More Plaid, More Vests

Shirt (similar) and Vest (similar) - Old Navy / Jeans - Gap / Boots - Tahari / Necklace - Stella & Dot / Watch - Kate Spade / Bag (similar) - Coach Factory

Wondering what you might see me wearing if you run into me in the street these days? A plaid shirt, a vest, and riding boots is definitely your safest bet. I've been wearing some variation on this look basically non-stop, at work and on the weekends. Add something in a red Starbucks cup and a blanket scarf, and I could be the most cliched fall Instagram ever.

Linking up with Random Wednesday, Style Me Wednesday, Style Sessions and Stylish Tuesday.

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This Weekend...

This weekend I...

...Had one of my college roommates in town for the weekend so we did some typical Chicago-y things, like a walk down the Mag Mile and drinks at Trump Tower.
...Went on a little dinner date at Kai Sushi where Jeff went a little overboard with his order. I'd only been there before with my friend Sarah (who goes alllll the time), and put it at about 50/50 odds that she would be eating dinner there too. We hadn't been seated more than five minutes before she walked in.
...Finally went to RM Champagne Salon, which is so adorable inside and had some really yummy cocktails. I want to go back in the summer though, when we can sit outside on their patio, rather than being crowded in to their tiny bar area.
...Went on a little makeup trying on binge in Sephora and considered buying everything in the gift section, you know, for myself.
...Had dinner at Three Aces with a couple of my college roommates, where we did a lot of gossiping and ordered an obnoxious amount of food - the ricotta gnocchi was amazing!!
...Did a little more wedding crafting and had a wedding decision date night where we knocked a lot of things off of the list.
...Went to get my hair cut and of course had to stop in to Molly's Cupcakes for a little fix. Oh chocolate chip cookie dough, I have dreams about you...
...Stopped in to Target to pick up a prescription and accidentally walked out with about half of the Christmas decor section...
...Had brunch at Dusek's, and determined I really should have just gotten about four orders of the breakfast potatoes - so. freaking. good.

I hope you had a good one!

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Review: Plated

Have you heard of Plated? It's a service that delivers all of the ingredients and recipes you need to make gourmet meals at home. Jeff and I have been trying for a couple of weeks. I actually first heard of it over a year ago, but decided to finally give it a try when I accepted my new job and knew that I would have a lot less time for making dinners during the week.  

So how does Plated work? Each week I go online and pick which meals I want from their weekly menu and the day I want everything delivered. Then on the afternoon of my delivery date, a refrigerated box shows up on my doorsteps with all of the ingredients I'll need for the meals as well as recipes with step by step photos.

Steak au Poivre with Spinach Potatoes au Gratin 

While there have been a couple of misses (like a salad that was really just raw brussels sprouts), we have made some pretty amazing meals. I've always felt most comfortable making chicken and salmon, so it's been fun to branch out and discover other proteins, as well as vegetables I've never had before (like turnips!).  I also like that they send you the exact amount of ingredients you need, so I don't end up with tons of extra spices and oils I don't know what to do with. What I don't like? How much waste the process entails - each week we throw away tons of packaging and ice packs. We also had one box come with a rock hard avocado, but Plated was quick to give us some free meals to make up for it. Overall, I really like the service, and I can see us using it for a long time.

 

Kale Pesto Ravioli with Roasted Carrots and Anchovy Chicken with Roasted Carrots and Turnips

Have you used Plated or a similar service? What did you think?

This post is not sponsored. I actually reached out to Plated to see if they had a coupon to share with you guys so you could try it out yourselves, but they declined. I have seen lots of offer codes floating around though (especially on Facebook) so a quick Google should find a discount for you.

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Red + Black

Two legging looks in one week? Guilty as charged. After my favorite riding boots died in DC, I've mostly been relying on this leather/knit pair, which I really think just look best with leggings or tights. I wore this last weekend for a little date night with Jeff, where, in true us form, we came home embarrassingly early and promptly fell asleep. It was also so cold that I kept my scarf and coat on the whole night, totally negating the need to get dressed at all. Oh well, at least the coat was cute! 

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My Halloween Costume: Ralphie from A Christmas Story

I've been teasing my Halloween costume for the past couple weeks, but I actually decided on the idea over a year ago and just didn't get it together in time for last Halloween. A Christmas Story is definitely my favorite Christmas movie and I quote it year round, so Ralphie in the bunny costume seemed like a no brainer. For some reason I had it in my head that the costume would be really hard to make, but it actually ended up being super easy.

Step one was to buy a pair of hooded footie pajamas. I found mine at footedpajamas.com, and since I was shopping off season they were on super sale. Then I proceeded to wear them around the house for six months (Jeff even wore them once too ;).

I originally considered buying two pairs of pajamas so that I would have extra matching fabric for the ears, feet, and gloves, but instead I just took a swatch with me to the fabric store and found a near exact match of fleece. I got a quarter yard of the lighter pink and a quarter yard of a darker pink to use for the inside of the ears. I also picked up some googly eyes for the feet and some thin floral wire.



For the ears, I decided I didn't want them connected to the hood. As a faux redhead who pretends she has the same experiences as real redheads, I'm very temperature sensitive, and knew that odds were I would not be able to keep a hood on for very long. Instead, I decided to attach the ears to a headband so I could wear them separately. I found an old headband and whip stitched a cover out of the extra light pink fabric. For the ears themselves, I cut out pieces of the hot pink and light pink fabrics, and then cut a piece of wire to fit around the perimeter of the hot pink piece, plus a little extra. I then sewed the ears together with the wire (but you could easily glue them or use liquid stitch).  I did not sew the bottoms at first, and instead wrapped the bottom of the wire around my headband, and then wrapped and sewed the bottom of the ear around the headband.

For the feet, I made smaller versions of the ears, then glued on some googley eyes and used a permanent marker to draw a nose & mouth. I forgot to take a picture of this, but I also decided to make mittens out of some of my remaining light pink fabric since Ralphie's bunny suit covers his hands.

To make myself more recognizable as Ralphie, I also had to have a Red Rider BB Gun. I found mine on eBay for ten bucks or so. My gun shot air darts, you know, so I wouldn't really shoot my eye out.

And there you have it! Ralphie from A Christmas Story. Maybe I'll break this out again for Christmas with my in-laws, so they know exactly what kind of girl is joining their family ;) 

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Fall Leggings

Tee - Loft / Jacket - F21 / Leggings - JCrew Factory / Flats - Vince Camuto / Necklace - BaubleBar

Leggings are one of those things that people seem to either love or hate. I love them for the comfort, but after years of seeing inappropriate legging outfits I can see where the hatred comes from. The problem stems from people buying cheap, thin leggings that aren't opaque, and therefore really shouldn't be worn with anything but a dress. These ponte leggings, however, are super thick, and feel appropriate to wear anywhere, even work as long as I cover my bum!

So where do you land on the great legging debate? So good or no good?

Oh, and P.S., you may notice this little bloggy got a little facelift overnight. I felt like it was time for something new. Let me know what you think!

Linking up with Random Wednesday, Style Me Wednesday, Style Sessions and Trend Spin Linkup.

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This Weekend...

This weekend I...

...threw a little Halloween party after passing out candy to all of the trick-or-treaters. I was Ralphie from A Christmas Story, and Jeff was Gary from VEEP. The clear costume winner of the night though was my friend Becky, who went all out as Ruffio.
...Ate what some may consider an excessive amount of candy thanks to the HAIL we had during trick or treating hours, which means we had quite a bit of candy leftover.
...Finally went to see Gone Girl, which was so good. Other things that were so good? The excessive amount of butter on my popcorn, and the quick flash of Ben Affleck's manhood ;)
...Went over to the neighborhood cafe for a little breakfast date with Jeff's dad, where due to a little mix up we ended up ordering everything a la carte and ended up with about twelve plates on the table.
...Did a little bit of shopping in stores where I left empty handed, which transitioned into a lotta bit of online shopping and a pretty big chunk of my November budget gone.
...Went out for tacos with the boo and totally forgot it was the Dia de los Muertos - the place was packed!

I hope you had a good one!

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