This Weekend...

Image source

This weekend I...

...Went on a little day trip with my niece Mae and the family to the Brookfield Zoo. My mom had a long-standing tradition while we were growing up of always going to the zoo during spring break, and about 90% of the time it was freezing. This year was no exception! It still was really fun to see all of the animals and pretend that Mae was the reason we were at the zoo, even though she's a little too little and mostly just liked looking at the colorful tropical fish. I guess next time we'll just take her to the pet store ;)
...Grabbed dinner with Jeff at O'Shaughnessy's Public House, and oh.my.gee. So good. It had been recommended to us by a couple of people, including my Irish co-worker so we decided to swing by on Saturday night. It was packed and we waited a loooong time for our food, so the extra drink or two I ingested may be partially speaking here, but it was seriously one of the best sandwiches I've ever had. Flank steak, gouda, and jalepeno aioli? Please feed me that and only that for the rest of my life.
...Got my new bedding in the mail, and oh my gosh you guys, it is the best thing ever. After hating and returning a set from West Elm last weekend I decided to spring on this pretty watercolor print duvet and tasseled quilt. I almost stayed in bed all day on Sunday haha.
...Met up with some friends at Southport Lanes to play a little pool, and very quickly remembered that I am absolutely terrible at pool. It turns out Jeff is pretty bad too (which is surprising because he's usually pretty athletic!) so we made a pretty fun team.
...Got completely obsessed with watching brush calligraphy videos on Instagram (it's mesmerizing to watch!). I've been trying it myself with a set of Crayola markers and it may be my new favorite thing.
...Remembered it was our dating anniversary, and decided to celebrate even though we have a *new* anniversary now. I'm typing this as I get ready for dinner at Bistro Campagne, so fingers crossed it's good!

I hope you had a good one!

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

Friday Finds

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

Three Favorites: Makeup

If you only had time to put on three makeup products before you left the house, which would you choose? For me it's definitely concealer, powder, and mascara. I'm looking to cover my undereye circles and the shine in my t-zone, and the mascara just makes me feel pretty. My mom would pick concealer and mascara but swap the powder for blush, and my sister only needs two - powder and mascara. It's funny because I don't think concealer or powder even make it on most people's top three - a lot of my friends would go for foundation or lipstick instead.

While I've been dabbling a lot with makeup lately I always end up back at my three favorite standbys. I've been using the same powder, mascara, and concealer for everyday looks for years now. I love that Maybelline's Fit Me powder actually matches my paler than pale skintone and blends nicely. While The Falsies mascara doesn't actually make it look like I'm wearing falsies it does curl my lashes nicely and add volume, and looks great on its own (unlike some of my more intense mascaras that look best when I'm wearing more makeup). And the Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream is so bright it makes me look really awake, and less, as my husband lovingly puts it, like a zombie. It's easy to put on too much though - if that happens I just hold a tissue under my eye for a few seconds to soak up some of the extra so it doesn't crease.

So tell me - what are your go-to makeup choices if you could only pick three?

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

Dressed Up / Dressed Down

Oh don't mind me, just daydreaming about summer over here. I'm waiting for this pretty patterned romper to come in the mail - fingers crossed it fits, because I want to wear it for casual summer afternoons on the deck and date night with the hubs and everything inbetween!

Romper

Dressed Down: Necklace / Ring / Sandals / Bag 

Dressed Up: Bag / Necklace / Heels

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

The Vest Returns

Shirt and Necklace (similar) - J. Crew Factory / Vest (similar) and Bag (similar) - Old Navy / Denim - Madewell / Booties - TOMs / Bracelet - Michael Kors

Every spring I wish I had a light layer that isn't a blazer or sweater, and then I remember I own this vest! Utility vests have survived a couple of years now, and I still love the way they complete any outfit, and work both with casual shirts and jeans as well as skirts and dresses. Or maybe they don't really work with casual shirts and jeans, because a couple of my male coworkers asked if I was planning on going hunting or trekking into the forest after work. Har har, oh men.

I am starting to wish that this particular vest had fewer pockets because it does feel a little bulky, but at the same time, I don't really want to buy another vest so I guess I'll live with what I've got. Not that enduring a bulky vest is a particular hardship. I linked to a couple of less bulky options so that you don't have to make the same mistake - learn from me!

Shop the post:

Previously on KDTI - the vest:

 

Linking up with How I Spring, Flashback Friday, Style Sessions, Style Me Wednesday, Confident Twosday.

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

This Weekend...

This weekend I...

...Had some family in town (and a husband who was out of town) and subsequently spent the majority of the weekend at my parents' house catching up over lots of wine and squishing my little niece's cheeks. She's the perfect age where she's really interested in everything but isn't mobile yet so she can't get away from me ;)
...Realized that this season of It's Always Sunny is on demand, and holy crap! I haven't watched in a while because I felt like the show was going downhill, but the couple of episodes I watched were A-plus!
...Almost killed myself returning some bedding to West Elm (hint - the quality is not so great) - who knew that comforters and pillows could weigh so much?! And then ordered some pretty new stuff from Ballard Designs - ooo, watercolor print! Fingers crossed this set works out better.
...Realized I need some more business-y clothes for a weeklong work trip in a couple of weeks and ordered this dress and this dress and this dress too. And like, eight other things because it's a new month for the budget and I just couldn't help myself.

And really that was it! I hope you had a good one!

Oh and just a little housekeeping - now that the weather is a little nicer I'm going to try to go back to posting 5x a week, so be sure to start stopping by on Wednesdays again!

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

March Budget

Another budget post, another month where I was 100% sure I would go over but somehow managed not to. Between the Tieks, the Hunter boots, and this raincoat that made its way into my life for a less than 24 hours (pretty sure J. Crew changed their sizing - my usual size was HUGE on me) I was way in the hole for a while there. Between a few sales (and a few giftcards!) I managed to stay under. I got some great pieces too, like some fun sandals for the pool this summer, the blingiest earrings ever, and lots of tassels. I also gave my sister my rain boots last month and then freaked out when I saw a million days of rain in our forecast so I decided to spring for a new pair of Hunters. This time I went a size bigger and got the Touring boots (which are more flexible and lighter so you can travel with them) and so far I've been reaching for them a lot more than my last pair. So anyway,  here's how I did for March:

LOFT Striped Tassel Scarf - originally $39.50, on sale $29.50, used coupon $4.50, used giftcard $0
LOFT Tee - Originally $29.50, on sale $17.70 used giftcard $0
BaubleBar Earrings - originally $38, on sale + used points $24.80
Old Navy Fringe Sandals - originally $22.94, on sale + used credits $11.76
Hunter Touring Boots - $150
Sole Society Tassel Bag - originally $54.95, on sale $46.71
LOFT Striped Tunic - originally $59.50, on sale $35.70, used gift card $0
Old Navy Dress - originally $34.94, on sale $13.43 (not pictured)

Total Spent: $246.74
Total Saved: $54.09

I had to schedule this post in advance (thanks for dying on me, laptop!) so a couple more items probably came this week that could have been included in this month, but if I like them I'll save them for April's post instead. Summer dresses and skirts are my absolute favorite things to shop for so I'm sure I have lots of those in my future! I'm also looking for a new pair of dress pants or a work dress for going to events - we used to have a uniform but now can wear whatever business wear we want.

Did you budget this month? How did you do?

Linking up with Fran.

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!