Urban Outfitters

I'm usually much more of an Anthropologie kind of girl, but recently I've been all about Urban Outfitters. Perhaps it's because it's at a much lower price point than Anthro (and hence, much friendlier on my student-income wallet!), or because of the apparent trend away from so many graphic tees (they've never really been my style--except for my frango for fun shirt, some tees I inherited from my parents, and shirts from college of course). But regardless, here are some hot looks I'm enjoying right now! I started with these shoes...flat, metallic, a bit gladiator-like without being too masculine and bulky...I am in love!











Then I moved on to shirts, and found these great ones! So weird that I'm really not a fan of bubble dresses, but I think it's kind of fun here with the shirt! And I love lace. Probably a bit risque for anything more than a layering shirt for me, but for that purpose I really like it! And finally, I really like the print of the third one!!






























































And then dresses...I love these first two--the red one is so cute with the cutouts and I really like the plainness of the rest of it, kind of has a vintage feel to it. A really fun weekend dress. And the blue house dress I am in love with. Sometimes I think I have mini identity crises with my clothes and I really do want to look like a 1950s housewife--I love the red piping and the tie sash! And finally this cute tie back dress, such a fun print and I love the back!

Okay, some pugs are just plain ugly...

Random

A compact backyard that packs in a lot of fun elements, a white linen-cotton blazer from J.Crew, and a beautiful gray and yellow bedroom (I really like the idea of painting the walls gray of some room, but you'd have to be really careful to add strong punches of color so it didn't look to dreary).

Ork Posters

Found these adorable posters from Ork of all the neighborhoods for several cities. Actually I remember seeing one somewhere where all the neighborhoods were printed in different colors, so I'm trying to get my hands on one for Chicago. Such a cute idea!!

Ballard Designs

This site has some really nice things for the home. I especially liked these two mirrors; I find it really hard to find large, quality mirrors that still have a modern flair to them. I bet the one reflects a lot of light!!! I also liked these topiary plaques for outside the front door. These rugs are really fun, especially the prints. And finally I found this beautiful beregere chair and ottoman that you can pick and choose the fabric and wood finish (here is an apple velvet against black finish). So beautiful!!!

a list of things

1. Started running again this morning, which feels good. I think it's finally time to commit to running this marathon in October. Luckily I still have enough weeks to do a normal training schedule, but I do need to raise money for a charity now that all open registrations are sold out.

2. Happy Father's Day, Dad.

3. I really like my new haircut a lot.

4. A weird time at church this morning. Maybe I'm beginning to see that it wasn't what God had planned for either of us after all, but I still can't fight the urge of wanting it to be part of the plan someday, or just having my friend back. Breaking up sucks. Trying to remember that a guy is only to enhance my experience of God, but that I should always be reliant on God for support and encouragement first.

5. I've spent a lot of money in the past couple days, so now it's savesavesave time. Ick, I don't like this whole not having income thing.

6. Going to Michigan for a couple days, well actually just shy of 48 hours. I have orientation for Whirlpool tomorrow, and then I'll be back in Chicago Tuesday-Friday to grade lots of cases, clean my apartment like there's no tomorrow, and to pack all my stuff for the summer. Then I'm headed to Philly for a few days, and then I'll drive my car back out to Michigan in time to start work next Tuesday. I'm intrigued, but am trying to get a bit more excited.

7. I guess that's about it, and anyway it's time to eat some lunch and pack in time to catch my train at 2. Hope everyone is doing well, and enjoying summer :)

personal stylists

this is why i love computers. yesterday i received two emails about "personal stylists" from neiman marcus and anthropologie, where based on your browsing history they'll send you emails with the stylist's latest finds for you. basically a "you may also like" section, via email! the one from anthropologie works a bit different, in that a stylist at the store nearest you will actually pull the items for you to come in and look at. probably more people will use the one at neiman's, but the conversion rate once you actually get people in the stores would probably be higher at anthro. oh, i love marketing. someone pay me to come up with programs like this. (actually, last night i had a dream about gap installing little screens in their dressing rooms where you could scan in each item of clothing you were trying on, and then give feedback about what you liked/disliked, and whether you were going to buy the item...but then i thought this morning, what if you had a crapload of stuff to try on? then it'd be a little cumbersome to enter in all that info by hand...so maybe it could record what you thought out loud, and then you'd need a voice recognition software to turn that stuff all into words so you could categorize it and make reports people could actually use...hmm, what do you think? i'm really excited for the future. i can't wait to see what people will come up with to transform life as we know it! another random aside--as i was walking to class the other day i was thinking about crime and punishment and whether at some point we'll live in more of a "truman show" world where everything is recorded and we could use that information to incriminate the right people. would this lead to a loss of privacy? should privacy exist? i wonder...).

anyway, i thought the suggestions from neiman marcus were pretty darn cute, and i especially liked the last two.




















the email i got from anthropologie:

just a couple of photos

Glad

Yesterday was a good day. It's nice to see friends and be done with exams for a while...just some grading to do next week, and then I'll be officially done. :) Alex moved out here last week, and she and Zach are accumulating lots of furniture in preparation for their new apartment. Colleen and I went over to help bring stuff upstairs and eat dinner (we had the goat cheese pasta with asparagus again--yummm!!), and had a nice time. Hung out for a long while until heading out the the pub for a bit, which was fun, though I was happy to be in my bed pretty early (and the pub was deserted last night, so weird!). But overall, a fun night.

And some eye candy:

Oh, and

I am LOVING these plates (uhhh diy project? yes please!). So cute and simple and fun! More and more I'm realizing my favorite designs are very simple, with clean, natural lines, yay finding my style!












































Also here's a fun living room setup (or I guess I should say family room...and by the way, what's the point in having a formal living room? They seem entirely superfluous to me). But anyway, I really like the way the mirror and photos are hung up on the wall. Simple and gives a nice sense of balance (woah? what's that movie? GAHHH going to drive me crazy...EDIT: it's from father of the bride, when brian's dad is talking about one of their sculptures. and there was a link to get there--i must have been channeling steve martin's "superfluous" from his hot dog freak out! oh how i love father of the bride...). And finally, Zooey Deschanel. I've never heard of the girl before but apparently she's in The Happening with Mark Wahlberg, which comes out soon I guess. The only thing I know is that she is beautiful and I adore her dress--and I NEVER like tiered skirts! Way to go, Zooey, I look forward to seeing you on Instyle's Look of the Day in the future! (I also just watched an interview with her on David Letterman last night, and I'm beyond thrilled with how awkward/dry/hilarious she is...she may just be my new best friend). EDIT: ha! Did I call it or what?

Done!

Hooray, I'm done with my first year of grad school!!! In the end, it really was a lot less painful than I thought it'd be, though that's in large part due to the fact that I switched programs of course :) I read my diary last night and was a bit overcome with compassion for my six-months-ago-self, as I wrote so despairingly in confusion over why I was here, what I was supposed to be doing, where I was supposed to be going. Of course God always has a plan, so it's nice to see that, even if I have to look back on it before I believe it! :) The past few weeks have been really trying, but overall I'm pleased with where I am, and I think I've grown a lot since I moved to Chicago. Not exactly in a way that I can articulate right now, but I hope the growth continues. It's fun to think about my grandparents and how they've had whole lives already. They've experienced so much, and they've fought the same battles I'm fighting, learned the same lessons, and grown into a pair of really wise people. Someday (I hope!) I can look back at my grandchildren and be excited for them with their whole lives in front of them, knowing a bit more about what's to come. There is hurting, which is something a bit new for me to say, because I think I sort of felt like you could avoid a lot of pain if you planned things correctly, or that because God protected us we wouldn't hurt, which is just silly as these times are when God chooses to teach us the most. And I think in a lot of ways I thought I was growing out of the "teenage angst" phase, and that the next phase would just be a lot happier. I guess in a way it has--there have been some really great joys--but there seem to be bigger hurts as well. But that's okay. Just as surely as I've made it this far, I can go further. And I have a new plan, which does make me feel a lot more comfortable! I'm still definitely not without hope that things will work out in the end. :)

A little note

here's a beautiful dress from anthropologie. actually i'm a bit sad i waited too long, because now it's sold out in my size... ah well.

tiles

Found these cute wooden circles from Anthropologie via design*sponge, and now I'm in love! Wouldn't they be fun as a backsplash?














Also, found this cute mosaic tile on etsy a while ago, and it's just now making it onto the blog. Oh finals, when will you be over? (actually, they end tomorrow, but even that seems so far away...)

toast, embroidery

Randomly wandered onto Toast's site the other day...very pretty in an understated way, with a slight vintage flair. I liked this dress:
















Also found this book cover off of design*sponge, and fell in love with it immediately. I would love a cardigan or sheer sweater with this sort of heavy embroidery! So adorable for early fall and spring!

i don't need an iphone, i don't need an iphone

Yesterday Apple announced the new iPhone 3G:

hello high school: survey fun!

*
5 things i was doing 10 years ago:
one. going to 7th grade dances
two. gymnastics
three. getting ready to move to philadelphia
four. playing with michael, who was then 2
five. biking to meghan's house to play
*
5 things i was doing 5 years ago:
one. getting ready to graduate high school
two. working on the literary magazine and the yearbook
three. eating sweet tarts in mr. j's physics class
four. ditching physics class with laura to wander around and visit kim, our guidance counselor
five. the prom. i should pull my dress out sometime...
*
5 snacks i enjoy:
one. ritz crackers
two. trail mix
three. fruit roll-ups
four. emmenthaler cheese
five. GSB apples
*
5 things i did yesterday:
one. worked on competitive strategy paper
two. studied for stats final
three. took stats final
four. talked on the phone with laura
five. watched jon and kate plus 8

5 things on my list for today:
one. finish QVC paper
two. finish competitive strategy paper
three. read marketing case
four. housegroup
five. read for fun, hopefully.
*
5 jobs i've had:
one. merchandising intern at QVC
two. admin/intern at The Vanguard Group
three. researching market comps for multifamily housing and self storage companies
four. selling hole sponsorships for an annual golf tournament
five. writing center tutor
*
5 things i would do if i had a million dollars:
one. not take out a loan for next year
two. travel around the world: greece, australia, cophenhagen, peru, chile, grand canyon, china, thailand, egypt, ireland and niagara falls come to mind :)
three. give some money to wake, my church, habitat for humanity, and set up some sort of scholarship fund for kids to go to college
four. buy a fun condo when i move next year
five. save and invest!
*
5 tv shows i like:
one. LOST
two. house
three. the big bang theory
four. ugly betty
five. how i met your mother
*
5 things i don't like doing:
one. my first thought was raking leaves, but it's actually kind of fun in small doses
two. fighting
three. folding laundry
four. awkward conversations
five. ummmm

5 biggest joys of the moment:
one. phillips, craig and dean--undeniably carried me through yesterday
two. that i start my job at whirlpool soon
three. that i'm getting my hair cut on friday!
four. that i get to see meg, mel, and katie soon
five. that last night was cooler than it has been (A/C is out!)
*
i tag...you!

coffee tables

black & spiro

a few things from black & spiro recently: this tiny shell frame, black wingback chair (DIY project!) and reupholstered dining chair. i really like the geometric print with the spindles on the back of the chair...

SATC fashion

SATC: Carrie's new place

I saw Sex and the City: The Movie the other day, and I was actually really impressed. The major focus was back on the friendships between all the girls, and their search to find love, which was always my favorite part. Also, I was blown away by all the fashion! It only buoyed my excitement to move to New York next year, which at this point is just a bit short of overflowing! And finally, I loved their renovation of Carrie's apartment! I'm still seriously thinking about painting the walls in my apartment, and I loved the color they used, which apparently is Benjamin Moore's Electric Blue. Yum :)

home home home

cute diy project on design*sponge...at some point i'd like to paint some furniture and make it into something really unique. but i dunno, it might go against my otherwise sleek and clean tastes. we'll see. also, check out the dresser in this bedroom--the beloved shape continues, and adds a new potential use! we're now up to dresser, hutch, TV stand/cabinet, entryway table.

































also, i loooooove the use of color in this design studio. lately i'm all about the lofts, and i think it'd be really fun to live in one. it's really a novel idea to make rooms smaller but open up the ceilings so they feel a lot larger!--kind of goes against the cardinal real estate rule of never reducing the number of rooms and expecting to go up in price!! speaking of lofts, which remind me of new york, it's official that i am a wanderlust. so strange that i found myself feeling like i was still transitioning into chicago such a short time ago that i'm already looking forward to transitioning out of it. i'm just so excited to see where i end up, embarking on a career that i love and filling the world with beautiful things that make people happy. things aren't everything, but i think cultivating a style is important in expressing yourself and growing up on the inside and out. hooray! oh, and did i mention that i might be interning with JILLIAN LEWIS?! oh my oh my, i hope i get it! her clothes are beautiful and she is a hilarious person. plus i am dying for some startup experience, since i hope to be an entrepreneur myself someday!!


































and finally i just think this is a cute room. i like white, wood, and green together. very peaceful.

high and low

pretty dresses! first one from neiman marcus, the other from delia's--who knew they had gotten so cute??!


































and also just a cute little shift dress for girls. so adorable!

letterpress

loved these business cards by brooklyn social cards:

















one of the partners, rebecca, also owns moontree letterpress, which made this pretty invitation!

Finals Week

Okay, here we go.