closet switch over.

last night i switched over my closet from summer to fall/winter and i found all sorts of goodies. i put away the summer dresses, skirts and tops and swapped them for long sleeve shirts, sweaters and jackets. i came across some of my favorite clothing items that i sort of forgot existed.

1. my sweet, sweet leather vest from vienna that i never ever wear because there is just never an appropriate occasion but i am so happy i own it. 2. my super awesome/not politically correct rabbit fur bolero. i'm obsessed with that sucker and wear it as much as possible in the wintery months. 3. my gorgeous gray cropped blazer from anthropologie. it's another one i never wear but another thing i admire on the hanger. 4. my crazy awesome cape sweater from banana. another thing that i rarely wear because i feel sort of ridiculous but secretly love!

after i hung up all the warmer items in my closet i tackled my little crates that i store tops that don't need to be hung. i'm not very good about folding things and everything in there was all tangled up and in a big ball. i started folding each item and was shocked at the amount of tops i own. it's really unbelievable. its even more unbelievable that i usually just wear the same things over and over again but have a crate full of things i don't even touch. i was also shocked at the absurdity of some of the items i used to wear regularly in college and just after graduation. first concern- i have way too many backless, stretchy tops. second concern - when did i ever think it might be a good idea to wear a stretchy top with silver paint splatters all over it and chains draped over the scoop back. appalling! i got lots of good giggles out of it and mentally noted some of the tops that i could still wear and now my closet and crates are ready for the new season!

Cali Trip!

Last weekend I was lucky enough to escape to sunny Foster City to visit my future sister-in-law her hubby and son. I hadn't been out there since spring of '10 so I was due for a visit. I flew in late on Friday night and got to catch up with Amy and Tom since Luke was fast asleep when I got there. The next day I got to play with Luke and enjoy all his new tricks. The last time I saw him was in July and he's such a different, more grown up tot now! I ran by the canal before we headed over to Filoli, a gorgeous botanic garden they're a member of. That night we went over to Tom's parents' house for a traditional Czech dinner. We had schnitzel, boiled potatoes and a pork meatloaf. It was all to die for! She also had these local ice cream sandwiches that were killer. I was so full! The next day we went for a walk in the Redwoods, which Luke wasn't really feeling so we sort of just sat and soaked it all in. Then we got some awesome pizza and watched the Emmy's. I was skeptical about California's ability to do 'za properly but I was pleasantly surprised. My last day we went to the park and I got to meet one of Amy's friends and Luke's best bud. It was really warm and it was nice to soak in the rays before heading to the airport. I had such a great time catching up with Amy and Tom, hearing Luke call me Gen Gen and enjoying the gorgeous weather. I'm not sure when I'll be able to go next so I'm glad we got a nice quality catch up this time. Can't wait to see them in Chicago in a few short weeks! I'm sure Luke will already have many more tricks!

dress shopping & wedding update!

a couple of weeks ago i found my dress!!! after a very unsuccessful first trip, i really didn't think i was going to find what i wanted or have that "feeling" to any dress. but i was wrong! my mom and my best friend stef went with me to a boutique in plainfield called white satin bridal. i arrived early and was immediately disappointed when nearly everything was covered in sparkles, which was exactly what i didn't want. they pulled a bunch of lace dresses which is what i thought i wanted - all covered in glitz but they told me that we could order it without the sequins and beading. i liked some of them, but didn't love any. i had grabbed one off the rack myself that looked nothing like anything i had thought i wanted but i was drawn to it for some reason. and ofcourse when i tried it on, i loved it! i didn't want to take it off, it felt special and right and i even cried just a little bit. stef and i jumped around with excitement too! we tried on more dresses and even went to our other appointment but i couldn't get that dress out of my mind so i knew it was the one. my mom and i went back to the store and bought it. feels so good to have that off our check list! the dress i bought is very different from what i planned so it sort of changes the vibe we were originally planning on so we are making some adjustments here and there to make the wedding more chic than shabby and more vintage than rustic.

we still have to finalize our caterer but we are working on scheduling 2 tastings. we are also working on a florist and hotel blocks. i'm constantly brainstorming ideas for decor and how to make the night more fun for everyone. it'll start coming together soon. we have 393 days still to figure it all out :)

NOLA!

my bff tara and i planned a last minute trip to new orleans the other week and i'm so glad we did! yes it was 105 degrees with the heat index but it was so worth it! our hotel had a rooftop pool to help with the heat and give us lots of time to lay back and relax. tara is my favorite activity coordinator and she definitely kept us busy! the first day after a little bit of shopping around and some pool lounging we had a fantastic dinner at NOLA. the service down there is truly shocking but the food was worth the wait. i had a filet mignon with blue cheese, yummie potatoes, pecans and bacon. YUM! the manager liked us so much he also brought us some complimentary dessert. afterwards we took a stab at bourbon street which is just as filthy and crazy as we expected. we got our palms read, mine was a joke but tara's was pretty awesome! we walked around a bit and ended in a nice, clean jazz club to hear some fantastic jazz and enjoy some drinks. the next day we walked to the french market and got beignets! changed our lives! then we walked around the french market, bought some souvenirs and then ventured off to some side streets to find a voodoo doll and we ended up getting some awesome gourmet Popsicles which we think we should bring over to chicago. they were so refreshing. we shopped around a lot longer and then spent some more time at the pool and then got ready for dinner at mike's on the ave. another restaurant with absurdly horrible service but absolutely delicious food. after our million hour long dinner we ventured back to bourbon street to meet with a friend of a friend who was part of a bachelor party. they were a very mellow bachelor party but we had a great time and got to see the true madness of bourbon street. after a late night we had to wake up the next morning to volunteer at an animal shelter event that i asked tara to do with me. it was wayyyyy out of the way but i'm so glad we went. those people don't know how to run an event and those animals needed go getters like me and tara! we snagged a ride back into the city from a nice volunteer who gave us an impromptu tour of the city. we got dropped off and went to lunch at green goddess. it was one of my favorite meals down there. the place was a total dump but the food was just absolutely fabulous. it reminded me of chicago cuisine with a southern twist. we shared 2 awesome plates and split a praline sundae with caramel and bacon. MIND BLOWN! so good. then we took the bus down to market street for some cooler shops and then came back to the hotel for a nice nap. we woke up late and decided to do a quickie dinner at the famous spot, Mother's. I got a giant poboy and tara got gumbo. then we walked through "dirty linen night" which was an art fest and made our way over to frenchman street for jazz. it was so cool! it was much less touristy and it just had one jazz club after another. we discovered poets on the street and hired them to write poems for folks back home. i had one written for rob and it was pretty freaking awesome i must say. an older gent commissioned one of the poets to write a love poem for tara and then later took it back, probably to use on some other girl later! we watched some jazz, met an interesting drunk nurse and then made our way back to the hotel for some sweet air conditioning. the last day we slept in and walked along the river and sort of broke into the aquarium. we were debating whether it was worth the admission fee and stepped inside for a brochure and ended up inside without paying. whoops! we strolled through and it actually wasn't that great so i'm glad we were criminals and didn't waste the $18. we made our way over to cafe du monde for more beignets, had to do it, and then i made tara go to the casino with me. we won nothing but it was fun! then we walked over to this hotspot deli we kept hearing about and got awesome sandwiches and mac & cheese. so delicious! then we decided to get last minute manicures before our flight. there was only one nail technician and she was brand new and sucked pretty bad so it was taking forever so we thought for sure we were going to be late to the airport but we got there with plenty of time. i rode home on a pretty empty flight and enjoyed my booked and came home feeling a little bit fatter from all the amazing food but very calm and relaxed. such a great weekend! i can't believe everything we crammed in.

tara's one of my all time favorite travel buddies and i can't wait to do another trip soon!