"Happy Birthday To Your Relationship!"

peacock feather earrings - Branchbound
vintage paisley shift dress - estate sale
metallic flats - Target





Sunday, as you know already, was my two year anniversary with Michael. I got dressed nice and comfortable for an afternoon I knew would be full of eating and walking. Shifts are the best at hiding full tummies!

I met Michael at the the blue line where we went to have brunch at...



...the Blue Line Club Car! I've always seen this place but never went in. They have an awesome, affordable menu ($3 mimosas for brunch, too!) and the inside looks like a 50s bar. I'll definitely be going back; they have turkey AND black bean burgers. We also had excellent weather and scenery for eating outside (the train overhead didn't even bother us all that often).







After we ate we walked around Renegade for a while until Michael got too hot/tired. We got some frozen yoghurt and then popped in Buffalo Exchange. We parted ways until we met for dinner. We got sushi at Bob San, stopped to take the photobooth strip below, and had drinks at Violet Hour (our place...Michael says if he proposes to me it will likely be there).

TikiTiki!

Tomorrow evening, after I get off of work, a small group of friends and I will be venturing to Hala Kahiki, a tiki bar located in one of Chicago suburbs. Naturally, half the fun of going is deciding what to wear (one of my friends made a dress for the occasion!) and half the fun of THAT is doing a little fantasy shopping. I'm 90% sure what I'm going to wear, but it doesn't hurt to poke around Etsy a bit! Here are some of my faves:



from Land Of 1000 Dresses



from Bohemian Bisoux



from Fab Gabs



from Tialey Vintage



from Blueberry Deluxe


What would you wear if you were me? Post some inspiration for me (or my man, he's stumped, too)!

Hello Brooklyn

sunnies - Target
black and gold earrings - F21
black shirtdress - UO
crocheted stockings - Marshall's
t-strap wedges - DSW

Somehow this is the only photo from May 22, the second day of my trip. I guess we were just so busy I never thought to take some snaps! This was taken of my outfit at the Brooklyn flea on a beautiful day. Before this me and a big group of us girls went to General Greene for brunch. The flea wasn't as impressive as I had hoped; almost all of the vintage I saw in New York was tremendously disappointing. Very expensive for how poor of quality the garments were! I did see some great vintage jewelry at the flea, however, and some of my friends found things. Outside of the fleagrounds there were a lot of people having stoop sales, and I found this awesome 60s metal belt! Everyone convinced me to get it, so I did, but since I have no pictures you will have to wait until I incorporate it into an outfit photo! We also went to Artists & Fleas...same thing. Crummy vintage clothing but some AWESOME handmade goodies. I didn't buy anything but I loved to look.

That night we had dinner at an Italian restaurant on the Lower East Side called Max. The food was fine but that was the worst service I have ever had. We didn't leave a tip it was so bad! I wouldn't recommend it. We finished the night with dancing at Lit (there was one really, really awesome dj and one bad one, and they kept switching off, but at least there was one good dj). Afterwards we wandered around for a while, at this point just me, Kara, Erin and Erika, had a snack at Dunkin Donuts while we talked about the various animal encounters Erika might be having in Mongolia. We got home as the sun was coming up.

The next day I met up with my friend Jordan for brunch and then off to the Brooklyn botanical gardens we went!



paper earrings - Never Contented Things on etsy
dress - Wet Seal
tights - We Love Colors
tan t-strap wedges - DSW

I love how people humour me enough to snap outfit pictures for me/you guys. ;)

It was a nice overcast, warm day and we just wandered through all the different gardens. There were a lot of new breeds of flowers and some had some totally redic names (and there were multiple ones named Betty White and other cliche names like Prom Date).



I really enjoyed the hot houses (though of course my hair poofed up likea scared cat's tail) and the ponds with the lily pads and sleepy koi fish.







It was good to spend a little time with Jordan since I hadn't seen him since I visited Savannah two years ago. And I think you all know how much I enjoy plants!



Stay tuned for the third and final installment (finally!).

Things I Love Thursday - 09.10.09

• Renegade Craft Fair - Saturday and Sunday in Chicago is the Renegade Craft Fair! It's pretty much like walking through Etsy if it was more selective and in Wicker Park. A lot of things I do not buy, but it's great for getting ideas and picking up cards for possible holiday purchases. I realized a week ago that this will be my fourth year going to Renegade. In 2006 I didn't purchase anything, in 2007 I bought this ring from Lucky Loo Loo, and last year Michael bought both of us some cute stationary from 16 Sparrows. Check out the official website here.

• The Violet Hour - I hate promoting this place even though it's the best bar in Chicago because I like how tucked away it is (or was). This place is perfect- expertly crafted cocktails in a classy and divine setting, very dim, perfect for groups or an intimate date. Just look at the menu! Yum. If that doesn't persuade you, check out the inside:







• fashism.com - Fashism is my new guilty pleasure; it's like Hot Or Not but with clothing. I love voting on good or bad outfits, and offering up advice. The only problem I have with it is it isn't updated too often (but I guess that's a good thing cos I'd waste too much time on there otherwise).



• the little black vest - It's not exactly the same as the dress, seeing as how it's almost more accessory than apparel, but the plain black fitted vest looks perfect, on any body type and with any outfit.

• Melissa Shoes - These Brazilian-made plastic/vinyl sustainable shoes are conceived by a variety of famous footwear designers including Vivienne Westwood, Zaha Hadid, and J. Maskrey. They are unfortunately out of my price range, but just barely so I may invest in a pair on sale. They look like they would be uncomfortable but they are surprisingly very, very comfortable, based on the flats and heels I have tried on. When I can find an excuse to I will definitely be getting a pair of These Vivienne Westwood designed t-straps: