Oh Chicago...

You guys... I'm sorry I've been MIA lately.  But seriously, I had the most fun and much-needed girls weekend EVER!  My best friend, Steph, met me in Chicago for a long weekend of relaxing, shopping and great food.  Oh, and most importantly, friendship.  You know the kind that picks up right where it left off.  Like the years of living together never ended.  No one can replace that type of friendship.  Luckily, even though we now live hundreds of miles from each other, we can still meet a few times a year to catch up.

We stayed at the Embassy Suites downtown {would definitely recommend to anyone going to Chi-town - free hot breakfast and cocktail hour along with great rooms and amazing location} and were blocks away from all of our favorite shops and restaurants. We shopped til we dropped.  Like literally dropped at 8pm from exhaustion due to all of the walking and site seeing.  I'll show you all of my favorite purchases later this week!  Some of our favorite places to eat for those of you that want recommendations: Quartino, Gino's East, Grand Lux Cafe, Toni's Patisserie, and Mity Nice.  All amazing and equally drool-worthy :) 

In other words, I had an amazing weekend.  Mentally refreshed but physically exhausted.  And utterly perfect.  Thanks Steph for an amazing time and a much needed girl's weekend.   ♥ you bestie!

 

Wishlist Wednesday - All About Hats

All I can think about lately are hats.  And for some reason as I'm typing I can't stop shouting
"hats, hats, hats, hats, hats!" *to the theme song of LMFAO's Shots, of course.  Don't know how that got in my head but I'm not mad about it.  It really is a catching tune! Honestly, that's really the only part of the song I know..

Now about the hats... I always become obsessed in the spring with floppy hats, panama hats or other spring head coverings {I didn't want to say hats again!}.  But this year I'm all about the baseball cap.  I LOVE the unique patterns and fabrics that are showing up all over the stores.

The floral Forever 21 hat is super cute! And perfect for summer.  The leather cap from Asos is so cool!  But I just feel like it would be perfect for fall.  Maybe an early fall equinox present! Everyone celebrates that right?  I bet we would if it involved leather cap presents!  I'm also loving the woven baseball hats that are available at Target.  What a great price for a new fun hat.

Are you guys as obsessed over hats like I am?  I know some people just don't think they look good in hats but I've always loved them.  What other fun hats have you seen around??? Please share!  I need as many as I can get my hands on!

Oh, and I need some advice!  My bestie and I are meeting in Chicago for the weekend and need advice on the best restaurants and sites to see downtown.  For all you Windy City Residents let us know what are musts for visiting downtown Chicago!  We appreciate any advice :)

 

Weekend Reminders

Dress - H&M | Necklace - In Pink | Purse - Michael Kors | Shoes - Target

Other Mirrored Items:

Hope you guys had a great weekend!  We did a lot of spring cleaning which felt awesome!  We rearranged our bedroom which totally needed a refresher.  We cleaned the pantry too which felt great to get rid of things that had expired or that I knew we would never.  We could totally eat from our pantry for at least two weeks with as many cans and product that are stashed in there.  But yet I still feel like I need to go to the store because we have nothing to eat.  I started to realize how horrible it is that we throw away so much food on a regular basis. 

This thinking all started because I am reading the book "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls.  It is a memoir about the author's life growing up in a dysfunctional and poor family.  Just hearing the stories about how the family got through the tough times without food, heat or even a home was very humbling.  It is such a captivating book and I would recommend it for sure!  If anything, it is a good reminder of everything I have to be grateful for.  Those reminders can't happen often enough, really.

Hope you all had a great weekend!  Get your hands on this book, like, asap!

 

Linking Up with:  Still Being Molly, My Greatest Hits,  Plane Pretty, Watch Out for the Woestmans, Real Girl Style,  Pleated Poppy, This Girl's Life, Style Elixir, Get Your Pretty On!, Because Shanna Said So, Transatlantic Blonde, and All Things Alisa

Perfectly Distressed Pastels

Top - Old Navy | Jeans - JCP | Shoes - Payless | Clutch - H&M | Sunglasses - DKNY

Shop Similar Items:

Sorry I have been MIA a bit the last few weeks.  I've been trying to get caught up with things at home and in my personal life.  And for the most part, it's working! I am feeling more refreshed and things are starting to get taken care of.  Thanks for baring with me and for the encouragement along the way.  I hope to get back to normal posting here soon!  

A few things about this outfit... these jeans... My new fav.  I got them at JCPenney and they were on clearance for $10 and they are the perfectly distressed pair of lavender skinnies that I had been looking for.  I never used to be a pastel girl, but this spring has me obsessed with pastels!  And what better way to pair colored skinnies with than chambray.  And what better way to wear chambray than with polka dots.  All of my fav trends in one outfit.  Done.

On another note, I know these picture aren't rockstar but they were taken with my iPhone and I'm pretty impressed!  I didn't realize that iPhone pictures still looked decent when "blown" up.  So... that will take some pressure off bringing my lug of a camera everywhere I go in hopes to get an outfit picture :)  It's the little things in life, I guess!

I hope you all have an amazing weekend.  I plan to get started on my spring cleaning checklist.  I'm actually kind of excited!  What do you all have planned???

 

Spring Cleaning

It's that time of year again.  The time where the weather is getting nicer {sort of!} and the urge to open up the windows and air out the house is getting stronger.  I'm definitely having one of those "I need to clean the whole house, like now." moments.  So I've been filling my pinterest board with cleaning tips and schedules to help me get ready for the big purge.  In case you all are feeling the same way as me, I decide to compile some of my favorite sites for spring cleaning tips.  Hopefully these will give you the drive and organization to get started cleaning out your house!  Don't you just love being organized to start organizing??? :)

6 Simple Ways to Keep Your House Tidy  //
I love the idea of the 15 minute pick up.  Each day all it takes is 15 minutes to pick up the little things that {like junk mail} that add up quickly!

How to Clean Your... // 
Have an appliance you're not sure how to clean?  Get all of the best tips for cleaning appliances and hard-to-clean areas of your house!

Spring Cleaning Checklist  // 
Need someone to spell it out for you?  I do!  Use this spring cleaning checklist so you can make sure you don't miss anything!

Another Spring Cleaning Checklist  //  
In case you're anal and need a second opinion so that you really don't miss anything :)

25 Links to Great Cleaning Tips and Tricks  // 
Love this site for reference to 25 amazing sites for cleaning tips.  I know I will be going back to this one over and over.

Happy cleaning everyone! I will be starting this journey this weekend... wish me luck!

 

Get yourself a little gem...

    Shop Similar Items:

I already talked about these earrings in my Finds For Less series but this is one item I got to experience first hand.  These J.Crew look alikes are from JewelIQ and they are ah-maz-ing.  The quality on these earrings are superb and they look so 'rich' in person.  They are even pretty light for such a high quality statement earring. I purchased a few for gifts because I couldn't keep this gem {pun intended} to myself!

On another note, I have been super busy at work and home lately and haven't had as much time to put toward daily posts.  And honestly, I am only taking outfit pictures when it's nice out.  I'm boycotting freezing my butt off for the sake of a few pics :)  I hope you continue to stick with me while I prioritize everything in life and get up to speed on everything.  

Happy Tuesday! 

You stay classy, San Diego.

 

Linking Up with:  Still Being Molly, My Greatest Hits,  Plane Pretty, Watch Out for the Woestmans, Lily Among Thorns, Real Girl Style,  Pleated Poppy, Create Hope Inspire, This Girl's Life, Style Elixir, Because Shanna Said So, Get Your Pretty On!, Transatlantic Blonde, and All Things Alisa

Where vs. Wear - Paisley

 

      

Shop the bedroom:

Headboard | Wallpaper | Bedding | Dresser

Shop the outfit:

I don't know why but I've always loved paisley.  Especially in bright colors.  Unfortunately, sometimes paisley can look a little outdated but I'm glad that the print has come around again in bright, springy colors.  Steph and I pooled our inspiration from that fun paisley chair to form a bedroom and an outfit collage.  I've got spring on the mind so it's no surprise that I went with a beach-inspired outfit.  When I saw that paisley cover-up/tunic I knew I had to use it!  And the rest was history...

Happy Friday everyone! Make this weekend a good one :)