Long Weekend

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Ugh sometimes a long weekend is just what the doctor ordered, amiright? This weekend I...

...Went to Garcia's in Lincoln Square with some co-workers for all of the strawberry margs ;)
...Made it up to my hometown for a little bit of volunteering and a lotta bit of cuddling with my sweet little niece!
...Watched Straight Outta Compton, and you guys, it was so good. Like, seriously. I was just a wee little thing when N.W.A. got famous so I knew the songs but not the history, so Jeff and I spent several hours after the movie googling everything, because, well, #nerds.
...Went to a going away party at Revolution Brewery for some of our friends who already managed to move to Nashville (pretty sure they packed it up and left as soon as the party ended!) - sad face.
...Watched maybe too much of The Bachelor - and yes, that's definitely possible ;) Yay Jade & Tanner!!
...Had a Valentine's date with Jeff at Anteprima and it was perfect. The food, the wine, the dessert, and of course the company ;)

I hope you had a good one!

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Long Weekend Shopping

Oh hey, it's Monday but I'm not at work! For the first time since probably high school I have President's Day off of work, and I couldn't be more excited. I have some big plans for today - and when I say "big plans" I mean "do as little as possible." On the docket is hopefully a manicure, hopefully a bit of shopping, and hopefully remembering to pack - I'm heading to California tomorrow for work. Bye snow! Don't worry, I have a couple of posts scheduled for the week while I'm gone.

Anyway, back to the shopping! I've maybe already hit my budget for the month (shhhh, don't tell!)  but it's almost my birthday and I'm flushed with cash. Okay, not really, but a girl can dream right?

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12

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Our Wedding: Details

It's all about the details when it comes to a wedding, amiright? Based on the approximately 1,000 things I pinned, I decided to bling it up with lots of gold, as well as play off of the whole zoo thing, because, well, tiny gold animals are adorable. The animal placecard holders were actually the first thing I decided on for our wedding (you know, besides the venue... and the groom...) and they turned out so freaking cute - a lot of people took them home, so I see these little guys all over the place ;) 

One of my favorite decisions we made was to have a bunch of little cakes. We had around 200 guests, so we ended up with one big cake for cutting and six little cakes to go on tables. We picked 5 different cake/frosting/filling combos (my favorite was chocolate + salted caramel - yum!) and the true cake afficianatos managed to try each one. Some of the cakes were decorated with flowers and our table numbers (from Better Off Wed - message me if you want these, I'd be happy to sell them!) and others were topped with little animals - I saw that our planner topped one with a whole herd of ostriches! 

These little guys were inspired by this tutorial, although the wire they suggested did NOT work for me and actually ended up causing a few minor injuries - instead I used this. These are the little animals I used. I also bought this bigger set for other display animals - I tried a couple of other brands but they didn't particularly enjoy being painted.

We also put out pictures of the two of us from the ages that matched the tables, which was super adorable until we both turned 11 or 12 - that awkward phase is for reals. One of our friends took a photo home with him, and I saw it proudly on display at a Superbowl party over the weekend - let's just say my middle school uniform was not cute. Nor were my giant round glasses ;) 

Photos by Cristina G

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Elbow Patches

Sweater - c/o SheIn / Shirt (similar) - LOFT / Denim - Gap / Boots - Bandolino / Bag (similar) - Old Navy / Necklace - c/o LovelyWholeSale

Should you always match your elbow patches to your hair? I think yes ;)

This sweater is actually the first piece I've ever owned with elbow patches, and I can't believe I've been missing out on them my whole life. They add such a fun extra bit of dimension to any outfit, plus they help you achieve what I like to call "the old man" factor. Which really is the goal, right?

Oh, and PS, have you noticed my fitness tracker? I'd been wanting one for a while but didn't want to wear something on the daily that was big and ugly. My brother-in-law bought this cute gold Up2 by Jawbone and I love it - 10,000 steps, here I come!

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Previously on KDTI - Chambray:

 

Linking up with Style Sessions, Confident Twosday, Mix It Monday, How I Fall, Friday Fab Favorites, Flashback Friday, What I Wore to Work.

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J.Crew Factory Sale

So if you frequent this blog, you know that there are a couple of stores that are really my jam, one of the front-runners being J. Crew Factory. And lucky me (unlucky wallet!), they're currently having a sale! Everything is marked down up to 60% off, but with the code EXTRAEXTRA you can save an additional 10% if you buy 3+ items, or an additional 20% if you buy 6+ items. Here are my top picks:

Anyone else stocking up for spring?

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Lace Up Flats

Sweater (similar) - LOFT / Tee and Bag (similar) - J. Crew Factory / Denim - Banana Republic / Flats - BP / Necklace - Madewell

Sometimes I see a trend, and I'm like, "nah." Sometimes I see one and I think I maybe like it, but it takes me a while to jump on the bandwagon. And sometimes, in the case of lace-up flats, I love them immediately, and then try to buy a pair for myself and try on all of the shoes and can never find one I actually like. Seriously, I've tried on tons of lace-up flats, and they either weren't comfortable or didn't come in my size (Do I need to complain about being a size 10.5 again? No, I talk about it all the time and probably don't need to bring it up again? Okay cool.). Or, you know, they were so adorable and in leopard print but also $350. Not happening.

I was so excited to find this pair by BP. Cute, comfortable, my size, and in my budget. Shoe dreams really can come true! I've maybe worn them the past 4 days in a row and am going to keep going - they add such a fun touch to every outfit! Plus my sister says she both "loves and hates them," which is better than her usual "oh god why would you buy that!" response, so, you know, winning.

Are you into lace-up flats? Would you buy a pair?

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Previously on KDTI - Striped Tee:

 

Linking up with Style Sessions, Confident Twosday.

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This Weekend...

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This weekend I...

...Finally watched The Intern, and it was so so cute. I want Robert De Nero's character to come be my work guru/spiritual animal. It maybe even made me cry (shhh don't tell).
...Went to a taping of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me (ahem, one of my favorite podcasts), and while my girl Paula Poundstone sadly wasn't on the panel, it was so cool. If you happen to be visiting Chicago on a Thursday night and can remember to buy tickets 6 weeks in advance, I definitely recommend going!
...Had a little day date with Jeff, wandering around town & doing a little shopping - somehow everything we bought was for him! What's happening?!??! We also stopped into Goose Island Brew Pub for some amazing burgers (mine had grilled pancetta on it omgggggg) - now I want to go back for their brewery tour!
...Met up with some friends for drinks at Duke of Perth, which, oddly enough, is the first bar I ever went to when I moved to Chicago. Afterwards we went out to dinner at The Peasantry, which I wouldn't say was my best restaurant experience ever, but the arugula flatbread and cocktail list were on point.
...Went to a Superbowl party and was so totally into the game. Okay, let's be real, I mostly watched commercials and ate some freaking amazing homemade chili cheese dip. Seriously, so good.

I hope you had a good one!

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