Day 19: Slumming It

While I don't think that is a total scruffy outfit, it is definitely built for comfort.  As I ended my vacation and made my journey back from Chicago to the Bay Area, I made sure to get a last minute gyro in puffy pita bread (I wasn't even hungry!).  Things were otherwise uneventful except for the strong headwinds that delayed my flight arrival time an extra 20 minutes.  With only 30 min before my connecting flight took off and a distance of a full terminal to run, it wasn't a fun time.  I made my flight fairly sweaty, hot and gross, right after they announced final boarding call, only to find that one of the flight attendants on my connecting flight was on the one I just got off of -- and they were going to wait for him!   Needless to say, I was super crankipants.  In any case, here is my comfy cozy outfit:

Outfit Details

Cardigan: J Crew Katelyn Ruffle Cardigan
Top: Anthropologie Velvet Yardarm Tee
Pants: J Crew Toothpick Ankle Jeans
Boots: Anthropologie Pebbled and Primped Boots

 

The BF and I went to Tony Romos for the first time to get some ribs, so I'm in a sleepy sleepy food coma.  Off to watch more Grey's then to bed I go!

Thanks for stopping by, see ya tomorrow!

Day 18: Neutral With a Dash of Red

And here was the outfit I wore today.  It was a little chilly outside, so I opted for tights and a layered turtleneck under the dress.  I was itching for a splash of color, so I threw a red belt in. 

Outfit Details

Dress: Anthropologie Bailey 44 Kissing Friday Dress
Top: Banana Republic Factory Mock Turtleneck
Boots: Anthropologie Miss Albright Loose Reign Boots
Belt: Anthropologie Gift Bow Belt
Tights: Spanx

This will be a relatively short one.  I'm doing a Grey's Anatomy marathon and I don't have much else going on at the moment.  Not to mention, you heard from me earlier today!   I'm having a pretty awesome lazy day -- one where I hung out with my family, watched American Idol, watched Grey's and read Japanese manga.  Sometimes you need a good day of doing nothing to help recover from the stress of life, right?  So -- back to my marathon.

Have a great night, see ya tomorrow!

Day 17: A 36 Hour Day Would Be Nice

Apologies for the missed day readers, but yesterday was all over the place.  With 2 days left in my vacation, there were a couple loose ends I needed to wrap up.  I visited my 2 year old god child (who is now super cute and hyper!) for a little bit before going off to an epic night with my little brother for his birthday.  We had Korean BBQ (delicious!) and then headed out for a night of bars and dancing.  My lil bro is 3 years younger than me, so I was concerned about my ability to, you know, "hang" with them, but it actually turned out to be a really great (albeit LATE) night. 

So now, I'm re-wearing yesterday's outfit for the sake of pictures and my clothes REEK of Korean BBQ.   But, I decided to do it for you.  Yes, because you're that important to me.

Outfit Details

Top: Anthropologie Melting Cowlneck

Skirt: Anthropologie Abstract Greenery Skirt

Belt: Anthropologie Snakebite Belt

Boots: Anthropologie Miss Albright Pebbled and Primped Boots

Necklace: Oh Hello Friend Imparted Time Necklace (gift from friend)

Necklace: Kohls

Some details that are a little different.  Yesterday I wasn't wearing tights because it was quite warm outside.  My outfit didn't reek of cigarettes and Korean BBQ yesterday morning.  It's a little more wrinkled than usual.  But all in all, it's the same.  

I keep finding doors to pose in front of!  Maybe that's what I'll just start doing for funsies.  Thoughts?

Thanks for stopping by, see ya tomorrow! Or later, really, with today's outfit.  :D

Day 16: The Wind in My Sails

Ugh.  Today was an okay picture day.  It's ridiculously warm in Chicago (for Feb winters, anyway) and the snow from the past few weeks has been melting like crazy!  I thought today would be a good day to go to the park from my childhood and snap a few, but I was rewarded with wet shoes, a windy day AND I forgot the piece for my tripod that holds my camera in place.  I had to precariously balance the camera on top of the tripod and didn't have any range of motion, which resulted in fabulous photos, natch (btw, I'm being sarcastic).

But, I suffered through and some of them turned out alright.

Outfit Details
Blazer: Uniqlo
Shirt: J Crew Buffalo Check Boy Shirt
Pants: Gap 1969 Always Skinny Jeans
Belt: J Crew Factory Skinny Leather Belt
Shoes: Anthropologie Brimming Button Heels

Bag: Hobo International Touch Base

Earrings: Gift from Mom from the Philippines (woot!)

Aaaand, a ridiculous one for the road. 

Sorry for the poorer quality photos this time around, point and shoots make it more difficult to have high quality pictures.  But the show must go on, right?  Also -- my poor shoes suffered for this shoot!  Check out the water stainage -- they should be fine once they dry out though.  

I had some cool ideas for slides and swings and rocking horses, but those didn't come out the way I hoped, so maybe next time.  

Thanks for stopping by, see ya tomorrow!

Day 15: Random Exploration

Oh man, was today such a nice change of pace from my daily routine.  Since I didn't have any real plans for my trip to Chicago, I could just kinda play the whole day by ear.  If you know me, readers, I'm the kind of person who has a list THIS LONG of things to do in the places I visit.  While I'm not the type that plans everything to the last minute, I am the kind of person that rushes from place to place to make sure that I don't miss anything.  (That's why the BF is handy, he slows me down.)  Well, this time, the only thing on my schedule was really to pick my parents up from the airport in the evening.  Since I actually am staying well outside of the city, I thought it appropriate to spend the day doing random things in Chicago until I had to go to O'Hare to pick my parents up.  It was pretty good day, all told.
First, I called up my cousin who goes to school in the city and asked if she wanted to get lunch.  She had a class break, so we got Ethiopian food and bananas foster at a different restaurant afterwards.  If you haven't have Ethiopian food before, I highly recommend it (nuts, I should've taken a picture).  It's very savory and comes on a plate on top of a pancake, and you eat it with your hands! Mmm.  It's about dinner time now, and I want some.   After I dropped her off, I drove around looking for a good location to take pictures.  I'm working on my location spotting, and here's what I ended up with.  I took these near the Nature Boardwalk off of Lake Shore Drive and Fullerton, right on the edge of Lincoln Park.

Cardigan: Anthropologie Sparrow Wind & Whirl Cardigan

Top: Zara TRL Top

Skirt: Anthropologie Tabitha Avant-Tweed Skirt

Tights: Anthropologie Eloise Tights

Boots: Anthropologie Miss Albright Pebbled and Prmped Boots

Socks: Gap

Necklace: Anthropologie Parakou Necklace

Scarf: "Borrowed" from Mom

Purse: Hobo International Touch Base

Thaat's right.  I found another door to pose in front of.  This one is green!

I would've taken better, closer pictures, but that white goose on the far left was scaring me.  Not to mention, if I fell, it would be into a frozen river.  Pfft, details.

I'm using a Canon Powershot on this vacation because the DSLR was just too big to bring with me.  This probably explains some of the pictures' poor quality.  BUT! I found a function that has a timer AND takes 5 shots in a row, so you can see the results of that in this post.  I had so much fun (You can probably tell)!  Still, I'm starting to realize that its kinda stressful taking pictures with a tripod by yourself.  There were all these people running and kinda staring at me as they ran by.  But such is the life of a blogger, no?  I swung by a Caribou Coffee (<3!) to kill the rest of the time before I went to the airport.  Oh Dark Chocolate Mint Condition, how I missed you.  Amazing deliciousness. 

You will begin noticing more changes on the blog as I make progress updating things this week.  I've started a twitter -- feel free to follow me at 'tolookforstyle'.  You can find a link on the left.  Other things hopefully to be available in the near future include an updated blog design and a Facebook page for the blog.   I'll keep you posted.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway for Benefit Cosmetics make-up!  Thanks for stopping by, see ya tomorrow!

Fitting Room Reviews: Anthro Dresses!

As promised, here's a sunny new crop of fitting room reviews from Anthropologie!  There were a whole slew of new arrivals at the store when I visited this weekend and I'm so excited to share with you!

Paraiso Dress, Maeve, $148, Size 2

I have to admit, with all the hype in the Anthro community, the amazing color palette, and the fact that this dress is made by Maeve really lifted my hopes high for this dress.  Once on, however, it left me feeling a bit flat.  The fit seems TTS, though ladies in between sizes, may want to consider sizing up.   Let’s start with the good: The colors are great and there’s give in the upper half of the dress with it’s elastic in the back. The not so good: I was expecting a full skirt, but instead it felt a bit droopy.  The hemline fell right at my knees, which can be okay in some cases, but with all the material in the skirt, I felt short and overpowered.  Throw in the fact that the dress is sleeveless, which I tend to avoid, and I think this one will be a pass for me.  

Mystery Dress, Odille, $98, Size 2

Now here’s a dress I can get behind (or in)!  Colbalt blue has been one of my favorite colors for a few years now, and this is such a wonderful vibrant hue for this dress.  This shirt dress fits TTS, but hits me above the knee, so taller ladies may want to beware of a short hemline.  The good: Great color, good length (for smaller ladies), lightweight, the utilitarian-type details and I love the options for the sleeve length.  The not so good: This is just another rehash of the Reed, Refined Cord and other such shirt dresses.  Still, the versatility, color and price point just might have me reaching for it at sale time. 

 

 Tessera Dress, Maple, $168, size 2

This is a cute, knee length dress that fits TTS.  The good: Unique cutouts and neckline.  Silky material (yay!) and a cool pattern.  The not so good: I'm not sure what it is about the dress, but it doesn't make my heart sing.  It would be very cool dressed up and dressed down though!  This will mostly likely be a pass for me. 

Chroma Mosaic Shift, Edme & Esyllte, $138, size XS

I tend to have trouble with this type of dress.  Given the way it's probably supposed to fit -- loose and flowy -- I would say it fits TTS to slightly big, so smaller ladies may be sized out of this one.  The good: That's one awesome mosaic pattern and the material is super silky.  The not so good: I feel like I'm wearing a silk sack!  It feels nice, but does nothing for my body.  I will be passing on this one. 

Counting Angles Dress, Plenty by Tracy Reese, $168, size XS/P

You may or may not notice that this outfit is almost a direct copy from one of the outfits from the Safari outfit set!  I'm so original, I know.  Unfortunately, this dress didn't live up to my expectations.  It's actually two pieces -- a spaghetti strap liner and the piece with a deep V and short sleeves, which helps with any potential see-through issues and I think it fits TTS.  The good: Awesome pattern, breathable fabric.  The not so good: This dress has a dropped waist, which doesn't work for my short, petite body type.  But! Taller ladies may be in great luck as this is a very pretty dress.  A pass for me though.  

That wraps up the dress portion of the fitting room reviews.  Next stop: sweaters, cardigans and pants!

Day 14: Traveling

Time to take to look for: Style's 30 for 30 on the road!  I am on my way to Chicago -- my home town, my crib, my -- what else would you call it? I'm thrilled to finally have a vacation to spend with my family, work on my blog and just get to relaxation time.

How was everyone's Valentine's Day?  After spending 7 years in my current relatinoship, Hallmark holidays would seem to take a turn for the less important, but my BF took the time to take me out to dinner and present me a V-Day gift of: carry on luggage!  Now before you laugh, I do a lot of personal and business travel, and my current carry on was on it's way to Destructionville (that's also where half of my lost socks go) and, like I said, I'm on my way to Chicago.  Timely AND thoughtful?  How awesome is that!  It has 4 wheels for zero turning radius, which is fantastic because when I'm in a hurry, I don't really think about the orientation of my bags.  Let me tell you, that lead to a whole lot of tripping on previous trips.

And what did he get for all this thoughtfulness?  One hungry, cranky, GF.  Well, it turned out he was a little delayed at the DMV, and got home later than expected.  I didn't eat because I expected to go an hour earlier and, well -- I'm an angry, angry woman when I'm hungry.  Seriously.  You know those Snickers commercials where people turn into a diva or an angry bear or something until they get a Snickers?  Well, that's me.  Poor boy.  Then we went to get spicy Malaysian food and I was all cuddles and smiles again.  Yay!

 Outfit Details

Cardigan: Anthropologie Charlotte Tarantola High Speed Cardigan
Top: J Crew Silk Collar Top
Belt: Anthropologie Snake Bite Belt
Leggings: Macy's INC
Boots: Anthropologie Miss Albright Loose Reign Boots

Well, off to boarding now.  Thanks for stopping by, see ya tomorrow (or later. wink wink)!