday, we woke up around 8:30 and snuck in a quick gym session. After a 40 minute subway ride to Flushing we were at the US Open.



We bought general admin tickets for our first day which grants you admission to every court (there are about 12?) except center court where the all stars play.




My favorite tennis player next to Mr. Roddick is the cutie pie Mardy Fish. We watched him win his 3 set match and then bounced around from court to court before heading back to Midtown.




Saturday night was the much anticipated dinner at Tom Colichhio's restaurant Craft. We had been looking forward this spot for almost a month and upon arrival Joel had the best table in the restaurant reserved with two glasses of champagne waiting for us. He rocks, no?

I don't think I was taking the picture fast enough for him ;)

The restaurant ambiance is amazing.

The food? One of the best meals I've ever had.

The restaurant was too romantic and intimate to pull out my big ol' camera, so the goodness will just have to be shared between Joel and myself. Probably the way it should be.

NYC: part 1

We wasted no time on our first day in New York. After a very early flight we were so thankful that The W on Lexington Ave checked us into our room super early.


The room was on the small side, but it's New York so we knew what we were getting into. Even though there was no bath (which was my 1 complaint) it was modern, comfortable, and had a stellar view.






Once we freshened up, we headed right out into the buzzing city. On our walk to Central Park we were lucky enough to stumble upon a farmer's market in the middle of Rockefeller Center.



Who would have thought this type of goodness could be found in the middle of nyc?


We had scouted out a deli online before we went to Central Park called Klien Supermarket on 6th ave. It was the perfect spot to stock up on picnic necessities; fresh bread, fresh cheese, tapenade, chocolate covered raisins and some sparkling water.






After a walk around the city, and a necessary stop into Bergdorf Goodman we went home to catch some tennis on TV and take a quick cat nap.



When we woke up I wanted to make an early dessert stop to Magnolia Bakery. My girl Liz had rave reviews for this cupcake shop, so I was sure to include into our itinerary.

They were worth every calorie!

Once we were ready to take on the night, we asked our concierge if she could recommend a good spot for us to have a drink before dinner. She told us the Kimberly Hotel had an unbelievable rooftop bar, and boy was she right.


We literally had one of the best views of the city money could buy. We had a few glasses of champagne and honestly just felt euphoric taking in the day we had and knowing what the weekend had in store for us.

We didn't make dinner reservations until 9:30, so by this point, we were pretty much starving. We walked to our restaurant for the night, Brassiere, and were absolutely shocked to find out that we were literally the only people in the joint.

While the food was good, being the only people in an enormous restaurant is not fun, kind of creepy, and sort of makes you want to shovel your food and get the heck outta dodge.

Yes, that is a person on the right hand corner - BUT it was a table of grandparents and they left like 2 minutes into our dinner. We were honestly sad the party left.

I will tell you that the food was very good, most notably their lobster chowder and oysters, but the ambiance really lacked and kind of tainted our dinner.

We were happy to be back at The W where the vibe is much more happening, so we had another drink and called it a day.

and yes.....this was all in one day!