the Amazing fourth of july

This post is thus entitled for several reasons.

1) It was AMAZINGLY hot outside. As Chicago continues its torturous chain of 95+ degree days, most innocent civilians do whatever it takes to simply survive. Usually this involves extended grocery shopping excursions (for prolonged air conditioning exposure), hesitation and unheard of willingness to let another patron go ahead in line at the post office (for prolonged air conditioning exposure), and even anticipation to care for disobedient children who happen to live in an air conditioned house (for...you guessed it, prolonged air conditioning exposure.) All of these are common methods of escaping the heat. The method that I and my sisters utilized in downtown Chicago on this most patriotic day was the "walk a few blocks, duck into an air conditioned retail store (repeat as needed)" method. Copyright pending. It worked surprisingly well, though even those few moments spent walking through the concrete jungle were grueling.

But I mean really, despite its insane weather "mood swings," there's no city as gorgeous as the Windy one.

2) We ate an AMAZING brunch at Yolk, a specialty breakfast restaurant downtown. It was a feast of the mouth and the eyes as well. 

3) We saw an AMAZING film called The Amazing Spiderman. The consensus between the five of us was that this Spiderman film actually surpassed the earlier versions (sorry, Tobey). It was an excellent and entertaining way to spend the afternoon. It also conveniently allowed a 2 1/2 hour escape from the heat...not coincidental.

Our city was decked out in celebratory flags. The way in which we all stopped and snapped multiple photos on the middle of the bridge would have led many to believe that we born and bred Chicagoans were actually tourists. Perfect.

Happy Independence Day! Go read the Declaration of Independence.

I realize that a good amount of time has elapsed since my last post. However, I gave my blog a face lift and I would like to start utilizing it again. My first return post? A Before and After clothing restoration. My favorite.

BEFORE:

So this was essentially a genuine polyester robe/dressing gown from J.C. Penny's (circa 1970 it appears from the tag). I loved the black piping along the edges. Other than that, it didn't have a lot going for it.














1) My first step was to simply cut off the
 sleeves and the strings that tied the robe closed.

2) After that, I took a couple inches off the bottom and hemmed it, and also took in the sides to tighten it up a little bit.

3) After that, I added a hook an eye to keep the dress closed. (In lieu of the strings) I ended up sewing on two because I found that the extra flap of material crossed over underneath was bubbling in an undesirable way.

I also added a cool button to the outside.

4) My last step was to cinch the shoulders of the dress. It created the loveliest neckline.

And...VOILA! A nice retro looking dress. 

AFTER:

christmas in chicago

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to act as a tour guide and take my friends home for a visit to Chicago. I may be a little bit biased, but I sincerely believe that there is no city as beautiful as Chicago, especially at Christmas time. Being there with my friends was pretty magical.
It was the first time some of the girls had been to Chicago.
This little Pennsylvania girl was especially thrilled.

Her one demand? That we take public transportation. We acquiesced.

Andj's expectations for the city were pretty high. Luckily, the Windy City did not disappoint. The lights were gorgeous and festive, and spirits were high. Of course you cannot go downtown Chicago with eight girls and not expect to get some shopping done.

(Relax, I did her hair.)

Millenium Park was in rare form. Not only was the Bean nice and shiny, there was also a large cluster of Santa's hanging out next to it. My guess? Santa Convention.

We finished up with deep dish pizza at Uno's, a Chicago staple.

One of my favorite pictures of the trip is my beautiful suite mate.

a night to blog about

As you probably know if you live anywhere even remotely civilized, the critically acclaimed and highly anticipated blockbuster flick, Breaking Dawn, opened last weekend. And a bunch of my friends and I all went to see it opening night. That's right. NO SHAME! It was a really fun little trip. (Let's just not even address the quality of the critically acclaimed, highly anticipated movie. We'll just stay positive and say that at least it didn't put me to sleep.) Before the movie we shopped at the outdoor mall which was festooned with pretty christmas decorations. While there, I made an awesome purchase: ear muffs. What? Yes, please.

What awesome hats. They were instant photo ops. If you are reading this and you are in need of a christmas present idea, go out and don't buy these hats because they were insanely expensive.

There was a moderately cute golden retriever living at the house we slept at. Which meant hours of joy and entertainment for most of us college kids who have lived lives devoid of pets for the last three months (it's not something that I'm terribly upset about).

Someone's excited.

I'm such a poser.

I snapped a few more shots to document our drive. No girl's night is complete without car pictures.

Of course my favorite picture of the night goes to Jess. But that's becoming quite standard. She'll do anything to get a good pose, even stick her body half way outside the window of a moving vehicle.

But kudos to Andj and Kriss for this beauty.

Yet another sunset.

And last but not least...

My earmuffs! On a mug! 

Silly.

Such a fantastic way to escape from school and just laugh and giggle and be care free. Girl's Nights are the best.

autumn colors

Bright leaves and blue skies. Autumn loves its own colors.

This weekend was the rake 'n run. We raked lawns and danced and laughed. God has really blessed us with gorgeous fall days lately. This was no exception. It was a perfect day.

In other news, go listen to Up in Flames by Coldplay.